Job description

The Head of Arts is a pivotal role at rb&hArts at Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals. The successful postholder will lead, manage and develop rb&hArts and work with colleagues across Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust to develop and implement a Trust-wide Arts Strategy for patients, its staff and the communities it serves. The role leads a portfolio of innovative creative health projects including archive and collection management, visual arts commissions and a dynamic participatory programme (including Singing for Breathing, Vocal Beats, Gardening and Crafternoons).

The postholder will work with colleagues to deliver an integrated creative programme to meet the objectives of the Trust and clinical group with a focus on strategy, fundraising, evaluation and people management.

• Manage rb&hArts staff/freelancers
• Implement a creative health fundraising strategy to maximise opportunities for income generation, including budget/finance management
• Lead the monitoring and evaluation of all rb&hArts projects, including quarterly reporting
• Lead rb&hArts Comms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, monthly newsletters
• Work with PPE lead on patient engagement, focused on young people

rb&hArts is now in its 21st year with a long and successful history of innovating excellent creative health projects by, for and with patients and staff. It is funded by Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital's Charity and work closely in partnership.

The arts team is small and dynamic with friendly personnel. It is a good place to work with fellow colleagues, committed to health improvement through culture.

See more about us online: rb&hArts | Royal Brompton & Harefield hospitals (rbht.nhs.uk)

1 Patient/customer care (both direct and indirect)

• To ensure a high-quality arts service is provided to all patients, staff and the local community
• Implementing and advocating for co-production with patients and service users in the development of all projects. Actively seeking opportunities to highlight the patient voice.
• Implementing and advocating for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the development of all projects. Actively seeking opportunities to highlight voices of those who may be at risk of exclusion and/or have protected characteristics.
• To provide a pivotal team manager role for rb&hArts including day to day staff management
• To represent the Clinical Group externally (locally, regionally, nationally and internationally) regarding creative health health / rb&hArts
• To be involved in the development of new approaches to creative health, engagement and improvement for rb&hArts
• To collaborate on the development of creative health strategy/policy for patient-led improvements, engagement and involvement, in line with evidence based and best practice.
• To provide advice, teaching and instruction to patients, staff, other professionals and funders to promote understanding of the aims of creative health
• To train, supervise performance and manage staff working within rb&hArts. This will include the use of Trust appraisal documentation.

2 Policy development & Service development

2.1 To meet the requirements from all national and local agencies relevant to the arts programme (including, Department of Health, National Performance Advisory Group - Arts, Heritage and Design in Healthcare Network and London Arts and Health Forum etc) are appropriately implemented and incorporated into strategy/policy

2.2 To have responsibility for adherence to Clinical Group policies, procedures and mandatory training

2.3 To participate in development and implementation of multi-disciplinary creative health policy and guidelines

2.4 Contribute to the development of new creative health practice and roles with rb&hArts

2.5 To set, monitor and review creative health projects on a regular basis to ensure practice and care is evidence based and in line with local and national policy

2.6 To take part in any audits or reviews of the current arts service ensuring appropriate action for service improvement is undertaken when indicated.

3. Research and development

• To support the implementation of evidence-based practice and the formulation of protocols and guidelines for continued development within rb&hArts
• To keep abreast of key research in Creative Health Sector
• To co-ordinate any audit, evaluation and research activities in the arts service/projects, sharing and disseminating learning
• To oversee the maintenance of up-to-date data and information collection of all projects

4. People management

• To be responsible for the direct management, training, supervision, performance management, sickness absence and staff annual leave of all Arts staff reports.
• To actively participate in the recruitment, retention and induction of staff in the Arts department.
• To ensure all team members have a real voice in the development of the service to patients/customers.
• To maximise the potential of all team members.
• To ensure that all team members have a meaningful appraisal/personal development plan that includes feedback to the individual from a selection of internal customers and team members, and the identification of personal and professional development goals and a discussion of appropriate training requirements
• To provide a safe and attractive working environment for team members within available resources.
• Actively foster team working at all levels and aim for a culture of openness and transparency.
• To ensure appropriate competencies are completed by all staff working within the Arts team.
• To abide by the Trust’s core behaviours for staff and all other Trust policies including standing financial instructions, research governance, clinical governance, patient and public involvement, codes and practices, and health and safety policies

5 Communication

• To provide and demonstrate sound creative health expertise and develop mechanisms for sharing good practice, encouraging and directing innovation in ongoing arts development
• To network with colleagues within the Trust, locally and nationally
• To chair / attend rb&hArts team meeting
• To contribute to the development of new written materials to advocate and promote rb&hArts
• To maintain up to date rb&hArts presence online and all social media
• Listen to feedback from patients to ensure the Arts programme meets the needs of the patients.

6 Resource management

• To administer and be an authorised signatory for appropriate Charitable Trust Fund budgets.
• To maintain accurate income and expenditure budgets for all arts projects
• To develop business cases for future funding and investment
• To develop charitable funding bids including identifying funders, developing and writing quality bids and submitting end of grant reports
• To oversee effective management of Clinical Group’s Visual Arts and Archival Collections with a focus on preservation and access

7 Information management

• Manage the collection of appropriate national/local data, survey and statistics including analysis to inform arts service development
• To ensure all arts staff input activity data and review the data to determine whether service specifications need revising
• To ensure all absence returns and other HR information are collected, collated and returned in a timely manner
• Oversee the maintenance of a range of databases including an inventory of works of art and arts entries on the Raisers’ Edge fundraising/mailing database

In addition:
To undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade as requested.

This job description is intended as a basic guide to the scope and responsibilities of the post and is not exhaustive. It will be subject to regular review and amendment as necessary with in consultation with the post-holder.