Clinical and Research Lead (Band 7 Equivalent)

Purpose of the Role

The Clinical & Research Lead role provides senior clinical leadership across Together for Short Lives’ most complex and high-profile programmes. The role leads the design and delivery of national clinical initiatives, strengthens clinical governance and safeguarding oversight, and builds the organisation’s research and evidence capability.

Working closely with the Head of Services & Impact, the postholder ensures programmes are credible, evidence-informed and deliver measurable impact for children, families and the wider sector. The role will lead work that strengthens professional practice, improves outcomes for families, and supports national sector development. The role involves significant external representation, national stakeholder engagement, programme planning, research and data oversight, and leadership of internal and external events.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

·       Represent Together for Short Lives in national clinical, policy and professional forums, contributing to the organisation’s credibility and influence across the children’s palliative care sector.

·       Lead the planning, coordination and delivery of internally hosted stakeholder meetings, including the Leaders of Care Forum and other professional engagement events.

·       Provide professional and reflective input into complex organisational decisions relating to clinical practice, programme design and ethical engagement.

·       Build strong relationships with practitioners across health, social care, education and voluntary-sector partners to support implementation of clinical programmes and foster collaboration.

·       Engage with Integrated Care Boards, Strategic Clinical Networks, and children’s palliative care providers to ensure our work aligns with national priorities and regional needs.

Programme Leadership & Project Oversight

·       Provide senior leadership for the planning, development and delivery of clinical and service-improvement projects, ensuring alignment with organisational strategy.

·       Oversee the development of project briefs, initiation documents, outcome measures, risk registers, evaluation plans and implementation timelines.

·       Hold responsibility for monitoring progress, quality assurance, and risk management, escalating concerns to the Head of Services & Impact as required.

·       Coordinate cross-functional project teams and ensure effective collaboration with external organisations, hospices, NHS partners and charitable funders.

·       Ensure projects are delivered within agreed scope, timelines and budgets.

·       Support the development of robust programme models, theories of change and outcomes frameworks that strengthen the organisation’s ability to secure external funding.

·       Contribute to the development of cases for support and programme proposals in collaboration with fundraising colleagues.

Research, Evidence & Insight

• Lead the organisation’s research prioritisation programme and support development of a national children’s palliative care research agenda.
• Build and maintain relationships with academic partners, research institutions and clinical leaders to strengthen the evidence base for children’s palliative care.
• Support development of evaluation frameworks that demonstrate impact, learning and outcomes across programmes.
• Contribute to the organisation’s longer-term ambition to develop a ‘Centre of Impact’, positioning Together for Short Lives as a national authority on evidence and insight in children’s palliative care.
• Ensure research and evaluation activity is ethically robust, appropriately governed and aligned with sector priorities.

Data, Impact & Reporting

·       Provide oversight and leadership for data collection, monitoring and reporting processes across the Services & Impact portfolio.

·       Line manage the Data & Impact Officer, ensuring robust reporting systems, high-quality data, and meaningful evaluation of programmes.

·       Ensure outputs are translated into insights that demonstrate effectiveness, equity, reach and learning - supporting fundraising, influencing and strategic decision-making.

·       Support development of improved feedback mechanisms from families and professionals to evidence the impact of support offers and clinical programmes.

Professional Support, Education & Sector Development

·       Contribute to the development and dissemination of clinical resources, guidance, toolkits and training for professionals working with children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.

·       Support national programmes of work, including definitions of children’s palliative care, categories of need, standards, workforce development and professional education.

·       Facilitate knowledge exchange and best-practice sharing across the sector through networks, events, workshops and targeted professional engagement.

·       Deliver presentations, training sessions and clinical briefings to a wide range of audiences.

Family and Service Engagement

·       Work with colleagues across the Services & Impact team and external partners to ensure projects reflect the lived experiences and priorities of children and families.

·       Support co-production activities and ensure family voice is meaningfully incorporated into project design and evaluation.

·       Promote and signpost to the Family Support Hub and relevant offers, ensuring clear and consistent messaging about available support.

Governance, Quality & Reporting

·       Provide additional clinical oversight and challenge across the organisation’s work relating to safeguarding, ethical engagement and complex family situations.

·       Contribute to strengthening organisational clinical governance processes and risk management.

·       Provide expert advice to colleagues on safeguarding, ethical engagement with families, and complex clinical issues arising from programme work. Contribute to internal reporting cycles, board updates, quarterly programme reviews and funder reports.

·       Maintain accurate project documentation, data dashboards and risk logs.

·       Provide expert advice to colleagues and stakeholders on clinical considerations and best practice in children’s palliative care.

General Responsibilities

·       Provide effective line management, supervision and support to allocated staff.

·       Attend team meetings, leadership meetings and organisational events as required.

·       Commit to continuous professional development and reflective practice.

·       Undertake other duties relevant to the role as required by the Head of Services & Impact.