Head of Quality

Contract: Permanent, Full-time (37.5 hours per week and on call responsibilites)

Salary:  £65,000 per annum

Location: St Luke’s Hospice, HA3 0YG

Closing Date: 26th May 2026

About us

St Luke’s Hospice cares for people approaching the end of their life in Harrow and Brent. We aim to give the people we care for the best possible quality of life, every day. Supporting local people and their families is at the heart of what we do – focusing on what matters the most to them is at the centre of our care.  

Founded by local communities in 1987, we have been providing free expert end of life care and support to local people both in the community and from our beautiful Kenton Grange building, surrounded by tranquil gardens.

Two thirds of our care is provided in the comfort of peoples’ homes, as we respect that this is where most people would like to be looked after. Our specialist community team of nurses helps people to manage more complex needs whilst our Hospice at Home team supports people to remain in their own homes by providing practical care and support.

Our inpatient unit (IPU) at Kenton Grange cares for people in their final days, providing intensive care to help get symptoms under control or give respite care. Many of the people who are cared for in our IPU go home again.

Job Summary

Are you an experienced quality and governance leader ready to make a lasting impact in hospice and palliative care?

At St Luke’s Hospice, we are seeking an exceptional Head of Quality to lead our governance, quality, patient safety, and continuous improvement agenda across the organisation.

This is a pivotal leadership role where you will shape and strengthen a culture of excellence, compassion, learning, and innovation — ensuring our services remain safe, effective, evidence-based, and truly patient-centred.

About the role

Reporting into the senior leadership team, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across:

• Clinical governance and quality assurance
• Patient safety and risk management
• CQC compliance and inspection readiness
• Patient experience and engagement
• Information governance
• Quality improvement and audit programmes
• Research, innovation, and organisational learning

You will work collaboratively with clinical and non-clinical leaders to ensure robust governance systems are embedded throughout the Hospice and aligned with the CQC Single Assessment Framework.

This is an opportunity to influence while also leading meaningful improvement initiatives that directly enhance patient and family care.

Key responsibilities

You will:

Participate in the senior on-call rota supporting 24/7 operations

Lead the development and delivery of the Hospice Quality Strategy

Drive continuous improvement and governance excellence across all services

Lead CQC preparation and support the organisation’s ambition to achieve and sustain an Outstanding rating

Oversee incident management, investigations, risk registers, and quality assurance programmes

Champion a positive culture of learning, psychological safety, and Just Culture principles

Provide expert leadership on patient safety, governance, compliance, and quality improvement methodologies

Lead on patient experience, complaints, feedback, and organisational learning

Support innovation, research activity, and evidence-based practice

Develop high-performing teams across governance, patient engagement, informatics, and compliance

Note: This job description reflects the present requirements of the post. As duties and responsibilities change and develop, the job description will be reviewed and is subject to amendment in consultation with the post holder.

If you would like to speak informally to Claire Porter, Director of Nursing and Clinical, about the role, please call on 020 8382 8000.

Applicants are encouraged to inform us if any reasonable adjustments are needed to be made during any part of the recruitment process.

St Luke’s Hospice are equal opportunity employers and particularly welcome applications from groups who are currently under-represented in our staff.

Please note: We will not be able to employ you if you are not eligible to work in the UK. We will not be able to obtain a work permit on your behalf.