Job Advert
Head of Quality and Care
Are you an experienced Nurse or Allied Health Professional looking for a new opportunity?
Do you have experience of working in a fast-paced environment within a large organisation?
Are you passionate about engaging with others and working as part of a team to achieve shared goals?
Who We Are
As NHS Scotland's unique provider of a national tele-health and tele-care service, we are responsible for the delivery of health advice and information by telephone and online services to the population of Scotland 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. NHS 24 is a patient-focused service providing the people of Scotland with triage, advice, guidance, referral and information on health and healthcare services.
We have five regional centres – Aberdeen, Dundee, South Queensferry, Cardonald and Clydebank. NHS 24 supports hybrid working, and this post can be based within any NHS 24 regional centres. The successful candidate must be within commuting distance to a regional centre to attend if required and must also be able to travel to other regional centres when requested to attend meetings, undertake training and any other activities.
The Role
The post holder will lead and support services to work within a quality management framework, promoting a culture of quality performance, assurance, and improvement across NHS 24.
As well as this they will be responsible for strategic direction and operational management of the Clinical Governance, Quality Improvement & Evaluation and Patient Experience teams promoting an innovative approach to reducing harm and improving outcomes for patients within all healthcare settings. Ensuring we listen to those who experience and deliver our care and influence and affect change at executive, senior management clinical and service levels across the organisation ensuring that national and local requirements are delivered timeously and to the highest agreed quality standard. The post holder will support the whole system in the creation of a culture of continuous improvement in the safety and quality of care.
Key Responsibilities
- Ensure appropriate policies, procedures, processes and systems are in place for the management of clinical risks facing the organisation.
- Develop, implement and evaluate a robust framework for Clinical Governance, ensuring that there are effective systems in place to meet Scottish Government Health Directorates, Healthcare Improvement Scotland standards for Clinical Governance and Risk Management, Professional regulatory bodies, legal and corporate governance requirements, working in partnership with internal services and external bodies to influence, develop and deliver continuous risk reduction, patient safety and quality improvement measures. Provide expert Clinical governance and Healthcare Quality advice and expertise to senior clinicians/managers and other relevant stakeholders.
- Provide expert knowledge/advice on matters relating to clinical governance, risk and incident related claims within the Board, ensuring that these issues remain a priority for Directors and Senior Managers. Ensuring that best practice and areas of concern are reported systematically into the annual service, business and financial planning cycle. Ensure the Board complies with relevant legislation and accreditation requirements within the areas of accountability related to Clinical Governance & Healthcare Quality and Information Governance.
- Contribute to the development of NHS Scotland Clinical Governance, Quality Improvement and Patient Safety statutory and mandatory standards and advise the Executive Team regarding necessary actions to implement compliance or change in practice.
- Take an active role in the development of sector/national wide policies and strategies through regular liaison with senior staff both internally and externally and through involvement with Senior Clinical Governance professionals in other Boards and NHS HIS
Successful Applicant will:
- Be a Registered Nurse or Allied Health Professional with current valid registration and with experience of working within the NHS.
- Be educated to SCQF level 11 or equivalent experience
- Have evidence of advanced knowledge, expertise and experience in the field of professional nursing or other allied health profession, together with a broad knowledge of practice.
- Evidence significant breadth and depth of clinical and managerial experience in multi-disciplinary services is essential, together with a sound grasp of the Scottish policy context.
- Understand the principles and practice and the legal frameworks relating to risk management, investigations and mitigation in the context of governance and complaints within the NHS
- Have experience of planning/delivering service change through multidisciplinary team working.
Benefits
NHS 24 offers a complete benefits package, with a permanent contract on Band 8b with a salary ranging from £74,003 to £79,164 Per Annum (pro rata if applicable). Placement on salary scale is dependent on confirmation of previous relevant NHS service.
We also offer you many supportive policies to enhance your employee journey and have a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme Provider, Cycle to Work Scheme, bursary scheme and a range of learning and development. As an NHS Scotland employee you will be entitled to:
- 35 days annual leave (rising to 41) pro-rata
- Development opportunities including study bursaries, e-learning and classroom-based courses
- Enhanced pay for working public holidays
- Enrolment into the Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) pension scheme
- NHS discounts on goods and services
- HELP, employee support and assistance
This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated and experienced individual who is looking for a challenging and rewarding role that will contribute to the success of a public organisation.
Interested?
Dawn Orr, Associate Director of Nursing and Care welcomes informal enquiries. Please email: ann.campbell@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk
Please download the Job Pack and Person Specification for full details of NHS 24 and this opportunity as well as the Candidate Application Guide which will support you in your application.
We recommend that prior to application candidates read all the information provided in the Job Pack as it contains much of the information about NHS 24 and this vacancy to support a successful application.
Important update regarding working hours at NHS Scotland. Effective from 1 April 2026, the full-time working week will be reduced from 37 to 36 hours, while annual salaries will remain unchanged. For part-time staff, this reduction will be applied on a pro-rata basis for those employed on the 31 March 2026. Please note, this change will be reflected in any job advertisements, offers, or contracts of employment issued, as it constitutes a required contractual modification concerning working hours.
Our mission at NHS 24 is to create a workplace where everyone feels welcome, valued and part of the team. As an organisation that promotes inclusion, we celebrate difference, and we encourage everyone who joins us to be themselves at work.
We are progressing an Anti-Racism Action Plan, which builds on our existing equalities work, and this will help us to measure our progress towards becoming an anti-racist organisation.
NHS 24 is an equal opportunities employer committed to advancing equality and particularly welcomes applications from groups of people currently underrepresented within the workforce. We are a committed participant in the Disability Confident Leader Scheme and guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum essential criteria for our vacancies.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.
As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visas as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.
Please note that NHS 24 is NOT licensed to issue certificates of sponsorship under current UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regulations. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship to work with us.
It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you already have an appropriate right to work in the UK BEFORE submitting your application form.