Company: Symbiotic Homecare
Location: Blackburn – Office Based with Regular Field Visits Across Lancashire
Salary: From £35,000 per annum, Negotiable depending on experience
Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent
Registration: Active UK NMC Registration Required
About Symbiotic Homecare
Symbiotic Homecare is a medically led domiciliary and complex care provider delivering high-quality, person-centred care across Lancashire.
Our service is supported by an established clinical leadership structure incorporating Medical Directors, Registered Nurses and specialist clinicians. This enables Symbiotic Homecare to safely support individuals with increasingly complex healthcare needs within their own homes.
Our growing portfolio includes both traditional domiciliary care and complex community packages involving neurological conditions, acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury, dementia, learning disability, epilepsy, enteral feeding, respiratory support, palliative care, end-of-life care and other high-acuity needs.
We work closely with Integrated Care Boards, Continuing Healthcare teams, Local Authorities, hospital discharge teams, GPs, District Nurses and wider multidisciplinary professionals.
As Symbiotic Homecare continues to grow and expand its complex-care provision, we are now seeking an experienced Registered Nurse to join our senior management team as Clinical Operations Manager.
This is a unique hybrid role combining operational leadership of a domiciliary care service with registered nursing oversight, staff training, competency assessment, clinical governance and complex-care support.
Medical and Clinical Support
The successful nurse will work within a medically led clinical governance structure and will be directly supported by Symbiotic Homecare’s Medical Directors, who are practising senior doctors and Consultants within their own respective specialties.
This provides the Clinical Operations Manager with access to senior medical expertise when managing complex packages, reviewing clinical risk, responding to deterioration, developing care pathways and considering challenging or unusual clinical presentations.
The successful candidate will therefore not be expected to manage complex clinical issues in isolation.
They will work collaboratively with the Medical Directors, Registered Manager, existing nursing and clinical leadership team, specialist clinicians and wider multidisciplinary professionals.
The successful candidate will also play an active role in the training and development of care staff alongside Symbiotic Homecare’s existing clinical leadership team, helping to ensure that staff receive appropriate theoretical and practical preparation before undertaking complex and delegated healthcare activities.
This medically supported structure provides a strong combination of:
- Registered nursing leadership
- Senior medical oversight
- Clinical training
- Staff competency assurance
- Operational management
- Clinical governance
This is a key feature of Symbiotic Homecare and provides an excellent opportunity for a Registered Nurse who wishes to develop into a senior clinical and operational leadership position.
Role Overview
The Clinical Operations Manager will have two principal areas of responsibility:
Operational Management
To support and oversee the safe, effective and efficient day-to-day operation of Symbiotic Homecare.
Clinical and Complex Care Oversight
To provide registered nursing expertise within the organisation, supporting the training, supervision, assessment and competency sign-off of care staff undertaking complex and delegated healthcare activities.
The post holder will act as a key link between senior management, clinical governance, field management, care staff and external healthcare professionals.
Although the role is predominantly based from our Blackburn office, regular field visits will be required to assess clients, observe care delivery, undertake competency assessments and support complex packages.
Key Operational Responsibilities
The Clinical Operations Manager will:
- Support the Registered Manager and Directors with the overall management of the service
- Oversee the safe and effective day-to-day delivery of domiciliary and complex care
- Provide leadership and support to care coordinators, field managers, supervisors, senior carers and frontline care staff
- Monitor care delivery to ensure services remain safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led
- Maintain oversight of safe staffing levels and continuity of care
- Ensure staff are only allocated to packages for which they are appropriately trained and competent
- Support mobilisation of new packages of care
- Participate in pre-admission, hospital discharge and complex-care assessments
- Identify staffing, training, equipment and clinical governance requirements before new packages commence
- Develop and review care plans, risk assessments and package-specific documentation
- Work closely with care coordinators to ensure rotas reflect staff competency and client needs
- Support management of sickness, absence, performance and conduct
- Undertake staff supervision and appraisal
- Support recruitment, interviewing, onboarding and induction
- Monitor organisational systems and ensure care documentation is completed appropriately
- Support management and investigation of incidents, accidents, complaints and concerns
- Participate in safeguarding processes and investigations
- Ensure learning from incidents, complaints and near misses results in improvements in practice
- Support internal audits, quality assurance and service improvement
- Support preparation for CQC inspections and commissioner audits
- Build positive relationships with clients, families, commissioners and healthcare professionals
Clinical Leadership Responsibilities
As a Registered Nurse within Symbiotic Homecare, the post holder will provide clinical support and oversight across the organisation.
