Assistant Director of Therapies

Transformationunitgm; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 64,000 - GBP 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Liverpool is seeking an Assistant Director of Therapies (Head Therapist) to shape the strategic direction and quality of therapy services. This senior role involves significant leadership and management responsibilities across multiple hospital sites, focusing on safe, effective, and compassionate care. Ideal candidates will be AHP registered, with strong governance and interpersonal skills, contributing to high-performing teams and continuous service improvement. The position offers a competitive salary between £64,455 and £74,896 annually, and requires effective leadership in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Significant management and leadership experience at a senior level.
• Demonstrable experience in leading clinical innovation.
• Evidence of networking across organisational boundaries.

Responsibilities

• Shape strategic direction for Therapies within the Care Group.
• Ensure safe, effective care and a focus on patient experience.
• Lead service redesign and innovation.

Skills

Leadership

Governance

Interpersonal Communication

Problem-Solving

Project Management

Education

Degree level qualification in relevant discipline

Evidence of education to master’s level

AHP with HCPC registration

Job description

Employer Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Site Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool

Salary £64,455 - £74,896 per annum, salary period Yearly

Assistant Director of Therapies (Head Therapist)

Band 8b

Job overview

The Assistant Director of Therapies (Head Therapist) is a senior lead in the Royal & Broadgreen (RLB) Therapies Care Group, part of the Division of Medicine. The RLB Therapies leadership team works in collaboration with Aintree University Hospitals Therapies Care Group to deliver inpatient, outpatient and community services.

Accountable to the Head of Operations for RLB Therapies, you will work alongside other Head and Lead Therapists across three main sites – Broadgreen Hospital, the Royal Liverpool Hospital & Aintree University Hospital – providing professional, managerial and clinical leadership across the Therapies workforce.

Main duties of the job

You will shape the strategic direction, quality, performance, and productivity of therapy services while ensuring care is safe, effective, compassionate, and aligned to Trust objectives.

This role requires a leader who thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment and who demonstrates autonomy, confidence, and accountability while consistently modelling the Trust’s values.

This role provides direct line management to operational teams and has budgetary responsibility. It requires a leader who can maintain operational delivery while also driving long-term strategic vision, developing the workforce, and embedding a culture of continuous improvement.

This post is based primarily at Broadgreen Hospital, with a varied portfolio and responsibilities extending across Broadgreen, the Royal Liverpool and Aintree hospital sites. The therapy teams include registered and unregistered workforce including Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Dietetics, Podiatry, Orthotics and Speech and Language Therapy.

Interviews will be held on 17.03.26.

Working for our organisation

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust comprises Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital & Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

We are part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, formed on 1 Nov 2024 from the coming together of LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Group was born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our patients.

UHLG is one of the largest employers in the region, with over 16,800 colleagues dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond.

For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services for more than two million people in the North West.

Aintree University Hospital is the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Women’s Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK’s largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single bedrooms and focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Strategic & Professional Leadership

• Provide visible, credible leadership across the Therapies workforce, acting as a role model for Trust values and behaviours
• Lead, develop and performance-manage Lead Therapists, building high-performing, resilient teams
• Shape and deliver the strategic direction for Therapies within the Care Group, contributing to Care Group and Divisional transformation plans
• Act as the senior professional voice for Therapies, providing expert advice at Care Group and Trust level
• Develop leadership capability, succession planning and future talent across therapy professions

Quality, Governance & Patient Experience

• Ensure high-quality, safe and effective care, with a relentless focus on patient experience and outcomes
• Lead governance, risk management, incident investigation and complaints handling for Therapies
• Ensure compliance with HCPC standards, professional scope of practice, IPC requirements and Trust policies
• Drive delivery of performance targets, KPI’s, CQC standards and contractual obligations in relation to professional standards
• Champion learning from incidents, complaints and benchmarking to continuously improve services
• Lead service redesign and innovation, supporting new models of care and integrated patient pathways
• Embed the UHGL Strategy into clinical and professional practice
• Use data, intelligence and patient feedback to inform decision-making and service improvement
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, curiosity and innovation
• Hold full budgetary accountability for Therapies within the Care Group, including pay, agency and capital budgets
• Lead workforce planning, establishment reviews, safe staffing and career pathway development
• Deliver cost improvement programmes and value-for-money initiatives while maintaining quality
• Lead business cases for service development and capital investment

