This Band 7 role will provide operational leadership for the Tackling Tobacco Dependency programme across Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The post holder will oversee day-to-day delivery, supervision of the Tobacco Free Team, service performance, risk escalation and continuous improvement, ensuring patients receive high-quality, person-centred support to reduce harm from tobacco and stop smoking.
The role will support delivery of evidence-based tobacco dependency treatment for inpatients and relevant pathways across pre-operative, outpatient and community interfaces. Working with clinical teams, pharmacy, communications, business intelligence, community stop smoking services and system partners, the post holder will strengthen referral and discharge pathways, promote smoke-free hospital sites, support appropriate pharmacotherapy and use data to monitor outcomes, improve quality and demonstrate impact.
This is an exciting opportunity to lead an established and evolving prevention service that contributes to improved patient outcomes, reduced avoidable harm, staff wellbeing and action on health inequalities. The post holder will exercise autonomous judgement within Trust policies and programme governance arrangements, escalating issues appropriately while maintaining clear oversight of service quality, workforce deployment and delivery against agreed objectives.
Provide operational leadership for the Trust’s Tobacco Free Team, supporting the delivery of the TTD programme across inpatient, outpatient, pre-operative and discharge pathways. They will manage, supervise and deploy Tobacco Treatment Advisors, support workforce planning, monitor service demand and ensure safe, responsive and sustainable service delivery. The role will lead operational performance management, including oversight of activity, referrals, response times, treatment outcomes, data quality, equity of access and agreed KPIs. The post holder will identify risks, escalate issues appropriately and implement improvement actions to strengthen service quality and impact.
They will deliver and oversee evidence-based tobacco dependency treatment, harm reduction and stop smoking interventions for patients, staff and, where appropriate, relatives and carers. Working with clinical teams, pharmacy, community stop smoking services, and system partners, they will embed clear referral pathways, promote smoke-free hospital sites, support access to pharmacotherapy and improve continuity of care.
The post holder will provide specialist advice, training and progress updates to staff and programme governance groups. They will use data, feedback and patient experience to monitor outcomes, reduce variation, address health inequalities and support continuous improvement across the service.
We take pride in placing people at the centre of everything we do, working together as a united team. Driven by a shared ambition to continually grow, develop, and learn, we recognise and value every contribution. By combining our experience and skills, we not only support our vibrant, diverse communities, but also support one another.
With a team of over 9,000 employees, we are proud to be the largest employer in Gloucestershire and rank among the top 10 largest Trusts in the South West region. By joining our Trust, you will benefit from an excellent package that includes exclusive benefits, flexible working opportunities and the chance to gain valuable experience in one or both of our innovative hospitals.
As well as generous annual leave allowance, you will have access to the excellent NHS pension scheme, competitive bank rates, discounts at local shops and restaurants, access to two on-site nurseries, discounted public transport, reward and recognition and a range of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion is crucial to ensuring fairness, celebrating differences and creating environments where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute.
To deliver the highest standard of care at Gloucestershire Hospitals, we foster an environment that promotes inclusivity, ensuring that both our staff can thrive and our patients receive services tailored to their needs.
Please see attached Job description and person specification for more information.
Service Leadership, Development and Provision
- Work with the Head of Health Inequalities and Healthy Hospitals to lead, develop and continuously improve the Trust’s Tackling Tobacco Dependency programme as part of the wider Healthy Hospitals Programme.
- Provide visible Band 7 operational leadership for the Tobacco Free Team, including line management, supervision, rota management, workload allocation, appraisal, recruitment support, performance support, day-to-day decision making and timely escalation of operational risks.
- Lead the operational performance management of the service, ensuring that activity, quality, outcomes, referral response times, patient experience and equity measures are routinely monitored and reviewed. The post holder will identify areas of underperformance, work with the team and wider stakeholders to agree improvement actions, and escalate risks or barriers through appropriate governance routes.
- Support workforce planning by reviewing service demand, referral patterns, capacity, skill mix, rota coverage and deployment across clinical areas. This will include identifying workforce pressures, supporting recruitment and induction, contributing to future staffing plans and ensuring the Tobacco Free Team is deployed effectively to meet service priorities.
- Ensure the service provides safe, effective, compassionate and timely support to patients, staff and, where appropriate, relatives and carers affected by tobacco dependency.
- Manage the ongoing development of tobacco dependency treatment pathways, resources, documentation, protocols, procedures, electronic patient record templates and care planning tools in line with national guidance and local service requirements.
