Description

The Director of Occupational Therapy provides high level leadership, strategic direction and clinical expertise for a large Occupational Therapy team which provides services across multiple complex clinical services and practice domains (adult physical, paediatric and mental health) in alignment with the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service (SCHHS) and statewide strategic and national goals and initiatives.

The role is accountable for the delivery of Occupational Therapy Services across a major, complex tertiary service, including multiple services and facilities (Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Nambour Hospital, Gympie Hospital, Maleny Hospital and various community facilities) ensuring that all aspects of the services are coordinated, integrated and efficient. The position is responsible for high level operational management of Occupational Therapy services approx. 73 FTE within the Allied Health Service Delivery Model (AH-SDM) and provides expert professional leadership and oversight of Occupational Therapy throughout the SCHHS approx. 120 FTE. The role also provides operational and professional governance of Music Therapy and Recreation Officers. 

This position provides expert level clinical knowledge and skills in the coordinated planning, development, implementation and evaluation of Occupational Therapy Services. The position advocates strategically for Occupational Therapy services across SCHHS, and at a statewide level through high level leadership and participation in the statewide Directors of Occupational Therapy committee. 

 This position reports directly to the Executive Director of Allied Health.

• Provide high level strategic, professional and clinical leadership in a tertiary referral hospital, including multiple satellite hospitals and facilities and complex clinical services within Occupational Therapy, which would be recognised nationally or internationally. This includes accountability for:
• Leading the development, implementation and evaluation of a strategic workforce plan (including succession planning) for the Occupational Therapy Service in order to attract, develop and retain a high quality and stable workforce and the implementation of mitigating strategies for identified workforce risks
• Leading the development, implementation and evaluation of those aspects of allied health, SCHHS plans relevant to occupational therapy as well as portfolio projects managed on behalf of the allied health leadership team and SCHHS Executive
• Strategically lead the design, delivery and improvement of innovative and integrated models of care and contribute to the alignment, enhancement, and efficiency of Occupational Therapy models of care across the state.
• Responsible for managing a large cohort of Occupational Therapists, Music Therapists and Recreation Officers within a tertiary facility and multiple satellite hospitals / facilities and be fully accountable for the legislative, asset and financial management of Occupational Therapy cost centres across SCHHS.
• Lead the development of department budgets and manage expenditures and surpluses to optimise efficiency and ensure alignment of Occupational Therapy financial goals with the wider allied health, SCHHS and Queensland Health strategic financial objectives.
• Demonstrate an expert level of knowledge, skills and experience in the leadership and direction of clinical governance by promoting and supporting excellence and quality Occupational Therapy clinical practice standards and shaping service delivery through professional development, consultancy services, clinical education initiatives, clinical practice supervision, links with tertiary providers and quality initiatives including service improvement, evidence-based practice and research within a complex tertiary organisation with multiple facilities.
• Accountable for the engagement with government and non-government welfare stakeholders to support patient and consumer access to SCHHS services that are equitable, and person centred.
• Act as a source of expert Occupational Therapy strategic professional advice and advocacy on state-wide committees and other relevant state and/or national level committees on matters of high importance.
• Utilise high level change management, communication, negotiation, and conflict management skills to solve complex clinical and workflow problems in collaboration with internal and external agencies and stakeholders.
• Provide authoritative, informed and timely management and professional counsel, policy advice and processes to the Executive Director of Allied Health, facility and service directors and other Queensland Health senior officers on strategic Occupational Therapy, Music Therapy and Recreational Officer issues. 
• Membership and high-level contribution to relevant strategic level committees, including leading additional portfolios as directed by the Executive Director Allied Health.
• Build effective and collaborative professional relationships, partnerships and direct communication lines with interprofessional clinical and executive colleagues, internal and external health and community care providers, professional bodies, tertiary education providers and research partners and institutions across the SCHHS, State, nation and wider health service community.
• In collaboration with the allied health leadership team and the clinical programs, drive and lead a research culture within the Occupational Therapy Service to support individual clinician research capability and outputs, with a strong focus on identifying opportunities for interprofessional research collaborations and translation of research evidence to inform clinical practice and innovative service design and improvement.
• Actively participate in a working environment supporting quality human resource management practices including employment equity, anti-discrimination, workplace health and safety and ethical behaviour.
• Implement and monitor the organisation’s quality standards, occupational health and safety policies, procedures and programs and provide clinical governance in the relevant work area.
• Fulfil the responsibilities of this role in accordance with Queensland Public Service Values.
• This position requires you to adhere to National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards and Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service Safe Care Framework, which has been developed in collaboration with staff, consumers and key stakeholders to enable our vision of health and wellbeing through person-centred care.
• Fulfil the responsibilities of this role in accordance with Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service Values.
• Actively participate in a working environment supporting quality human resource management practices including employment equity, anti-discrimination, work health and safety and ethical behaviour.
• Follow defined service quality standards, work health and safety policies and procedures relating to the work being undertaken to ensure high quality, safe services and workplaces and manage all information in accordance with legislation, standards, policies, and procedures.
• Implement and monitor the organisation’s quality standards, work health and safety policies, procedures and programs and provide clinical governance in the relevant work area.

