Information Booklet for Applicants for Position Of

St. Michael’s House HR Department

ST. MICHAEL’S HOUSE

INFORMATION BOOKLET FOR APPLICANTS FOR POSITION OF:

DIRECTOR OF NURSING

Closing Date: Friday 4th July 2014 at 5.00 p.m.

St. Michael’s House is committed to a policy of equal opportunity

Completed Postal Applications to be sent to: Ms. Rose Rafferty, Human Resources Manager, Human Resources Department, St. Michael’s House, Ballymun Road, Dublin 9.

Or by email to: [email protected]

Informal Enquiries to: Mr. John Birthistle, Regional Director. Tel: (01) 8770500

Contents:

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Page No.

Profile of St. Michael’s House 3

Profile of Nursing 4

Principal Duties and Responsibilities 4

Role Summary 4

Key Responsibilities of the Role 5

Eligibility Criteria and Skills 8

Competencies essential for the post of Director of Nursing 8

Character 9

Age Restrictions in Relation to Application 9

Health 9

Particulars of Office 9

The Selection Process 10

Additional Information 12

Competency Based Information 13

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Director of Nursing St. Michael’s House

Reports to: Regional Director

Tenure: Permanent Contract

Remuneration: Director of Nursing Band 1

St. Michael’s House Profile: St. Michael's House is a leading organisation in the field of intellectual disability in Ireland and has a turnover of €80m. It is the ninth largest health funded agency in Ireland. St. Michael's House provides services to 1671 children and adults with an intellectual disability, including 460 residential places in 79 residential units.

St. Michael’s House employs 1410 staff in over 170 locations throughout Dublin city and county, reflecting the mission of the organisation to provide community based services. St. Michael's House has a geographically based diverse structure, which delivers the following services:  Early Services.  Education Services.  Vocational Services.  Employment Services.  Residential Services.  Respite Services.  Specialist Alzheimer’s Services.  Social Supporting and Recreational Services.  Clinical and Counselling Services.

Administration support is delivered through a Shared Services model and includes HR, Finance, IT, Technical Services/Property Development, Communications, Fundraising, Transport, Health and Safety, Training and Development and Research.

St. Michael’s House is committed to offering services and supports that:  Reflect the individual needs and choices of service users.  Supports individuals to develop meaningful relationships, to make a valued contribution and become active members of their community.  Empower people to make choices about where they work, live and socialise.  Advocate for the improvement and development of services.  Are cost-effective and accountable to service users, families and funding authorities.

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Profile of Nursing: The nursing profession is the largest professional grouping in St. Michael’s House with 263 staff/232 WTE as at April 2014 Census.

We are now seeking applications for the position of Director of Nursing: This is a critical post urgently required to fundamentally reconfigure and restructure the nursing function within St. Michael’s House to ensure delivery of professional standards, increased flexibility and greater efficiencies, thereby ensuring the achievement of workforce targets, while maintaining excellent quality of care.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities: The overall objective of this role is to reconfigure and restructure the nursing function and provide a clear strategy and vision of the nursing function and role within St. Michael’s House. Key Performance Indicators for this role will focus on the following areas: Leadership and Accountability, Service Development and Delivery and providing support and advice for management regarding Risk and Quality.

Role Summary: The Director of Nursing will be responsible for providing expert support and advice to the organisation and to nurses regarding nursing related issues. They will maintain regular contact with nurses in all parts of the organisation and support them in developing and implementing professional career development plans. The Director of Nursing will, with the assistance of other nurses, develop appropriate nursing policies and practices as required by St. Michael's House. They will have overall responsibility for development and implementation of clinical governance systems for all nurses in the organisation. The Director of Nursing will be an advocate for nursing and nurses within a changing and evolving organisation.

The Director of Nursing will be responsible for the identification and implementation of nursing roles required to improve services to people with intellectual disability, such as Advanced Nurse Practitioner and related roles.

To provide expert support and advice to the organisation and to nurses regarding nursing related issues. They will maintain regular contact with nurses in all parts of the organisation and support them in developing and implementing personal career development plans.

The ideal candidate will have the following key attributes:  A clear vision for the role of nurses in a service committed to supporting people with intellectual disability to live in their communities and achieve their personal goals.  Senior leadership experience and proven managerial ability in a diverse Intellectual Disability service.  Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.  Ability to work in partnership with voluntary and statutory agencies.  Excellent knowledge of national and regulatory standards and regard to Best Practice.  Ability to work with clinical colleagues from a range of disciplines in the implementation of integrated clinical governance systems.

