We have an exciting opportunity for a Paediatric Dietetic Service Lead to join our team for 30 hours per week. This is a great opportunity to combine advanced clinical practice with leadership, working across a busy and well-established service supporting babies, children and their families.
You’ll play a key role in delivering highly specialised nutritional care to complex paediatric patients, while also leading and developing the dietetic team. Working closely with a supportive multidisciplinary team, you’ll help shape care pathways, drive service improvements and ensure high-quality, evidence-based care is delivered.
The role offers a varied clinical remit and you’ll also have the opportunity to scope and establish priority areas for the service, adapting to a changing clinical environment and helping shape future direction.
The successful candidate will benefit from a rewarding and diverse role, with opportunities to influence practice, support staff development and contribute to innovation across the service.
Please note that the interview will be conducted on 21st Sep, tentatively. Please be advised that this subject to availability.
Successful applicants will be required to provide an immunisation and vaccination report, from either their current UK occupational health provider or their UK GP.
Leading and delivering specialist care
Provide a high-quality, evidence-based dietetic service including those with highly complex feeding and nutritional needs, using advanced clinical skills and judgement.
Managing a complex clinical caseload
Assess, diagnose and treat babies and children (0–16 years), developing individualised care plans and working closely with families to support safe and effective feeding.
Working as part of the multidisciplinary team (MDT)
Collaborate with medical, nursing and AHP colleagues, contributing to care planning, influencing decisions and acting as a key source of specialist advice
Leading and developing the dietetic team
Provide clinical supervision, training and day-to-day support to junior staff, helping to build skills, competencies and a strong team culture.
Driving service development and improvement
Lead on service development initiatives, contribute to policy and pathway development (including neonatal pathways), and use audit and evaluation to improve patient outcomes.
Prioritising and coordinating care
Triage referrals, manage workload effectively and ensure high-risk patients are seen promptly, supporting efficient patient flow and discharge planning.
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, rated as good by the Care Quality Commission, is one of the largest teaching Trusts in the UK.
We are extremely proud of our employees across our hospital sites, with high quality patient care at the heart of everything we do.
Boasting some of the most modern facilities in Western Europe, the Trust is renowned for being at the forefront of research and innovation as part of its blossoming reputation as a worldwide leader in healthcare.
We are proud to be recognised as a Pathway to Excellence® designated organisation – please click the link for further details about this prestigious award. Pathway To Excellence ® - University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (uhcw.nhs.uk)
By joining our exciting journey, you will form part of a passionate, talented team and will be able to access a wide range of learning and development opportunities. There has never been a better time to join our team.
The Trust is committed to building an organisation that makes full use of the talents, skills, experience, and different perspectives available in our diverse society. We want everyone to feel they are respected, valued, can achieve their potential and receive the most appropriate and relevant care. We will create an environment where the equality and human rights principles of fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy are promoted and are part of the organisation's core values.
To be responsible for the assessment, diagnosis and management of children with nutritional and feeding difficulties from 0-16 years and babies within the neonatal service, prioritising clinical needs to provide an effective and efficient service.
Demonstrate advanced knowledge and skills to manage a caseload including highly complex and specialist cases, evidencing high level problem solving, reasoning skills and independence of judgement, seeking advice as appropriate.
To develop specific care plans and provide appropriate intervention using specialist knowledge to inform sound clinical judgements/decision making for case management.
To provide specialist advice to others regarding the management and care of children with feeding and nutritional difficulties using evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
To work closely with parents/carers and professionals to agree effective management of nutritional issues to support safe and positive feeding development.
To comply with the safeguarding policies of the Trust, ensuring all concerns, incidents and allegations are reported in line with this.
To demonstrate negotiation skills to develop effective working relationships with patients, carers and their families, and contribute to interagency/multi-disciplinary team building, developing effective working relationships with members of the multi disciplinary team, related agencies and colleagues.
To evaluate the outcomes of intervention and demonstrate clinical effectiveness, and by use of evidence-based practice and outcome measures.
To maintain up-to-date and accurate case notes in line with HCPC and BDA professional standards and local trust policies, including assessment results, treatment plans and reporting to source of referral and other appropriate colleagues. Reports will reflect specialist knowledge of diagnosis and individualised management/care plans and be of a high standard.
To contribute to clinical teams both multi-disciplinary and uni-disciplinary by discussing own and others’ input around patients’ needs ensuring a well-co-ordinated care plan.
To communicate complex condition-related information from assessment to carers, families and members of the multi-disciplinary team/other professions. This involves maintaining sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of patients and families, in particular when imparting potentially distressing information regarding the nature of the patient’s difficulties and implications of the same.
To demonstrate a high degree of empathy, reassurance and sensitivity when communicating, teaching and providing instruction to parents/carers and colleagues, ensuring that effective communication is achieved, particularly where barriers to understanding exist.
To manage and prioritise own caseload independently, using locally and nationally identified prioritisation systems.
To manage and prioritise own workload, demonstrating an ability to be flexible in day to-day operational activity, including being responsive to unpredictable work patterns, deadlines and frequent interruptions.
To contribute to interagency/multi-disciplinary team building, developing effective working relationships with related agencies and colleagues.
To demonstrate the ability to manage unpleasant situations using effective communication including the application of appropriate management strategies, to manage the emotional consequences in self and others of working with clients with distressing conditions
To assist with the identification of training needs within the team and to contribute to formal and informal teaching and training, both within the profession and with other professionals or voluntary groups.
To develop and support clinical competencies for staff at all levels including band 7
To undertake risk assessments in the designated clinical area, informing the Service lead and Dietetic manager and agreeing and implementing an action plan.
For further details of the role please see the attached job description/Person specification.
We welcome informal enquiries from prospective applicants. If you would like to discuss the role in more detail or arrange a visit to meet the team and learn more about the service before applying, please feel free to get in touch.
