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Regional Clinical Lead (Midlands)

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  • Location: Remote working from home with domiciliary visits in the south east
  • Contract type: Permanent 0.5-0.7 FTE (initially)

Job overview

Cognivate is an independent interdisciplinary team which provides specialist neurorehabilitation to adults with acquired brain injury [ABI].  For each client we bring together the relevant combination of neuropsychology [NP], occupational therapy [OT], physiotherapy [PT], and speech and language therapy [SLT] to enhance their independence, participation, and quality of life by working with them in their homes and community settings, places of work/education, and online.  

We are seeking an experienced clinician with expertise in the provision of community-based neurorehabilitation to head up a new branch of our independent interdisciplinary service in the Midlands. 

Whether you are by professional background a neuropsychologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist, or speech and language therapist, this is an exciting and well-supported opportunity to bring your clinical and leadership skills to developing and directing an interdisciplinary team which provides gold standard rehabilitation to our clients.  

Cognivate Midlands will work closely with our established team in the South-East, drawing on their expertise, our outstanding board of advisors, and a responsive operational infrastructure. You’ll receive professional supervision and funded CPD opportunities to help you thrive, including conference attendance and relevant training. 

Your success in growing the team’s provision will be reflected in a competitive remuneration package which is commensurate with your experience.  As the caseload grows there will be the potential to increase your FTE should you wish to do so, though this is by no means a requirement.

Overview of the Service and Clinical Framework

Cognivate is a specialist interdisciplinary team [IDT] which provides community-based rehabilitation to adults with ABI.  Established in January 2021 by Professor Jane Powell (our CEO and neuropsychologist) and two co-founders, we are a private independent provider.

Our Clinical Director, Dr Anita Rose, is a highly experienced clinical neuropsychologist.  She oversees and provides clinical line management to all the other Lead Therapists (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy). We have a growing network of associate therapists in each of the four disciplines; these are independent practitioners who we commission on a client-by-client basis to work alongside, and guided by, our core team members.  They are fully embedded within our systems and processes, and our Lead Therapists ensure that they have the clinical supervision and guidance they need in order to ensure the overall excellence of our provision. 

Our Chief Operating Officer, Lydia Storr-Meddings, runs all of our administrative and logistical operations with support from a full-time administrative assistant.  These include liaising with all therapists, and especially Lead Therapists, to pull together appropriate interdisciplinary teams for each client; providing the scaffolding/administrative organisation for reports, quotes, meetings, etc; keeping the team informed of business needs, priorities, and data; co-leading and supporting the team with strategic developments; and facilitating a strong team culture, with regular social as well as professional events.  She line manages all members of the team from a business perspective, working in close liaison with Anita to ensure that clinical and business management are aligned.

Jane, Anita and Lydia constitute Cognivate’s Executive Team, and report into our Board of Directors [BoD] (which has four members, of whom Jane is one).  The BoD is responsible for ensuring Cognivate’s probity, overseeing our financial operations, and advising on/approving major financial and strategic decisions. 

BACKGROUND

Cognivate South-East was founded by our CEO (Prof Jane Powell, Clinical Neuropsychologist) in 2021 with the vision of bringing into the independent sector the gold standard interdisciplinary provision which has been developed within the NHS.  Until then, most privately funded rehabilitation was undertaken by separate freelance therapists, with little systematic communication or co-ordination.

The majority of Cognivate’s rehabilitation programmes are funded in the medicolegal context under the Rehabilitation Code, which means that they are often very well-resourced and facilitated by case managers [CMs].  Over the last five years, we have forged strong relationships with several large CM companies, as well as individual CMs, who are impressed with our joined-up approach to their clients’ rehabilitation and refer to us regularly.  As a result we are often asked whether we can work with other clients whose homes are in the Midlands, particularly those who would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach. 

We are now in a position to respond to this demand by recruiting a new team of therapists who live anywhere in the Midlands, are enthused by the prospect of working as a team in clients’ own homes and local communities, and are able to travel in order to do so.  As here in the south, some therapists will be directly employed as core team members and others will be independent associates who become part of bespoke teams for individual clients – all embedded in a shared client-centred and goal-focused rehabilitation programme which is shaped by high levels of communication.

As the service is domiciliary, there is no office base.  All staff will work from their own homes, with travel time to see clients fully included in their employment hours.  Clinical meetings will typically be undertaken remotely, but we will provide resources to enable additional regular face-to-face get-togethers for team bonding, service development, and social events. 