Responsibilities will include:
- Providing nursing input into the assessment of complex-care packages
- Reviewing clinical needs of new and existing clients
- Supporting development and review of clinical care plans and risk assessments
- Identifying clinical risks and ensuring appropriate escalation pathways are in place
- Providing clinical support and advice to carers and managers
- Liaising with GPs, District Nurses, specialist nurses, hospital teams, CHC professionals and other MDT members
- Supporting appropriate escalation where there is deterioration or concern regarding a client’s condition
- Reviewing clinical incidents and contributing to root-cause analysis
- Supporting implementation and review of clinical governance policies
- Participating in clinical governance meetings
- Monitoring medication incidents, safeguarding concerns, clinical incidents and other quality indicators
- Supporting continuous improvement in complex-care delivery
Training and Development of Care Staff
A significant part of this role will involve working alongside Symbiotic Homecare’s existing clinical leadership team to train and develop care staff.
The Clinical Operations Manager will:
- Support and deliver clinical training for care staff
- Participate in practical workshops and simulation-based training
- Deliver package-specific training where appropriately competent
- Support induction of staff joining complex-care packages
- Reinforce clinical policies, procedures and escalation pathways
- Teach staff how to recognise deterioration and respond appropriately
- Support staff following clinical incidents or near misses
- Identify learning and development needs
- Develop and review clinical training materials and competency documents
- Support refresher training programmes
- Work alongside Medical Directors, Registered Nurses, specialist clinicians and external trainers
- Coordinate specialist training where additional expertise is required
- Help create a culture of continuous clinical learning and professional development
Training may include both theoretical and practical elements and will be integrated with competency assessment wherever appropriate.
The nurse will form part of a wider clinical training structure rather than working in isolation.
Complex Care Competency Assessment
A major element of this position will be supporting and developing Symbiotic Homecare’s complex-care workforce.
The Clinical Operations Manager will:
- Undertake practical competency assessments following appropriate staff training
- Observe carers undertaking complex and delegated healthcare activities
- Complete documented competency assessments and staff sign-offs where appropriately trained and competent to do so
- Ensure competency assessment is client-specific and package-specific where required
- Maintain oversight of the organisation’s clinical competency matrix
- Monitor competency expiry and reassessment dates
- Arrange refresher training and reassessment
- Restrict staff from undertaking clinical activities where competence cannot be demonstrated
- Reassess staff following incidents, concerns or significant periods away from a package
- Support practical and simulation-based clinical training
- Work alongside specialist clinicians and external trainers where required
- Support package-specific clinical induction
- Identify and escalate gaps in clinical competence or training
Where necessary, Symbiotic Homecare will support the nurse to undertake further specialist training and professional development.
Complex Care Areas
Depending upon the successful candidate’s existing experience, training and competence, the role may include training, assessment and oversight of care involving:
- PEG and enteral feeding
- NG tube care
- Gastrostomy care
- Medication administration
- Buccal and rescue medication
- Epilepsy and seizure management
- Oxygen therapy
- Non-invasive ventilation
- Home ventilation
- Tracheostomy care
- Tracheal and oral suction
- Cough Assist
- Respiratory monitoring
- Catheter care
- Suprapubic catheter care
- Bladder care
- Stoma care
- Complex moving and handling
- Hoisting
- Pressure-area management
- Neurological conditions
- Motor neurone disease
- Spinal cord injury
- Acquired brain injury
- Learning disability and autism
- Palliative and end-of-life care
- Other delegated healthcare activities delivered within the community
Field-Based Clinical Oversight
The successful candidate will undertake regular field visits (travel costs re-imbursed) including:
- New-client assessments
- Complex-care assessments
- Staff observations
- Clinical competency sign-offs
- Medication competency assessments
- Spot checks
- Clinical supervision
- Care-plan reviews
- Post-incident reassessments
- Package mobilisation visits
- Meetings with clients and families
- Joint visits with specialist clinicians where required
Governance and Quality Assurance
The post holder will support the organisation with:
- CQC compliance
- Clinical governance
- Safeguarding
- Medication governance
- Infection prevention and control
- Incident management
- Duty of Candour
- Complaints management
- Staff competency governance
- Clinical documentation
- Care-plan auditing
- Risk assessment
- Training compliance
- Quality assurance
- Commissioner monitoring
- Service improvement
- Lessons-learned reviews
Essential Requirements
Applicants must:
- Be a Registered Nurse with current UK NMC registration
- Have post-registration nursing experience
- Have strong clinical assessment and decision-making skills
- Be confident training, coaching and assessing care staff
- Be confident assessing staff competency
- Understand professional accountability and safe delegation
- Recognise when an activity falls outside their own scope of competence
- Have experience supporting individuals with complex healthcare needs
- Demonstrate strong leadership ability
- Be able to manage staff and make operational decisions
- Have excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Be confident communicating with healthcare professionals, commissioners, clients and families
- Have strong clinical documentation skills
- Have a good understanding of adult safeguarding
- Understand risk management within health and social care
- Be organised and able to manage competing clinical and operational priorities
- Be confident challenging unsafe or poor practice
- Hold a full UK driving licence
- Have access to a vehicle for work purposes
Desirable Experience
Experience within one or more of the following would be particularly advantageous:
- Domiciliary care
- Community nursing
- Complex homecare
- Continuing Healthcare
- District nursing
- Respiratory care
- Neurology
- Spinal injury
- Acquired brain injury
- Motor neurone disease
- Tracheostomy care
- Ventilation
- Enteral feeding
- Palliative care
- Learning disability
- Hospital discharge
- Clinical education or staff training
- Care-provider management
Previous management experience within domiciliary care would be advantageous but is not essential where the candidate demonstrates strong leadership ability and an aptitude for operational management.