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KEY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ROLE:

Leadership and Accountability:  To ensure full compliance with HIQA standards and the provisions of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 and An Bord Altranais.  To support the implementation of A Strategic Framework for Reform of the Health Service 2012- 2015 and St. Michael’s House Strategic Plan.  To support the implementation of Value for Money report blueprint for assessing need, allocating and monitoring effective use of resources.  To support the implementation of National legislation particular to the field of Intellectual Disability such as New Directions.  To provide clinical leadership and develop a clear strategy and vision for the nursing function and role within St. Michael’s House, which results in the delivery of effective, efficient, quality assured and client centred nursing care.  To provide expert advice to St. Michael’s House in order that best nursing practice is promoted and developed.  To develop, maintain and review the nursing organisational structure within the context of the overall nursing objectives.  To be responsible for the implementation of Advanced Nurse Practitioner and related roles in providing services to people with intellectual disability.  To develop a shared sense of commitment and participation among staff in the management of change, the development of nursing services and in responding to the changing health needs of Service Users.  To encourage and require nurses to extend their clinical roles and undertake advanced clinical duties.  To maintain regular contact with nurses in all parts of the organisation and support them in developing and implementing personal career development plans.  The Director of Nursing will, with the assistance of other nurses, develop appropriate nursing policies and practices as required by St. Michael's House. The Director of Nursing will be an advocate for nursing and nurses within a changing and evolving organisation.

Promoting Clinical Governance:  Build strong partnerships with line management at all levels of the organisation to ensure the effective implementation of all Nursing Clinical Governance Systems.  Provide a leading role in the development and implementation of nursing policy and of nursing standards.  Promote a culture of continuous improvement in clinic practice and service provision across the nursing group.  Promote internal research related to nursing and intellectual disability services, while collaborating with external bodies conducting research in these same areas.  Develop and implement programmes and systems for the professional supervision of CNM3’s, CNM2’s and CMN1’s, Clinical Nurse Specialists.  In conjunction with CNM3’s and CNM2’s, develop and implement, a process/framework for the professional supervision and development of all CNM1’s and Staff Nurses.

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 Develop and implement systems for the identification and management of clinical risk.  To ensure the active participation of nurses in effective multidisciplinary team work.  To promote the development of clinical audit as part of the cycle of continuous improvement.  To ensure nursing policy is appropriately aligned and integrated with organisational and clinical policies.

Training and Education:  Develop and implement a programme for the continuous professional development of CNM3’s and CNM2’s.  In conjunction with CNM3’s and CNM2’s, develop and implement a process/framework of continuous professional development.  Cultivate initiatives/programmes, which help to develop and expand individual practice skills.  Establish links with colleges, universities and other educational institutions to help maximise the opportunities for access to further education and development.  Develop links with all relevant third level institutions.  Put systems in place to help capture and disseminate learning throughout the nursing group.  Proactively address the development of a “bridge programme” for all non- RNID qualified nurses in SMH to acquire an RNID qualification.  Develop and implement a framework to support newly appointed nurses in their role in St. Michael’s House.  Develop and implement a structured programme to support student nurses working on placement in SMH services.  Develop effective links with the Directors of Nursing in the HSE and Department of Health and Children.

Promotes professional development among the nursing grades:  Develop and improve individual nursing skills and expertise relevant to the needs of the population of service users of St. Michael’s House.  Develop required nursing skills and expertise in areas relevant to the needs of the post.  Develop and implement an individual skills and development plan to reflect the changing needs of the role and services provided.

The Director of Nursing will: Work closely with Regional Management Team structure to develop the Nursing Role and its contribution to St. Michael’s House:  Advise Regional Directors and Regional Management Teams on developing and maximising the contribution of nursing staff at all levels to the service.  Proactively review the way in which nurses are deployed within the organisation in order to ascertain the most effective use of this resource.  Advise the Regional Management Teams on any nursing role changes to eliminate inefficiencies.

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 Examine the needs of the developing service in conjunction with possible career opportunities open to nurses.  Contributes to building an enthusiastic and committed working climate among the various nursing groups.  Advise on potential staff shortages and service consequences.  Advise the Regions on planning and managing resources efficiently, including reorganising services to achieve efficiencies.