- Lead and support quality improvement initiatives to increase the reach, effectiveness, consistency and impact of the service, with a particular focus on equity of access and outcomes for groups experiencing health inequalities.
- Maintain operational oversight of service performance, including referral response times, patient reach, treatment uptake, discharge handover, follow-up completion, smoke-free site themes, patient experience and equity of access across priority groups.
Clinical Delivery and Patient Pathways
- Deliver and oversee specialist tobacco dependency assessments, brief advice, behavioural support, harm reduction interventions and stop smoking treatment in line with agreed protocols, clinical guidance and patient need.
- Provide advice on appropriate tobacco dependency pharmacotherapy and e-cigarettes, working within recommended protocols, agreed scope of practice and in collaboration with pharmacy, clinical teams and prescribers.
- Support Tobacco Treatment Advisors with complex cases, ensuring patients receive person-centred care plans that reflect individual needs, preferences, risks and goals.
Training, Culture Change and Communications
- Identify training needs and design, deliver and evaluate training for Tobacco Treatment Advisors, clinical teams and non-clinical staff to build confidence and competence in tobacco dependency treatment.
- Provide guidance, coaching and mentoring to staff to support consistent, compassionate conversations about tobacco dependency, harm reduction and prevention
Partnership Working, Governance and Engagement
- Provide specialist advice and progress updates to the Tackling Tobacco Dependency Project Board, Executive Sponsor, Clinical Lead, clinical champions and other key stakeholders.
- Build and maintain effective relationships with clinical teams, pharmacy, business intelligence, community stop smoking services, local authority tobacco leads, general practice, community pharmacy and wider system partners.
Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration
- Monitor performance against agreed local and national indicators for the Tackling Tobacco Dependency programme, including referral volumes, response times, treatment uptake, quit or harm reduction outcomes, discharge handover, follow-up arrangements, patient experience, data completeness and variation in access or outcomes between different patient groups.
- Produce and contribute to regular performance reports, highlighting progress, risks, themes, gaps and improvement actions for the Tackling Tobacco Dependency Project Board, Healthy Hospitals governance routes and other relevant Trust forums.
Professional Responsibilities and Other Duties
- Maintain accurate, contemporaneous records and ensure all practice complies with Trust policies, clinical governance arrangements, confidentiality requirements and information governance standards.
- Maintain specialist knowledge of tobacco dependency treatment, harm reduction, behaviour change and health improvement, applying evidence-based practice to service delivery.
Professional Development, Education and Training
- Take responsibility for own continuing professional development, maintaining up-to-date knowledge of tobacco dependency treatment, harm reduction, behaviour change, public health, health improvement and health inequalities.
- Remain informed of relevant clinical research, national guidance, NICE recommendations, NCSCT best practice and emerging evidence, applying learning to improve service delivery and patient outcomes.
- Actively participate in supervision, appraisal, personal development planning and reflective practice, seeking advice and support through appropriate channels when required.
Management and Leadership
- Provide day-to-day management and leadership for the Tobacco Free Team, ensuring clear objectives, appropriate supervision, effective communication and a supportive team culture.
- Allocate, prioritise and monitor staff activity to ensure maximum effectiveness, appropriate service coverage, timely response to referrals and effective deployment of Tobacco Treatment Advisors across clinical areas.
- Hold staff to account for agreed objectives, standards of practice, data recording requirements and contribution to service improvement, using supportive supervision, appraisal and performance development processes in line with Trust policies.
- Support recruitment, induction, appraisal, supervision, training and performance development processes for staff within the team, escalating concerns through appropriate HR and management routes where required.
- Contribute to the development, implementation and review of tobacco dependency pathways, protocols, standard operating procedures, resources and service improvement plans.
- Support delivery of the Trust’s smoke-free site agenda and related policy requirements, working with clinical, operational, estates, security, communications and staff wellbeing colleagues to promote smoke-free hospitals and grounds.
Communications and Working Relationships
The post holder will communicate effectively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to support the delivery, development and evaluation of the Tackling Tobacco Dependency programme. This will include adapting communication style to meet the needs of patients, relatives, carers, staff and partner organisations, and using clear, compassionate and inclusive language when discussing tobacco dependency, harm reduction and behaviour change.
- Use negotiation, persuasion and influencing skills to support culture change, improve referral pathways, encourage clinical engagement and promote smoke-free hospital environments.