THE REGIONAL CLINICAL LEAD (MIDLANDS) APPOINTMENT

he Regional Clinical Lead (Midlands) will be our first employed role, and will work collaboratively with our senior team in the south to appoint other staff (core and associate), develop relationships with case managers who operate in the region, and promote the new service.  This will entail attending networking events and conferences, and speaking directly with potential commissioners (CMs, lawyers, other health professionals).   

As and when therapists join the team, you will be responsible for establishing a friendly and supportive working environment, for developing effective communication systems, for managing staff, and for overseeing the team’s overall caseload to ensure that all provision is high quality.  There will be funding and resources to facilitate in-service training and CPD for the team and individual staff.  You will yourself carry a modest caseload, balanced with your managerial responsibilities, and will have access to professional supervision.

We will provide any training and ongoing guidance you need in relation to the medicolegal context of Cognivate’s rehabilitation programmes.  Please note that neither you nor any of the therapists on the team is ever expected to provide expert witness reports, though this is now a possibility for neuropsychologists who may be interested in doing so. 

You will not be expected to shoulder these responsibilities single-handedly!  Our Clinical Director (Dr Anita Rose, consultant neuropsychologist) and our Chief Operating Officer (Lydia Storr-Meddings) will be on hand to provide guidance, advice, and practical support in all aspects of the role.  We anticipate also appointing an Ops assistant who, jointly directed by Lydia and yourself, will undertake much of the underpinning logistical work (organising appointments, dealing with enquiries, supporting preparation of reports, generating quotes, billing, etc).  Likewise, our existing Lead Therapists in each discipline will be available to provide clinical supervision and guidance to their counterparts in the new team, as and when required. 

There will also be opportunities and encouragement to participate in research projects, to develop the team’s approaches to clinical evaluation and outcome assessment, and to build collaborative professional networks.  

RESPONSIBILITIES

Reporting to and working closely with Dr Anita Rose (Clinical Director) and Lydia Storr-Meddings (Chief Operations Officer), your responsibilities will include the following:

PHASE 1 – Team development (likely first 3-6 months)

  • Familiarisation with Cognivate systems and processes, and shaping or modifying these as appropriate to local circumstances;
  • Active involvement in recruitment and appointment of core and associate therapists (e.g. promoting the roles, sifting applications, chairing interviews);
  • Identifying and participating in a range of activities to promote Cognivate services, including through presentations, meetings with CMs, conference attendance, and generation of written marketing/website material; 
  • Taking on a modest amount of clinical work should there be appropriate referrals in your discipline.

PHASE 2 – Team up and running (overlaps with Phase 1)

Strategic and managerial

  • Overall management of the clinical team, ensuring a clear and consistent approach to case formulations, treatment planning and implementation, integrated reports, clinical governance, and risk management;  
  • Chairing fortnightly whole team clinical meetings [online], monitoring all ongoing rehabilitation programmes and workloads;
  • Chairing in-person Service Development meetings (at a local venue) on approximately a 6-weekly basis;
  • In liaison with the COO and Ops assistant, managing liaison with referrers and funders; 
  • Embedding, orchestrating, and monitoring the application of clinical quality assurance systems and processes.

Clinical

  • Carrying a modest clinical caseload, with hands-on involvement in a range of interdisciplinary rehabilitation programmes undertaken in clients’ homes or other community settings and/or remotely;
  • Management and clinical supervision of core and associate therapists in your discipline;
  • Undertaking and participating in training with team members and other professionals.

PERSON SPECIFICATIONS

  • You must be an HCPC-registered therapist with extensive experience of practice in community-based neurorehabilitation, and working within interdisciplinary teams.   
  • You will have strong leadership and management skills, evidenced through previous roles in successfully delivering services or projects.
  • You will have excellent oral and written communication skills, with the ability to tailor presentations and reports to the needs of different audiences.
  • You will have experience of providing clinical supervision and/or consultancy to other therapists and/or trainees.
  • Some experience of working in a private/medicolegal context would be an asset, but training and support with this will be provided.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The appointment may be on a fractional or full-time basis (minimum 0.5 fte).  We offer a competitive salary and benefits package.

Further information and the application process

If you would like to have an informal chat or have queries about any aspect of the position or our service, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Lydia Storr-Meddings (lydia.storrmeddings@cognitivaterehab.com).

The deadline for applications is Monday, January 9th, with interviews to be held in the latter half of January.

Your application should comprise your CV together with a short covering letter (1-2 pages) summarising key aspects of your experience and interest in the position.