Clinical Specialist Dietitian

Merseywestlancs; Ormskirk; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading NHS trust in Ormskirk is looking for a skilled part-time Dietitian to join their team. The role involves delivering specialist clinical services in adult nutritional support and overseeing dietetic staff. Candidates must possess strong organizational, communication, and leadership skills to thrive in this dynamic environment. An exciting opportunity to develop your career while contributing to patient care in a reputable healthcare setting. The position offers a competitive salary and supports career growth opportunities.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Generous pension scheme

27 days annual leave (pro-rata)

Qualifications

• Extensive post‑graduation experience in a specialist area and within acute wards.
• Experience of working with multi‑professional groups involved in the care of critically ill patients.
• Evidence of CPD maintained in a portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Manage a caseload of complex critically ill patients.
• Provide specialist clinical support to junior staff and students.
• Demonstrate advanced communication skills.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Time-management skills

Organizational skills

Communication skills

Leadership skills

Education

BSc Degree in nutrition and dietetics

Professional Practice Educator Training

Masters level clinical courses

Job description

We want talented and enthusiastic people from all backgrounds to join #TeamMWL. With us you can learn, grow and develop your career, realising القاهرة true ambitions and aspirations.

Whatever you’re looking for in your career, you’ll find it here at MWL.

Job Reference: 409-7414603-B. Subject: Dietitian – Main area Dietitian Grade NHS AfC: Band 7, Contract Permanent, Part‑time – 15 hours per week (contribute to weekend working).

Site: Southport & Formby District General Hospital, Town Southport. Salary: £47,810 – £54,710 per annum, pro‑rata. Closing date: 15/02/2026 23:59. Interview date: 24/02/2026.

A PM, NHS Jobs application will be imported into our preferred third‑party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website. By applying for this post you are agreeing to transfer the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system and, if appointed, transfer to the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Job overview

We are looking for a specialist dietitian with experience in Nutrition Support to deliver a specialist clinical service at Southport & Ormskirk Hospital sites. The role contributes to supervision of the team of dietitians and support staff.

The successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal and time‑management skills, be flexible, and commit to MDT working. You will have opportunities to further develop your leadership and clinical skills.

The post holder will have a specific interest in adult nutritional support and service/quality improvement.

We are looking for someone who can work as an autonomous dietitian with strong organisational, communication, and leadership skills and embrace the challenge of service development.

Acute care is provided at Southport and Formby and Ormskirk District General Hospital, including accident & emergency services, intensive care, and a range of medical and surgical specialities.

Previous applicants need not apply.

Main duties of the job

• To have clinical responsibility for a complex nutrition support caseload on the Spinal Injury Unit.
To provide specialist clinical support tobeginn junior staff and students.
• To demonstrate advanced communication skills, motivating, guiding and developing dietetic skills required by the team to provide a high‑quality responsive acute dietetic service.
• To provide specialist assessment and management advice for patients whilst working closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team.
• To accept clinical responsibility for and manage a caseload of patients, using advanced knowledge and evidence‑based/client‑centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions delivered across the acute wards.
• To assist in meeting Therapy and Rehabilitation/Trust Objectives in relation to patient care.
• To support the clinical lead in risk assessment for the dietetic team.
• To coordinate, organise, assess and deploy dietetic students while on their clinical placements.

Working for our organisation

MerseyPublisher and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe the communities we serve should all have access to Five‑Star Patient Care.

Our Services

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals and medical and surgical specialities across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital allows patients needing acute hospital beds to continue rehabilitation, freeing space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018

• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)

• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached JD for full details

• To provide highly specialist assessment and management advice for patients throughout the hospital, working closely with all members of the team.
• Accept clinical responsibility for, and manage, a caseload of complex critically ill patients with complex needs using expert/specialist knowledge and evidence‑based/client‑centred principles to assess, plan, implement and evaluate interventions.
• To take part in planning, development and delivery of dietetic services to adults in conjunction with the team leader and clinical therapy manager and hold responsibility for defined projects delegated (e.g. risk assessment, documentation and operational policies).
• Demo advanced communication and use skills to motivate, develop, guide and advance the dietetic skills required to provide a high‑quality responsive team.
• To be responsible for the training of dietetic students on professional practice placements throughout the year as a professional practice educator with actual clinical knowledge across the acute wards.
• To assist the team leader and clinical service manager in the maintenance and development of the dietetic service.
• To be responsible for educating and developing dietetic staff and others in the skills of the dietitian.
• To establish links and networks with other dietetic staff working within defined clinical area at other hospitals and community.
• To deputise to team as needed.
• To take part in extended working rotas as appropriate, which could include 7 days working and evenings.

Person specification

Knowledge and Experience

• Extensive post‑graduation experience in a specialist area and within acute wards.
• Extensive knowledge of the physical and psycho‑social impact of critical, acute illness.
• Experience of working with multi‑professional groups involved in the care of critically ill patients.
• Operational management, development and supervision of junior staff, students and therapy assistants.
• Experience of teaching multi‑professional staff, students and peers.
• Experience of service evaluations and audit processes.
• Evidence of CPD maintained in a portfolio, including attendance at recent postgraduate courses relevant to the speciality.
• Experience of joint working with external organisations and academic institutes where applicable.
• Awareness of current NHS issues and relevant frameworks/quality indicators.
• Evidence of developing services.