Corporate Contribution:  Actively engage with the broader health and social agenda.  Make a full contribution to the overall management of the services by taking an inter-professional perspective and adopting a corporate overview.  Sees the bigger picture of service delivery and appreciates the interconnectivity of issues. Looks ahead and anticipates substantive issues and adopts a proactive, forward planning approach to service delivery.  Anticipates health trends and developments and sees the service implications.  Sees the need to develop new services across traditional function and sector boundaries.  Identifies gaps in service delivery and develops proposals to address those gaps  Adopts a pro-active forward planning approach to service delivery.  Plays an active role in the recruitment of nurses at all levels.

Team Management:  Builds a high performing, effective and committed team (Nurse Manager on Call, Clinical Nurse Specialists, SAM) committed to delivering service to the highest standard throughout St. Michael’s House.  Proactively ensures the effective integration of trans-organisational nursing roles with other relevant roles in the organisation and promotes positive working relationships with all parts of the service.  Identifies the need and advocates for the role of clinical specialists.

Membership of the Clinical Leadership Forum:  The Director of Nursing is obliged to participate fully as a member of the Clinical Leadership Forum.  As part of the Clinical Leadership Forum, identifies gaps in clinical service delivery and works in partnership with other clinical leaders to develop proposals and strategies to address these gaps.  Provides leadership for ongoing development of integrated clinical governance systems in the organisation.  Provides leadership in the development of integrated clinical policies and procedures.  Promotes continuous improvement in the delivery of integrated multidisciplinary supports and enhanced teamwork.

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Quality Assurance:  Ensure that modern standards of clinical nursing care are in operation and that regular monitoring of nursing care is undertaken through audits.  Develop a philosophy for nursing, which reflects the organisation’s commitment to the provision of a high standard of nursing care.  Maintain good collaborative relationships with appropriate statutory, professional and voluntary organisations.  Ensure adherence to all codes and guidelines relating to professional nursing practice and behaviour.  Implement the organisation’s policy around complaints.

This job description is a guide to the general range of duties assigned to the post holder. It is intended to be neither definitive nor restrictive, and is subject to periodic review with the post holder concerned.

Eligibility criteria and Skills:  Registered Nurse in Intellectual Disability with An Bord Altranais.  Degree in Nursing.  Masters Degree in Nursing or related discipline.  Postgraduate training in Management essential.  Strong evidence of engaging in continuous professional development.  3-5 years experience of managing at a senior level in an intellectual disability setting is essential.  An in-depth knowledge of Intellectual Disability Service within a social care model.  Have the clinical, managerial and administrative capacity to properly discharge the functions of the role.  A working knowledge of HIQA Standards as they apply to the Director of Nursing role.

Competencies essential for the post of Director of Nursing: (Please refer to Competencies as detailed in Office for Health Management documentation).

Top Level Competencies:  Strategic and Systems Thinking.  Establishing policy, systems and structures.  Leading on vision, values and process.  Working at corporate level.  Developmental approach to staff.

Generic Competencies:  Promotion of evidence based decision-making.  Building and maintaining relationships.  Communication and influencing skills.  Service initiation and innovation.  Resilience and composure.

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 Integrity and ethical stance.  Sustained personal commitment.  Practitioner competence and professional credibility.

Character: Candidates for any position holding the office must be of good character.

Age Restrictions in Relation to Application: Age restrictions shall only apply to a candidate where he/she is not classified as a new entrant (within the meaning of the Public Services Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provision) Act, 2004). Candidates not classified as new entrants must be under 65 years of age on the first day of the month in which the latest date for receiving applications for the post.

Health: A candidate for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of understanding the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.

Particulars of Office:

1. Tenure: Permanent Contract.

2. Salary Scale: Director of Nursing Band 1

3. Working Week: 39 hours per week.

4. Annual Leave: The Annual Leave applying to the post is to be confirmed at Job Offer stage and as determined by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.

5. Training: St. Michael’s House is committed to continuing education and life long learning, which enables staff to improve their performance and professional competence. In this regard, St. Michael’s House encourages and supports staff to seek opportunities for their own development. St. Michael’s House Training Guidelines sets out the range of supports available for staff undertaking further education.

These particulars are subject to change in line with overall public pay policy.