Mandatory requirements:

This position requires you to adhere to National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards and the SCHHS Safe Care Framework, which has been developed in collaboration with staff, consumers and key stakeholders to enable the SCHHS vision of Health and wellbeing through person-centred care and sets clear expectations of staff responsibilities regarding safe care. 

• Relevant post-graduate qualifications are highly desirable.
• This position may require you to work relevant roster e.g. call services, continuous shift rotations, weekend work etc as per departmental business requirements. 
• The position may involve travel to various facilities within the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service.
• Employees of Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service have an obligation under the Public Health Act 2005 s.151(1) to take reasonable precautions and care to minimise risk of infection to other persons.
• It is a condition of employment for this role for the employee to be, and remain, vaccinated against the following vaccine preventable diseases during their employment (Health Employment Directive No. 01/16):

       -measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)

        -varicella (chicken pox)

        -pertussis (whooping cough)

        -hepatitis B

• It is a condition of employment in this role for new employees to undertake a tuberculosis screening, to identify if the tuberculosis vaccination may be required in accordance with the Queensland Health Protocol.
• Staff that enter clinical areas (e.g. inpatient units, outpatient units, procedural suites) and/or undertake direct contact with patients or a patient’s environment or working in areas where there is an infection control risk (e.g. food handling areas) must be bare below the elbows at all times whilst in these areas. Failure to comply with this mandatory requirement may lead to disciplinary action.
• Registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and possession of a current annual licence certificate is mandatory. Certified copies of the required qualification must be provided to the appropriate supervisor/manager, prior to the commencement of clinical duties.
• Under the Public Sector Act 2022, applicants are required to disclose any previous serious disciplinary action taken against them.
• This position may require the incumbent to operate a government vehicle and an appropriate licence endorsement to operate this type of vehicle is required (Queensland ‘C’ class licence). Proof of this endorsement must be provided before commencement of duty.

Requirements

You will be assessed on your ability to demonstrate the following key requirements, knowledge and experience. Within the context of the responsibilities described above under ‘Your responsibilities’, the ideal applicant will be someone who can demonstrate the following:

• Demonstrated expert level Occupational Therapy clinical knowledge, expertise and skills applicable to contemporary tertiary health environments.
• Demonstrated ability to provide high level strategic, professional and clinical leadership in a tertiary referral hospital, including multiple satellite hospitals and facilities and complex clinical services within Occupational Therapy, which would be recognised nationally or internationally.
• Demonstrated ability to provide operational management of a large Occupational Therapy Service within a complex health service environment and successfully manage budget, assets, activity and performance of staff and services across the Occupational Therapy Service.
• Demonstrated ability to provide expert level strategic advice, direction and authoritative counsel to stakeholders regarding Occupational Therapy clinical services in complex health environments and to contribute to solving large-scale clinical service or work-flow problems through recognised expertise and initiation of high-level service improvements.
• Demonstrated ability to provide high level leadership in professional clinical practice, education and research and provide guidance to clinicians.
• Demonstrated high level leadership and expertise regarding service redesign and change management, including personal qualities that are consistent with the Queensland Health values.