Nutritionist - Staffordshire

Full /Part Time Role. (40 hours per week/Pro rata). Competitive Salary

An exciting opportunity is available for an enthusiastic, dynamic, and motivated Nutritionist with experience and a special interest in weight management and health promotion. This role will contribute to the development, provision, and coordination of the Adult Weight Management programme within the Healthy Communities Integrated Lifestyle Service for adults aged 18 and over and delivered across the county of Staffordshire.

We support all areas of Staffordshire including Tamworth and Lichfield, Newcastle and North Staffordshire, Stafford, Cannock, Burton, South Staffordshire, and surrounding areas. The successful candidate may be based in Newcastle or Stafford but will need to be open to travel and supporting teams across the area as required.

This community-based, multi component service brings together a range of different programmes under one Healthy Communities Service, centred on supporting residents to lead healthier lives. The service offers a personalised care package for adults only, with a focus on those who need support to lose and maintain a healthy weight, and via face to face or digital offerings.

You will be responsible for providing high quality patient-centred care and working within a multi-disciplinary specialist team. Providing expert nutrition advice, underpinned by a sound knowledge of the principles of behaviour change, you will support adults across Staffordshire, to make and maintain health related behaviour changes.

The successful candidate will be:

Passionate about providing high quality care and support.
Able to deliver high standard nutritional care and advice within community-based weight management services.
Delivering one to one and group interventions, for patients who are obese, who may also have co-morbidities / complex needs.
Ideally have experience of delivering specialist care and treatment in health and community settings with a minimum 2 years’ experience.
Working as part of a multidisciplinary team and have current registration with the Association of Nutritionists or BDA

Is this role for you?

Please email your CV and supporting statement to [email protected]

MAIN PURPOSE

As a nutritionist in our service,you will teach and inform our service users about diet and nutrition, aiming to promote good health and prevent disease in individuals and communities across Staffordshire. Specifically, you will, in line with NICE guidance, be responsible and accountable for the delivery of high quality, evidence-based nutrition advice for adults seeking weight loss interventions or suffering from malnutrition in one to one and group settings.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

The Nutritionist will:

Provide comprehensive assessment of nutritional needs and patient lifestyle to develop care plans to address nutritional issues.
Evaluate nutritional needs and on-going support to patients in line with NICE guidance in a group and 1-2-1 settings, face to face and/or digitally, and implementing skills and knowledge of behaviour change theories.
Support the nutritional development, delivery, evaluation, and quality assurance of the integrated service and provide key nutritional expertise to the multidisciplinary team and other colleagues within the service, ensuring excellent service delivery.
Facilitate and empower patients to change behaviour and adopt positive lifestyle changes by providing health education and high-quality nutritional counselling regarding healthy eating, helping patients to address barriers to change.
To attend multi professional meetings to provide nutrition input regarding management for patients/clients including discharge planning and on-going management whilst respecting professional roles to ensure a supportive and proactive multi-disciplinary team.
Support community engagement, undertake networking publicity and promotional activity to raise the profile of the service and to identify and engage with target populations.
Accountable for ensuring programme delivery is monitored using validated tools to collect and analyse patient performance outcome measures and evaluation, to ensure that the contractual KPI’s are achieved, and an excellent service is demonstrated; critical and rigorous implementation of all validated anthropometric measures at key milestones across the services, in line with the Standard Evaluation Framework, ensuring excellent recording, monitoring, and reporting on patient outcomes.
Be responsible for ensuring rigorous and regular data inputting to ensure accurate records are maintained in accordance with EH procedures, to ensure compliance with Information Governance and Data Protection in relation to patient information.
Keep accurate records and written reports, ensuring patient personal information is recorded in accordance with Everyone Health’s and Local Authority policies; Caldicott Guardian, Information Governance, Data Protection and Data Sharing compliance.
Assist the development of continual service improvement and client/patient-centred services in accordance with participant feedback, NICE guidance, national and local recommendations, professional competences and SLM policies and procedures, ensuring the service is delivered in line with CQC and HSCIC’s regulations.
Be compliant with all relevant policies, procedures, and guidelines; including the appropriate code(s) of conduct associated with this post; maintain awareness of safeguarding issues, report and acting on concerns in accordance with Everyone Health and Local Authority policies and procedures.
Ensure the safety of all patients by undertaking: risk assessments, health and safety checks, equipment checks etc., as directed by the Service Manager and Clinical Lead. Respond to any relevant clinical / colleague issues / incidences to manage a mitigate risk and maintain best practice.
Be responsible and accountable for achievement of relevant contractual targets including referrals, uptake, completion percentage targets and effective outcome measures, through delivery of high standard nutritional care.
Actively participate in community engagement to ensure services are delivered efficiently and effectively, targeting priority groups to ensure the successful recruitment and retention of patients within the service.
Take responsibility for own CPD and synthesise new knowledge into the development of your own practice, participate in training and continual professional development as required; recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by professional body.
Ensure that commitment to equality and diversity is reflected at all stages of project planning, delivery, and evaluation, in line with agreed service standards.
Support in administrative duties related to your patients, for example letters to referrers, follow up phone calls, motivational text messages as required.
Be an ambassador for Everyone Health, promoting the Healthy Communities Lifestyle Service to members of the public and other stakeholders/ partners, where appropriate.
The post holder is expected to work within the requirements of the 6 C’s – Care, Compassion, Competence, Communication, Courage and Commitment.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