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THE SELECTION PROCESS

How to Apply: Please submit the following documentation by post to Ms. Rose Rafferty, Human Resources Manager, Human Resources Department, St. Michael’s House, Ballymun Road, Dublin 9, or by email to [email protected]

 A comprehensive CV (Word format only), detailing education, skills, career history, experience.  Copy of permission to work in the state where relevant  Completion of competency based document detailing how you demonstrated your ability in each competency.  A short cover letter/personal statement (i.e. no more than 2 pages) outlining why you wish to be considered for the post and where you believe your skills, experience and values meet the requirements of the position of Director of Nursing, St. Michael’s House.

Closing Date: Friday 4th July 2014 at 5.00 p.m.

Selection Process: The Selection Process to include:-  Short listing of candidates, on the basis of the information contained in their application.  An on line psychometric assessment.  Competency based interview.  A presentation on a related topic may form the basis of a second stage interview process.

Shortlisting: A shortlisting exercise will be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application. The criteria for shortlisting are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in the eligibility criteria and skills section of this job specification. Therefore, it is very important that you think about your experience in light of those requirements.

Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being called forward to the next stage of the selection process.

References: We would appreciate it if you would start considering names of people who you feel would be suitable referees that we might consult (2 - 3 names and contact details). The referees do not have to include your current employer, but should be in a position to provide a reference for you. Please be assured that we will only collect the details and contact referees should you come under consideration.

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Please Note: We will acknowledge receipt of all applications. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within 3 days of applying, please email [email protected]. You can expect to receive emails from us at the relevant stages notifying you to check your email for campaign updates.

We endeavour to give as much notice as possible for interview dates etc. Candidates should make themselves available on the date(s) specified by St. Michael’s House.

If you feel you would benefit from a confidential discussion about any aspect of this significant opportunity, please contact Mr. John Birthistle, Regional Director, Telephone: (01) 8770500.

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Additional Information:

Confidentiality Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, 1997 applications will be treated in strict confidence.

All enquires, applications and all aspects of the proceedings are treated as strictly confidential and are not disclosed to anyone, outside those directly involved in that aspect of the process.

Certain items of information, not specific to any individual, are extracted from computer records for general statistical purposes.

Deeming of candidature to be withdrawn: Candidates who do not attend for interview or other test when and where required by St. Michael’s House, or who do not, when requested, furnish such evidence as is required in regard to any matter relevant to their candidature, will have no further claim to consideration.

Feedback: Feedback will be provided on written request.

Data Protection Acts 1988 & 2003: When your application form is received, we create a record in your name, which contains much of the personal information you have supplied. This personal record is used solely in processing your candidature and should you be successful certain information you provide will be forwarded to the employing organisation. Such information held is subject to the rights and obligations set out in the Data Protection Acts, 1988 & 2003. To make a request under the Data Protection Acts 1988 & 2003, please submit your request in writing to the Data Protection Officer, St. Michael’s House, Ballymun Head Office, Ballymun Road, Dublin 9.

Candidates should note that canvassing will disqualify.

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Competency Based Information:

Please give two detailed examples of situations where you best demonstrated your ability in each of the following competency areas:

Strategic and Systems Thinking: It is important that the Director of Nursing demonstrates the ability to adapt a corporate overview, sees the bigger picture of service delivery and appreciates the interconnectedness of issues. He/She looks ahead and anticipates substantive issues. He/She adopts a proactive forward planning approach to service delivery in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

Establishing policy, systems and structures: An effective Director of Nursing designs and implements structured policies and systems for the management of service delivery in consultation with key stakeholders, and ensures clear role accountability for service levels, quality and decision making discretion.

Leading on vision, values and process: It is important that the Director of Nursing articulates a compelling vision for the role and contribution of each nursing to the service. He/She will present a positive view of future possibilities and create an enthusiastic and committed work climate. He/She will take the lead on standards setting and implementation. They will lead and manages change in service.

Working at corporate level: An effective Director of Nursing makes a full contribution to the executive management of the services by taking an inter-professional perspective and adopting a corporate overview.

Developmental approach to staff: The Director of Nursing will have a strong focus on developing the contribution of staff at all levels. He/She is a good judge of capability and talent, while promoting team and personal development. He/She promotes a continuous improvement culture and creates a positive climate for learning at all levels of the service.