Ob Title:
Head of Clinical Operations – Complex Care & Supported Living (Republic of Ireland)
Reports to:
Director of Operations / Managing Director
Location:
Republic of Ireland (nationwide remit, regular travel required)
Contract:
Full-time, permanent
Salary:
[Insert range]
Role Purpose
The Head of Clinical Operations will provide strategic and operational leadership for complex care and supported living services across the Republic of Ireland.
The role is responsible for:
* Clinical governance and quality across all services
* Safe, effective care for adults with complex needs (e.g. acquired brain injury, spinal injury, complex physical health, learning disability, Autism, mental health) in community and supported living settings
* Ensuring full compliance with Irish regulatory and contractual requirements (including HIQA and HSE frameworks where applicable)
* Leading clinical teams and supporting managers to deliver consistently high standards of person-centred care
* Driving service development, innovation and measurable outcomes
You are the senior clinical lead for the Irish portfolio, shaping the clinical model, safeguarding standards, and outcomes framework.
Key Responsibilities
1. Clinical Leadership & Strategy
2. Provide clear clinical leadership and direction for all complex care and supported living services in the Republic of Ireland.
3. Develop and implement the clinical strategy in line with organisational objectives and national policy.
4. Shape and embed a robust, evidence-based clinical and therapeutic model of care for complex community support.
5. Lead the development of new clinical pathways, specialist programmes and service models in partnership with operations and business development.
6. Act as the senior point of escalation for complex clinical decision-making and high-risk cases.
7. Clinical Governance & Quality
8. Design, implement and oversee a comprehensive clinical governance framework for Irish services.
9. Ensure all services operate in line with HIQA standards, national clinical guidelines and professional codes of practice.
10. Lead regular governance meetings, reviewing incidents, safeguarding concerns, complaints, audits and clinical risks.
11. Oversee the development and monitoring of clinical KPIs, quality dashboards and outcome measures.
12. Commission and oversee clinical audits and quality improvement projects, ensuring learning is embedded in practice.
13. Prepare for and support regulatory inspections and external reviews, ensuring clear action plans and follow-through.
14. Service Oversight – Complex Care & Supported Living
15. Provide clinical oversight of supported living, outreach and home-based complex care packages across the region.
16. Work closely with Service/Registered Managers, Regional Managers and clinical leads to ensure safe, consistent care delivery.
17. Ensure robust assessment, care planning, risk management and review processes are in place for all individuals.
18. Support the safe mobilisation of new packages, transitions and step-downs from hospitals or other settings.
19. Monitor complex and high-risk cases, ensuring appropriate MDT involvement and escalation where necessary.
20. Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) & Professional Leadership
21. Provide professional leadership to nurses, therapists and other clinical staff across services.
22. Support the development and coordination of MDT input (e.g. nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology, behaviour specialists), ensuring integrated care.
23. Promote a culture of reflective practice, supervision and clinical discussion across teams.
24. Ensure clinical staff receive appropriate professional supervision, clinical support and continuing professional development.
25. Work with HR and Operations on workforce planning for clinical roles, including recruitment, retention and succession planning.
26. Safeguarding, Risk & Safety
27. Take a lead role in safeguarding adults within the service, ensuring robust policies, training and practice.
28. Oversee the management, investigation and learning from safeguarding concerns, serious incidents and complaints.
29. Ensure systems are in place for effective risk assessment, risk management and crisis planning for individuals with complex needs and behaviours that challenge.
30. Promote a culture of transparency, open reporting and just culture in relation to incidents, near-misses and concerns.
31. Ensure appropriate application of relevant legislation and best practice in the Irish context (e.g. capacity, consent, restrictive practices, rights-based approaches).
32. Stakeholder Management & External Relationships
33. Build and maintain effective relationships with key external stakeholders, including HSE, CHOs, hospitals, community teams, GPs, therapists, advocacy organisations and regulators.
34. Represent the organisation at clinical forums, case conferences, contract reviews, safeguarding meetings and other external events.
35. Contribute clinical expertise to tender processes, proposals and presentations to commissioners and partners.
36. Act as a credible, visible clinical leader and ambassador for the organisation in the Republic of Ireland.
37. Training, Development & Culture
38. Identify clinical training and competency needs across services and work with L&D to design and deliver appropriate programmes.
39. Ensure mandatory and specialist clinical training requirements are defined, tracked and achieved.
40. Lead initiatives to embed a positive, person-centred, rights-based and recovery-focused culture across services.
41. Promote innovation, evidence-based practice and continuous improvement in clinical care.
42. Performance, Data & Reporting
43. Use data and analytics (clinical outcomes, incidents, complaints, admissions, length of stay, utilisation) to inform decision-making and service improvement.
44. Provide regular reports to the senior leadership team and Board on clinical performance, risks and quality.
45. Set clear objectives and performance expectations for clinical leads and ensure they are monitored and reviewed.
46. Contribute to business planning, budgeting and strategic reviews from a clinical perspective.