1. SKILLS & ABILITIES

Ability to direct and co-ordinate programmes of care working autonomously and collaboratively.
Ability to produce detailed, accurate, patient nutrition care plans.
Ability to translate complex nutritional information into a format that is appropriate and understandable for patients to support compliance with healthy eating intervention and advice.
A commitment to continuous service improvement with expert insight into patients’ needs, so that all patients receive high quality care.
Passionate about putting patients first and delivering a high-quality service, emotionally sensitive and empathetic to members of the public who wish to improve their health.
Proven ability to relate, motivate and confidently engage individuals in activities and discussion as part of a group and in a 1:1 situation.
Ability to work independently and manage own workload; able to work effectively and supportively as a multi-disciplinary team member.
Sound interpersonal skills with proven ability to work effectively with all levels of colleagues, including effective partnerships with other agencies and service providers.
Evidence of experience in embracing and implementing change to provide high quality health outcomes.
Excellent written, verbal, non-verbal communication, and presentation skills.
Computer literate – ability to maintain and monitor information systems in line with the national minimum dataset and adapt to reflect local needs.
Able to take specific deliverables and use appropriate policies, principles, and guidelines to ensure successful delivery.
Friendly, supportive, and encouraging to people in difficult (sometimes frustrating) situations.
Organised, flexible and adaptable approach to working.
Confident and competent at monitoring, managing, and reporting own screening equipment needs.
Value and respectful of other people – regardless of background or circumstances.
Able to respect confidentiality.
Good empathy skills.

2. KNOWLEDGE

Sound knowledge of the complex care of the obese and morbidly obese patient.
Knowledge of specific nutrition requirements for delivering specialist health improvement programmes for adults over 18 years of age.
Knowledge of stigma associated with obesity and effects on social and emotional well-being.
Knowledge of weight management, nutrition and physical activity in relation to health improvement.
Knowledge of psychological and behaviour change theoretical techniques in relation to supporting people to make positive lifestyle changes.
Knowledge of NICE guidance relating to the treatment of obesity.
Knowledge and understanding of the Patient Confidentiality Act and the Data Protection Act.
Sound knowledge of clinical governance.
Sound knowledge of application of behavioural change theoretical principles, to facilitate, motivate and empower individuals / local communities to make substantive and sustainable behaviour change.

3. EXPERIENCE

Minimum of 2 years’ experience working with adults within the community across a range of service settings, including community, primary care and in patient settings.
Experience of working with adults over 18 years of age in a 1-2-1 and group environment, to support positive lifestyle change.
Experience of delivering high quality patient nutritional support through 1-2-1 and group settings.
Experience of devising and leading treatment programmes.
Experience of working with patients of different cultures, genders and ages in targeted communities, in particular older people.
Experience of working to time schedules.
Evidence of experience in embracing and implementing change to provide high quality health outcomes.
Experience of working to challenging performance targets and achieving excellent outcomes.
Delivering health services, health promotion and/or health awareness within the local community at events and within local community venues.
Experience supporting clients with referrals to other support services.
Experience of developing effective relationships with key stakeholders.
Experience in working at events.
Experience in working in community and/or GP settings.

4. QUALIFICATIONS

Relevant degree/postgraduate degree in nutrition, or a minimum of 2 years’ experience in this field
Member of the Association for Nutrition (AfN) or BDA

5. SPECIAL CONDITIONS

Full UK Driving license with access to a car with business travel insurance for work.
Working in a variety of settings including the community, youth, and community centres.
Some evening and weekend work.
This post involves working with vulnerable adults and as such the post holder will be required to apply for a disclosure of criminal records at an enhanced level (DBS).