Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Job summary
The Head of Therapies is a senior clinical and operational leadership role with responsibility for the strategic, professional, and operational management of Therapy Services across Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals. The post holder is accountable for the delivery, performance, quality, safety, and financial management of Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Dietetics, and associated support staff services. As a key member of the Trust’s management structure, the post holder will provide visible leadership for Therapy Services, ensuring services are responsive, sustainable, and aligned to the Trust’s strategic objectives, national priorities, and best practice standards. The role is responsible for ensuring that therapy services are appropriately staffed and skilled to meet the complexity and needs of patients across the organisation. The post holder will work in partnership with the Group AHP Lead to influence and develop the Trust’s Allied Health Professional (AHP) strategy, ensuring alignment with the wider clinical strategy and NHS transformation agenda. They will represent the Trust at local, regional, and system forums, including the North London AHP Council, Integrated Care System (ICS) partnerships, and other professional networks, promoting collaboration and innovation across organisational boundaries. This is a senior clinical leadership post requiring expert-level clinical practice.
Main duties of the job
o To hold overall accountability for the management of all staff and other resources within Therapy services on the Barnet and Chase farm sites.
o Provide professional and clinical leadership for therapy services staff across the Barnet and Chase Farm sites and associated satellite services.
o To proactively encourage and facilitate the provision of the pre-registration and post graduate training and education.
o Identify opportunities for research and development.
o To remain up to date with changing objectives, external guidance, frameworks and directives, advising the relevant directorates as necessary.
o To promote world class care and work in a way that is patient-centred, involves service users, responds positively to feedback from user groups and promotes teamwork across services.
o To promote a culture of safety and quality, openness and accountability, public service and teamwork in an environment of flexibility in which innovation can flourish in response to patients’ needs.
o To be accountable to the site leadership team for financial performance relating to delegated budgets for which this post is responsible and the operational performance of the directorate providing reports to the Divisional Board as required.
o To ensure the delivery and compliance of mandatory training requirements for all staff Trust standards and targets.
o To advise the Barnet business unit on all professional, ethical and legal matters relating to services within this remit.
Person Specification
Qualification
Essential
- oMasters level or equivalent
- oPost graduate qualification
- oRegistration with HCPC
- oEvidence of continuing personal development
Desirable
- oManagement qualification
Experience
Essential
- oSubstantial senior management experience in the NHS or equivalent
- oEvidence of leading and managing change within a complex environment
- oStrategic planning and project management
- oManaging budgets
Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- oLeadership of a multidisciplinary team and delivering to deadlines and within resources.
- oSignificant acute operational management experience in a complex healthcare organisation
- oService planning and project management
- oBroad understanding of the NHS and key policy issues which effect performance
- oAptitude to engage in constructive collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to achieve success through partnership
- oAbility to achieve effective team working within the division and across divisions
- oAble to provide formal teaching/development to staff and colleagues.
Aptitudes, personal characteristics
Essential
- oAbility to work under pressure and flexibly in a dynamic environment
Royal Free shared commitments
Essential
- Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust shared commitments.
Closing Date: 15 November 2026
To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.