Job summary
*** THIS POST IS OPEN TO INTERNAL APPLICANTS ONLY ***

This role is offered on a permanent basis. The hours are part-time, 18.75 hours per week.

The Clinical Psychosis Pathway Lead has overall accountability for strategic, clinical leadership of the design, delivery, monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement of the Psychosis Care Pathway across Gloucestershire Health and Care Trust, aligned to Integrated Care System (ICS) priorities.

The postholder will lead the development of an integrated, recovery-focused psychosis pathway. This includes responsibility for Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP), Assertive Outreach Service (AOT) services and broader psychosis provision across community and integrated care settings.

The postholder will ensure the delivery of safe, effective, recovery-focused and evidence-based care, aligned with NICE guidance and national access and waiting time standards. The role will lead transformation, service development and performance improvement across the psychosis pathway.

Main duties of the job
As Pathway Lead, the individual will manage the following:

• Leadership of the Psychosis Pathway from development through to delivery and outcomes
• Implementation of evidence-based psychosis interventions and service models
• Oversight of pathway performance, quality, and access standards
• Leading service transformation using programme management and quality improvement methodologies
• Development of workforce capability in psychosis care
• Ensuring robust governance, reporting, and assurance to Trust Board and system partners
• Analysing complex clinical, workforce, and performance data to optimise delivery
• Leading integrated working across NHS, social care, and voluntary sector partners
• Delivery of timely access to NICE-concordant care.
• Integration of psychosis services within neighbourhood-based multidisciplinary teams and Primary Care Networks (PCNs)
• Improvement in outcomes for people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI), including physical health inequalities reduction
• Strong partnership working across Gloucestershire ICS including primary care, local authority, voluntary sector and lived experience partners
• Role in representing the relevant population needs at system governance boards and decision

About us
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people's homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Job responsibilities

• Be a visible and credible clinical leader
• Provide expert clinical leadership to improve psychosis services through transformation and quality improvement
• Lead the development and delivery of an integrated Psychosis Pathway across AOT, EIP, community, and acute interfaces
• Lead improvements in SMI physical health outcomes, working in partnership with primary care
• Acting independently with authority to implement key changes to services relevant to role
• Provide expert clinical leadership to ensure delivery of evidence-based psychosis interventions (CBTp, family interventions, medication optimisation, vocational support)
• Ensure compliance with NICE guidelines and national psychosis standards (including access and waiting time targets)
• Develop and embed systems for clinical governance, safety, and quality assurance within psychosis services
• Support delivery of evidence-based interventions including CBTp, family interventions, and physical health care
• Analyse complex clinical, operational, and financial data by acting as budget holder to inform service improvements, cost improvement programmes and performance management
• Lead implementation of innovative models of care aligned with national policy and ICS priorities
• Build strong partnerships across health, social care, and voluntary sectors
• Ensure robust performance management, including tracking access, outcomes, and service effectiveness
• Identify and manage risks, dependencies, and system pressures across the pathway
• Provide expert advice to senior leaders and governance groups
• Drive integration of psychosis care within neighbourhood teams and Primary Care Networks, supporting joined-up care

Person Specification
Essential

• Educated to Master's level or equivalent experience
• Professional qualification in a relevant field (e.g. Mental Health Nursing, Clinical Psychology, OT, Social Work)

Desirable

• Qualification in CBT for psychosis or equivalent
• Programme management qualification (e.g. MSP)

Essential

• Significant experience working in psychosis services (AOT/EIP/community)
• Experience of leading service transformation or pathway redesign

Desirable

• Quality Improvement training

Essential

• Experience operating in complex health/social care systems
• Extensive leadership and change management experience
• Experience managing performance, workforce, and service delivery
• Extensive knowledge, understanding and experience of the delivery of healthcare services either in mental health and learning disability services and/or physical health services.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust is committed to equal opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.