Qualifications
An active UK NMC registration is essential.
Holding or working towards a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care, or an equivalent leadership qualification, would be desirable.
For the right Registered Nurse, Symbiotic Homecare is prepared to support further leadership, management and specialist clinical development.
Person Specification
We are looking for somebody who is:
- Clinically confident
- Professionally accountable
- Highly organised
- Assertive when required
- Supportive towards staff
- Confident teaching and developing others
- Calm under pressure
- Comfortable making decisions
- Able to challenge poor practice
- Passionate about patient safety
- Comfortable working autonomously
- Operationally aware
- Interested in developing a growing complex-care service
- Able to balance compassionate leadership with clear professional standards
We particularly want a nurse who understands thattraining and competency sign-off are not simply paperwork exercises.
The successful candidate must be prepared to teach effectively, properly observe practice and identify areas for improvement.
Reporting Structure
The Clinical Operations Manager will form part of Symbiotic Homecare’s senior management and clinical governance structure and will report to the Registered Manager and Directors.
The post holder will work closely with:
- Medical Directors
- Registered Manager
- Directors
- Existing Clinical Leadership Team
- Registered Nurses
- Specialist Clinicians and Trainers
- Field Care Manager
- Care Coordinators
- Supervisors
- Senior Carers
- Care Workers
- External Specialist Nurses
- Community Healthcare Professionals
- Commissioners and CHC Teams
Working Pattern
This is a full-time, permanent position.
The role is primarily based from our Blackburn office but includes regular travel to clients’ homes throughout Lancashire for assessments, competency observations, clinical supervision, training and quality monitoring.
Due to the nature of domiciliary and complex care, flexibility outside standard office hours is essential.
The successful candidate will also form part of the senior escalation structure for the service.
Salary
From £35,000 per annum, depending on experience.
Salary may be negotiable for an exceptional candidate with substantial complex-care, community nursing or domiciliary management experience.
There will be opportunities for salary and career progression as the successful candidate develops within Symbiotic Homecare and assumes greater responsibility for our complex-care services.
What We Offer
- Salary from £35,000 per annum
- Senior management position
- Opportunity to move from frontline nursing into clinical and operational management
- Direct support from Medical Directors who are practising Consultants
- Strong medically led clinical governance structure
- Opportunity to work alongside an established clinical leadership team
- Active involvement in training and developing care staff
- Opportunity to help develop a rapidly growing complex-care service
- Support from Registered Nurses and specialist clinicians
- Funded professional and specialist clinical development
- Support with complex-care training
- NMC professional development support
- Leadership and management development
- Significant autonomy within the role
- Career progression as the organisation grows
- Opportunity to shape clinical governance, workforce training and competency systems
- Exposure to a broad range of complex community-care packages
Why Join Symbiotic Homecare?
Symbiotic Homecare is developing beyond a traditional domiciliary care model.
Our ambition is to provide high-quality community care for individuals with increasingly complex clinical needs, enabling people to remain safely within their own homes wherever possible.
Our medically led model brings together Consultant Medical Directors, Registered Nurses, specialist clinicians, operational management and experienced care staff.
The successful nurse will not simply oversee care delivery. They will become an integral member of our clinical training and governance structure, working alongside existing clinical leadership to educate, assess and develop the care workforce required to safely deliver increasingly complex care in the community.
For the right Registered Nurse, this represents an opportunity to move into a genuine senior clinical and operational leadership role while remaining directly involved in patient safety, staff development, training and complex-care delivery.
We are looking for somebody who wants to do more than simply manage a caseload.
We want a nurse who can help us train and develop our workforce, strengthen clinical governance, maintain high standards, support our staff and safely grow our complex-care services.
Pay: £35,000.00-£38,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
