Senior Health Practice Manager, Learning Disabilities
Location: Widnes
Contract: Not Specified
Salary: £49,995 to £54,075 plus £5,000 car allowance

Could you use your Learning Disability Nursing expertise to influence national practice, reduce health inequalities and improve the lives of people with learning disabilities and autistic people?

We are looking for a Senior Health Practice Manager, Learning Disabilities to provide specialist Learning Disability Nursing leadership across Community Integrated Care. Reporting directly to the Head of Health Practice you will set the strategic direction for practice and develop the standards, frameworks and pathways that underpin high-quality, person-centred support across England and Scotland.

This opportunity offers:

• A salary of £49,995 to £54,075 plus £5,000 car allowance
• A four-day working week, with 37.5 contracted hours
• Hybrid working, with attendance at our Widnes head office at least once a month
• A national remit across England and Scotland
• The opportunity to shape Learning Disability Nursing practice across a national charity
• A prominent role developing organisational frameworks, standards and specialist pathways
• The chance to improve health outcomes, reduce inequalities and champion least restrictive practice
• The opportunity to influence senior leaders, operational teams and external partners
• Infrequent national travel to visit services

You will be our visible professional leader and subject matter expert for Learning Disability Nursing. Using evidence, legislation, data and sector insight, you will help build workforce capability, strengthen organisational assurance and ensure that people receive safe, rights-based and personalised support.

Who you’ll be supporting and more about the role
Your work will benefit people with learning disabilities and autistic people, including individuals with complex health, behavioural, social and support needs. You will help ensure that their rights, preferences, communication needs and aspirations shape the support they receive.

As Senior Health Practice Manager, Learning Disabilities, you will provide authoritative professional advice, consultation and constructive challenge to operational colleagues and senior leaders. Although this is not a direct clinical care role, you will use your professional expertise to shape decisions, strengthen practice and support teams managing complexity and health-related risk.

Your key priorities will include:

• Setting the strategic direction for Learning Disability Nursing practice
• Developing organisational standards, frameworks and professional expectations
• Defining and championing our model of support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people
• Translating legislation, clinical evidence and professional guidance into practical approaches for social care teams
• Providing specialist advice on assessment, support planning, health risks and complex cases
• Supporting safe, lawful and least restrictive decision-making
• Developing specialist pathways, tools and resources for people with complex health needs
• Providing professional input into new services, service redesign, complex placements and transitions
• Influencing senior leaders on health needs, workforce capability, organisational risk and service development
• Strengthening practice relating to Positive Behaviour Support and restrictive practice reduction
• Leading Learning Disability Nursing contributions to audits, service reviews, investigations and regulatory activity
• Using incidents, quality data and safeguarding themes to identify risks and improvement opportunities
• Developing competency frameworks, learning pathways and workforce development programmes
• Providing coaching, mentoring, consultation and reflective-practice opportunities
• Improving access to healthcare and reducing the health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities and autistic people
• Embedding co-production so people with lived experience influence practice and service development
• Stopping over medication of people with a learning disability and autistic people (STOMP) and supporting treatment and appropriate medication in paediatrics (STAMP)

You will work across organisational and professional boundaries, developing strong relationships with operational leaders, managers, specialists, commissioners, regulators and health and social care partners. You will also represent the organisation through relevant forums and professional networks.

Success will mean teams have greater confidence and capability, organisational decisions are informed by credible specialist insight and practice becomes more consistent, evidence-based and rights-focused. Most importantly, your work will support improved health outcomes, greater quality of life and safer, more personalised support.

About you
You will be a professionally credible and experienced Registered Learning Disability Nurse with the strategic outlook and specialist knowledge needed to influence practice across a large, geographically dispersed organisation.

Essential qualifications and experience include:

• Current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council as a Registered Learning Disability Nurse
• A degree-level qualification in Learning Disability Nursing or an equivalent professional qualification
• The ability to produce clear professional reports, recommendations and strategic papers
• Evidence of continued professional development and compliance with NMC revalidation requirements
• Significant post-registration experience supporting people with learning disabilities and autistic people
• Extensive experience working with people who have complex health, behavioural, social or support needs
• Experience providing specialist consultation, advice and professional leadership across multidisciplinary or multi-agency settings
• Experience supporting service development, quality improvement or organisational change
• Experience helping operational teams manage complexity, risk, safeguarding and adult protection concerns
• Experience delivering education, coaching, mentoring or practice-development support
• Experience contributing to audits, reviews, investigations or other quality-assurance activities
• Experience working across health and social care systems
• Experience contributing to organisational strategy, policy or governance arrangements

You will bring expert knowledge of contemporary Learning Disability Nursing practice, alongside a strong understanding of autism, neurodiversity and the health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

You will also understand Positive Behaviour Support, least restrictive practice, trauma-informed support, safeguarding and rights-based approaches. Knowledge of the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks in England and Scotland will be important, including mental capacity and incapacity legislation, adult protection requirements, human rights, equality, medicines optimisation, clinical governance and CQC and Care Inspectorate standards.

You will be able to:

• Translate complex research, policy and clinical guidance into practical advice
• Exercise sound professional judgement in complex social care situations
• Balance safeguarding, clinical risk, autonomy and quality of life
• Influence senior leaders and provide respectful, constructive challenge
• Analyse information, trends and outcomes and make evidence-based recommendations
• Communicate clearly with operational, strategic and external audiences
• Build workforce capability through training, coaching and reflective learning
• Work autonomously and manage competing priorities effectively

A relevant postgraduate qualification, or progress towards one, in Learning Disability, Autism, Leadership, Quality Improvement, Public Health or a related field would strengthen your application. A leadership, coaching, management or quality-improvement qualification would also be valuable.

Above all, you will be values-led, collaborative and committed to advancing person-centred, inclusive and least restrictive support. You will bring professional integrity, resilience and the confidence to challenge practice while helping colleagues build their own capability.

If you are ready to use your Learning Disability Nursing expertise to influence national practice, reduce health inequalities and improve outcomes for people, apply through our website to submit your application.

Please note, if you are interested in this role, we welcome your application as soon as possible. Depending on the volume of applications received, the vacancy may be closed before the expected advertising end date.