Head of QI | South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
| Company: | South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £88,250 - £100,355 Per Annum inclusive of HCAS |
| Hours: | Full-time |
| Location: | London, SE5 8RS |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Posting date: | 24 Aug 2026 |
| Closing date: | 23 Sept 2026 |
Summary
We are looking for an experienced Head of Quality Improvement to operationally lead the Trust’s Quality Improvement portfolio and help embed a culture of continuous improvement across South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
You will provide senior operational leadership to the QI team, support Trust-wide and directorate improvement priorities, and work with clinical, operational and corporate teams to deliver measurable, sustainable improvements in care and outcomes.
This is an in-person role. The post holder will be expected to work on sites as required to support teams, services and Trust-wide improvement activity.
• Lead and deliver the Trust-wideQuality Improvement portfolio, ensuring it aligns with Trust priorities, NHS IMPACT and wider national policy.
• Operationally manage the QI team, including senior QI post holders, staff development, performance and day-to-day delivery.
• Develop, implement and review the Trust-wide QI workplan, including annual priorities, outcome measures and governance reporting.
• Lead assigned QI programmes and improvement collaboratives, ensuring delivery to agreed standards, timescales and benefits.
• Strengthen the use ofdata and measurement for improvement, including AMAT, run charts, SPC charts, outcomes reporting and impact evaluation.
• Build QI capability across the Trust through training, coaching, communities of practice and support for leaders, managers and frontline teams.
• Act as the Trust’sQI method custodian, providing expert advice on improvement methodology, measurement, PDSA, spread and sustainability.
• Promote coproduction with service users, carers and staff as a core part of improvement work.
• Work with senior leaders, directorates, corporate teams and external partners to embed a culture of continuous improvement .
• Contribute to Quality Centre and Improvement Service leadership, including strategy, policy, communication and annual impact reporting.
• Deputise for the Director of Improvement Service when required
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.
SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field.
Key Responsibilities:
• Accountable for the leadership and delivery of the QI portfolio, cascading from the Director of the Improvement Service.
• Be accountable for assigned QI programmes across the Trust and system, reporting on progress at agreed frequencies.
• Embed the approach for coproduction used by the Improvement service.
• Work in collaboration with the Digital Department to build capacity and capability for leaders and managers to use data overtime for decision making and improvement.
• Lead and operationally manage the development, implementation and regular review of the strategic trust wide QI workplan so it reflects, and aligns with priorities within and external to the Trust (e.g. NHS IMPACT and NHS 10-year plan).
• Lead and manage the QI information system on AMAT providing accurate, up-to-date information on programmes, progress and outcomes.
• Propose annual trust wide QI priorities and outcome targets for approval.
• Own QI policies and procedures, ensuring they are current, approved and embedded (e.g. linked to PSIRF/clinical governance).
• Work effectively as a member of the Improvement Service senior leadership team to ensure quality improvement objectives are embedded in the Services and learning is shared across the system.
• Work as a senior member of Quality Centre leadership team as required to deliver the Quality Centre work plan, contributing to the agreement of priorities and objectives and translate these into improvement targets and support their implementation.
Communication
• Provide QI content and due diligence for bids/tenders and commercial proposals.
• Present and showcase QI methodology and outcomes for the Trusts via internal and external publications, conferences and system forums.
• Work in partnership with other senior leaders who are accountable for change and transformation to ensure a coherent approach to developing a culture of continuous improvement.
• Maintain strong working relationships with external partners (e.g SLP, KHP and wider national networks).
• Manage QI communications and dissemination; maintain a forward calendar.
• Present and run sessions as requested with the board and senior leadership teams for improvement
Programme and portfolio Management
• Lead and manage the QI information system in AMAT and visual management (run/SPC charts); provide accurate, timely data on projects, progress, outcomes and benefits.
• Manage and facilitate Trust wide improvement collaboratives.
• Together with the Director, evaluate the QI strategy annually, quantify benefits/ROI and produce an annual impact report for governance forums.
• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Pro-actively manage stakeholders, respond to and resolve conflict when this arises through facilitation or other appropriate mechanisms.
• Be responsible for a high standard of work supporting the delivery of programmes on time, to quality standards and in a cost-effective manner.
• Support the Improvement Service team and wider Quality Centre as and when required by providing expert advice and direct support.
Improvement
• Act as QI method custodian.
• Lead and manage the overall function for QI capability building and the Trust-wide QI training function through supervision of the Principal QI lead (curriculum, delivery schedule, faculty management, accreditation pathways); run communities of practice/learning systems.
• Provide coaching on measurement for improvement, problem definition, PDSA design and SPC/run chart interpretation for senior leaders and managers.
• Promote spread and sustainability, codify change packages, develop control plans/ownership and verify benefits at 6/12 months.
• Ensure programme-level data collection/analysis capability and hands-on support for teams to extract, interpret and present improvement data.
Line management
• Directly manage the senior QI posts holders.
• Deputise for the Director of Improvement when required.
• Be accountable for undertaking appraisal and personal development and managing any employee relations issues.
• Support, motivate and develop staff to enable them to work at their best.
• Manage performance.
• Provide ad hoc support and mentoring to peers outside of direct team if required.
This advert closes on Monday 7 Sep 2026
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