Skills

• Committed to personal and departmental development.
• Able to work well with others and pass on skills and knowledge.
• Able to maintain judgement under pressure and manage stress in others.
• Motivation, drive and enthusiasm.
• Ability to deal with conflict resolution with staff, patients and members of the public.
• Empathy and ability to discuss sensitive issues.
• Self‑directed learning.
• Clear vision of role and commitment to specialty, able to represent the service and organisation at Trust initiatives and with outside agencies.
• Good computer and telephone skills.
• Evidence of advanced communication skills.
• Initiate evidence‑based practice within.gradient the clinical setting and develop local care pathways.
• Demonstrate full awareness of clinical governance and its application.

Other

• Assess complex critically ill patients by carrying out a full assessment that requires changes of position and frequent standing and sitting.
• Work pattern is unpredictable; concentration is required for investigating problems, analysis of performance data and policies; interruptions may occur frequently where immediate response is required.
• Ability to deal with distressing situations within the acute wards and support staff to manage these situations.
• Impart distressing information to patients/carers or relatives in a sensitive and supportive way when targets are not met or patient deteriorates.
• Manage a highly pressured work environment that is busy, maintain excellent working relationships with the MDT.
• Fulfil the travel requirements of the post.

Qualifications

• BSc Degree in nutrition and dietetics (or equivalent).
• Professional Practice Educator Training/qualification.
• Masters level clinical courses or equivalent (e.g. PENG Clinical Update Course).

Thank you for considering an application to work for Mersey West Lancashire NHS Trust. MWL is an exciting and forward‑thinking NHS Trust and one of the best places to work in England.

Given the high volume of applications, we may close this vacancy earlier than the stated date should a sufficient number of applications be received to confirm a shortlist. Therefore, you are advised to apply at your earliest convenience.

The Trust may contact you during the recruitment process for feedback on your experience. We always aim for continuous improvement in our practice.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

We actively cultivate a professional environment of fairness, equality, dignity and respect for all individuals. We welcome individuals from all backgrounds and value the unique skills, perspective and experience you bring. We believe diversity enhances our collective strength and fosters innovation and excellence within our workforce. We welcome all applications irrespective of race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion/belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity and particularly those from under‑represented groups.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we commit to offering an interview to all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

If you are having difficulty completing an online application or require any disability reasonable adjustment to the application process, please contact [e-mail].

We also commit to offering an interview to all armed forces veterans who meet the essential criteria for the job listed in the personal specification. If you wish to apply under this Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please indicate this on the online application form.

The Trust operates anonymous shortlisting; no personal information such as your name or details are shared with the recruiting manager. No equality information is shared during the recruitment process with the recruiting manager or others involved in the decision‑making process.

Equality monitoring information is used to review our recruitment practices, where a job is limited to a specific person to verify eligibility to apply and to offer disability reasonable adjustments.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship.

eVisa Update

For successful candidates on selected work and study visa routes, if they have completed and paid for their application they will no longer receive a visa vignette in the passport as evidence of permission to enter the UK.

Instead, an eVisa will be issued which is accessed by creating a UKVI account.

Before travelling to the UK, we advise applicants to:

• Understand how to generate an eVisa share code.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

Applicants must have a DBS check. The application will be paid for if required; costs are deducted from salary following appointment. We encourage enrolment on the DBStemporates Service for a small annual fee of £13.

Flexible Working

MWL supports flexible working patterns. Changes to the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook mean that:

• All employees can request flexible working from day one of employment.
• There is no limit on the number of requests.
• Employees have the right to make requests, have them considered, regardless of the reason.

We will also encourage you to discuss flexible working options at interview.

Working for Team MWL

Staff recognition is important; in addition to performance reviews and appraisals, we recognise staff through Employee of the Month. We also offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments where applicable, 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro‑rata) and access to NHS[[' discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellness programme offers a variety of services.

The Trust is non‑smoking at all sites. Failure to comply may lead to disciplinary action. For more info, see the Smoke Free NHS website.

You will be expected to comply with the Trust’s commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.

You must ensure that your application, including personal statements and behavioural examples, is truthful and factually accurate. Plagiarism, including presenting others’ ideas or AI generated content as your own, is prohibited.

The Trust will not accept AI generated applications and will check all applications against AI detection software.

Additional Information

Review the Trust’s Values and Behaviours – We are KIND, We are OPEN, We are INCLUSIVE – here.

An applicant guide is available that helps and supports you with your application and the recruitment journey.

Good luck with your application. We hope to welcome you to Team MWL very soon.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have the appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and requires a DBS submission.

Name Liz Gemmell
Job title Clinical Therapy Manager
Email: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]
Additional information

If you would like to enquire or visit, please contact us – 01704 705115.