We are seeking an experienced and dynamic leader to join us as Head of System Discharge and Flow, a pivotal role working across the Sussex Integrated Care System (ICS).
This role provides strategic and senior operational leadership to improve discharge, patient flow, and integrated community pathways. You will play a key part in ensuring patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time — supporting Home First principles, reducing length of stay, avoiding unnecessary admissions, and enabling care closer to home.
Please note: Due to recent changes in UK immigration and visa rules, this role may not be eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants who do not currently have the right to work in the UK may not be considered. Candidates requiring sponsorship should review the eligibility criteria on the gov.uk website before applying to assess their eligibility for a Certificate of Sponsorship for this role.
Skilled Worker visa: going rates for eligible occupation codes - GOV.UK
Health and Care Worker visa: If you’ll need to meet different salary requirements - GOV.UK
Key Responsibilities
Lead the development, delivery and continuous improvement of safe, timely and person-centred discharge pathways across Sussex
Hold system-wide accountability for patient flow and discharge performance, driving measurable improvements
Provide senior system leadership to resolve complex, cross-organisational challenges impacting discharge and flow
Lead large-scale transformation programmes, embedding sustainable change into business-as-usual practice
Work in partnership across health, social care, housing, VCSE and wider system partners to align priorities and deliver integrated solutions
Ensure consistent standards, reduce unwarranted variation, and support financial sustainability across the system
Use data and insight to inform decision-making, improve outcomes, and support evidence-based planning
We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays.
Our Trust vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community. We offer opportunities across medical, clinical, support, and corporate services.
Why work for us?
- Positive 2024 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and wellbeing
- Varied environments: community hospitals, patients’ homes, and bases across Sussex
- Flexible working options: part-time, flexi-time, annualised hours, and flexi-retirement
- Excellent training, development, and research opportunities
- Accredited Living Wage Employer, we ensure fair pay for all our staff
- Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton
- Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief networks
- Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust
Our values — Compassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence —guide everything we do.
We embrace diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from ethnically diverse, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment.
This post may close early if sufficient applications are received.
The postholder is accountable for:
- Providing visible, strategic system leadership for discharge, patient flow, and integrated community services across the ICS, ensuring alignment with national and local priorities
- Maintaining oversight of system performance and providing clear, timely assurance and challenge to system partners through forums such as the Discharge Oversight Board
- Leading the delivery of ICS-wide transformation and operational improvement programmes to drive sustainable change and system resilience
- Driving improvements in discharge performance, patient flow, and overall system efficiency through evidence-based, data-informed approaches
- Ensuring the development and delivery of safe, timely, and person-centred discharge pathways that optimise outcomes and experience
- Providing senior leadership to resolve complex, high-risk, system-wide flow challenges, working across organisational boundaries to remove barriers and mitigate risk
- Strengthening and advancing neighbourhood and community-based care models to support admission avoidance and timely discharge
- Driving robust performance management, quality improvement, and governance frameworks to deliver assurance and continuous improvement
- Building and sustaining effective, strategic partnerships across NHS organisations, local authorities, VCSE, housing, and independent sector providers
- Ensuring the voice of patients, carers, and communities is embedded within service design, transformation, and evaluation
- Providing inclusive, compassionate leadership to develop and empower high-performing teams, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and accountability
