Head of Optometry/Consultant Optometrist

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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Head of Optometry at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital has a key role within, and externally to Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, providing professional and clinical leadership for optometry and optometrists, ocularists and dispensing opticians within the Trust, as well as to the wider eye health system locally, regionally and nationally.

• Accountable and responsible for the development of strategic plans for the Optometry Department which are aligned to the Trust strategy and ensure services are progressive, responsive to internal and external demand, are patient focused, safe, efficient and effective
• Provide professional leadership for the Optometry Services, Ocular Prosthetics, and Ophthalmic Dispensing, to the Trust and other external service users
• Accountable and responsible for clinical governance within the Optometry Department and wider optometry related services.
• Accountable and responsible as budget holder for optometry services for procurement and the delivery of income and expenditure targets in areas of responsibility
• Responsible for developing and implementing 'models of care' for optometry services that support delivery of 'best care' aligned with regional (GM) and national transformation and policy agendas and delivering against local and regional population needs
• Responsible for the Optometry Department supporting training and education programmes for MREH, the Trust, with and for external partners and stakeholders, and developing links with appropriate organisations promoting high quality education and training.
• Accountable for the initiation, development and implementation of Research and Development activity
• Accountable for the continuous improvement of all aspects of the Optometry Department and delivery of optometry and related services against agreed standards

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• BSc (Hons) Degree in Optometry (or equivalent)
• Registration with the General Optical Council
• Post-graduate qualification in a clinical specialty at masters level or higher (eg College of Optometrists Higher Qualification at Diploma level)
• Postgraduate research qualification or equivalent experience in clinical research or service evaluation.

Desirable criteria

• Post-graduate diploma in independent prescribing leading to specialist registration with the General Optical Council (eg DipTp(IP))
• Doctoral level qualification (eg Professional Doctorate or PhD)

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Managing a range of staff groups including motivating high value team performance, workforce planning and managing staff using appropriate HR policies.
• Extensive post qualification clinical experience of which a significant part should be within hospital optometry.
• Experience of working across multi-organisational boundaries and in multi-professional and multidisciplinary settings.
• Experience of leading and managing services, including leading service improvement, change management, successful delivery of performance targets and managing budgets.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of delivering cost and productivity savings.
• Experience of delivery of large scale projects.
• Experience of national clinical leadership roles.
• Experience of reporting at executive level meetings.

Skills

Essential criteria

• Ability to lead a large professional team to work effectively in a complex and diverse operational environment and to deliver under pressure, at pace and against tight deadlines.
• Ability to communicate highly complex information to clinical and non-clinical audiences
• Capable of quickly resolving operational issues whilst performing clinical duties.
• Ability to communicate highly complex information to clinical and non-clinical audiences in a range of situations
• Ability to act independently and manage complex services autonomously and to influence others who act in autonomous management positions.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of managing non-pay and procurement
• Experience of identifying and delivering income generation opportunities.
• Experience of delivery of large scale projects.
• Experience of reporting at executive level meetings.
• Experience of leading capacity planning and modelling.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

The postholder will have regular contact with vulnerable people and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• Head of Optometry (PDF, 504.6KB)
• Head of Optometry (PDF, 344.6KB)
• Head of Optometry Functional Requirements (PDF, 920.2KB)
• Candidate Essential Guide Non Medical (PDF, 731.5KB)