Education, Research & Development

• Promote education, learning and research across the Therapies workforce
• Support student placements and high-quality learning environments
• Contribute to research capacity-building and implementation of Trust research strategy

You will be:

• An experienced senior Therapy leader with a strong track record of leading large professional teams
• Confident operating at executive and Care Group level, influencing strategy and resolving complex issues
• A compassionate, credible and visible leader who inspires trust and accountability
• Highly skilled in governance, performance management, workforce planning and financial control
• Passionate about improving patient outcomes, staff experience and service quality
• You will be professionally registered (HCPC) and committed to upholding the highest standards of professional conduct.
• You will proactively identify opportunities to facilitate and negotiate any change and support new care delivery processes within the Care Group.
• As a skilled people manager you will be able to lead as required on disciplinary, grievance and HR issues and understand and influence the daily operational management challenges of the care group.

Person specification

Qualifications

• AHP with HCPC registration
• Degree level qualification or equivalent in relevant discipline
• Evidence of education to master’s level or equivalent experience
• Significant evidence of post registration continued professional development
• Post-graduate/registration Management or Training qualification /equivalent
• Evidence of Leadership development

Experience

• Significant management and leadership experience to including experience of working at a senior level
• Demonstrable experience of leading clinical innovation or leading change within clinical practice
• Demonstrable experience in, workforce planning, managing resources budgetary and financial management
• Demonstrable experience in development of Therapies as a professional in their practice
• Evidence of relevant involvement in meeting the Trust Quality and Patient Safety objectives
• Evidence of making operational judgements involving highly complex facts/ situations
• Demonstrate the ability to maintain high standards of care and team management over a sustained period
• Evidence of networking, working effectively across organisational and professional boundaries
• Research experience

Knowledge

• Comprehensive knowledge of contemporary issues in Allied Health Professions and its implications for the workforce and future health care delivery
• Knowledge and understanding of governance arrangements and standards in the NHS and the wider health and social care economy
• Knowledge and understanding of the NHS policy and regulatory frameworks with Health & Social Care system. Demonstrating an ability to interpret
• Have a good awareness of equality and diversity issues affecting a wide range of individuals and groups
• Knowledge and understanding of computerised financial, management, budgetary management, and workforce information systems
• Knowledge of clinical audit

Skills

• Evidence of strong leadership skills- Coaching & values led leadership style, encouraging engagement and empowerment amongst staff and stakeholders, and in developing high performing teams
• Excellent interpersonal skills. – able to communicate highly complex and sensitive information and demonstrate negotiation, coaching and facilitation skills
• Solve problems, using a solution focused approach demonstrating competent persuasive and influencing skills
• Implement policy and implementation plans to deliver the clinical strategy and plans ensuring successful implementation
• Project management skills Experience of using Healthcare improvement models in practice including QI methodology
• Research information and use audit skills to applying findings to influence practice and develop business cases/plans
• Analyse detailed data and information, including preparing responses to issues, weighing risks, and forming judgements often within tight timescales.
• Ability to make decisions in a pressured environment
• Cope with competing priorities and a demanding workload
• IT literate and able to use standard office software and bespoke systems.
• Professional profile/national presentations

Please ensure you check the email account (including junk/spam boxes) from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.

Posts advertised to ‘internal staff’ are open to employees of hospitals within University Hospitals of Liverpool Group and you should confirm your employment within your application form.

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria.

Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview.

We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role.

Candidate information note: This document may include references to internal staff and policies; all applicants should ensure they meet the person specification.

The Trust is committed to protecting safeguarding; all staff must adhere to safeguarding policies and mandatory training.

The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and to flexible working requests; details may vary per role.

The Trust encourages equality and diversity and seeks to recruit a workforce representative of the local community.

DBS and right-to-work information will be processed as part of the recruitment process.

This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults; all staff must adhere to safeguarding policies.

If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact Recruitment Services at 0151 706 4666.

New entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.

Employer certification / accreditation badges: This post requires UK professional registration.

Application numbers: This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.

For questions, contact

Name Lindsay Marsh, Job title Head of Operations - Therapies, Email [e-mail], Telephone [phone]

Additional information: Jo Vickerstaff, [e-mail]