What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Specialist Dietitian position at Freeman Hospital?
Employer heading
Lead Specialist Dietitian
Band 7
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS hospital trusts in the country. We have around 16,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.7 billion.
With strong history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation regionally, nationally and internationally, we’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country.
As well as providing a wide range of hospital and community services, we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.
Job Overview
We are excited to be recruiting to a 1.0 WTE, Band 7, Lead Specialist Liver Dietitian to join the Adult Dietetic and Hepatology Service at the Freeman Hospital. This post is until 29 November 2026 and the successful candidate will be responsible for inpatient and outpatient dietetic care of patients under the Newcastle hepatology service.
Newcastle Hospitals is a tertiary hepatology centre and one of the 7 liver transplant centres in the UK. Dietitians play a key role in the multidisciplinary team and so as the lead dietitian for this service, previous experience in liver disease is desirable.
The role also includes leadership of the Freeman Hospital dietetic team, jointly with our other lead specialist dietitians. Leadership roles involve clinical supervision, appraisals, job planning and the day-to-day line management of a small group of staff. Oversight and support is provided by the adult clinical dietetic manager and management team.
Main duties of the job
Deliver a high quality dietetic service within the specialist area of Hepatology
Work effectively as part of the MDT including specialist nurses and Consultants
Work in collaboration within the acute and regional dietetic departments
Support the adult manager through provision of service specification and attending meetings regarding service provision
Take part in student training and supervision
Contribute to research and audit
You Should Be Enthusiastic And Self-motivated And Will
Have post-registration experience in liver disease
Have undertaken specialist training in weight management, NAFLD or liver
Be able to demonstrate ongoing CPD and have evidence of developing practice
Be able to support colleagues and take responsibility for the clinical supervision of junior staff and students
Have excellent communication skills
Be able to maintain good relationships with colleagues and the wider the MDT
As part of the wider dietetic department, ‘Newcastle Nutrition’, you will have support from colleagues at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and Centre for Aging and Vitality sites. Our Dietetic teams are enthusiastic, committed and have established a first class reputation.
Working for our organisation
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
The successful applicant will join our friendly and supportive adult department of over 40 dietitians providing clinical support to patients and act as a source of expertise to the wider multidisciplinary team including medical, nursing and allied health professionals across the trust.
The department provides A, B and C placements for dietetic students. The Trust places significant value on its dietetic services in the provision of first-class patient care, and the dietetic service enjoys a high profile with excellent multidisciplinary involvement.
Qualifications & Education
Essential criteria
Essential criteria
Essential criteria
All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.
Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.
Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
Name Tom Crame Job title Senior Specialist Dietitian Email address thomas.crame1@nhs.net Telephone number 0191 2231231
Lead Specialist Dietitian
Band 7
Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the busiest and largest NHS hospital trusts in the country. We have around 16,000 staff and an annual budget of £1.7 billion.
With strong history of providing high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation regionally, nationally and internationally, we’re in the top five providers of specialised health services in the country.
As well as providing a wide range of hospital and community services, we support people with a range of rare and complex medical, surgical and neurological conditions, cancers and genetic orders.
We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and recognise the benefit in providing an inclusive environment. We value and respect the diversity of our employees and aim to recruit a workforce which reflects the communities we serve, and is equipped to deliver the best service to our patients. We welcome all applications irrespective of people’s race, disability, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief, age, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity and in particular those from under- represented groups.
Newcastle Hospitals are proud to be one of the exemplar organisations across the NHS on sustainability, with a long history of delivering Sustainable Healthcare in Newcastle (Shine) and the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a climate emergency. Our strategy includes commitments to being Net Zero by 2030, for our direct carbon footprint, and Net Zero by 2040 for our footprint plus. Delivering these ambitions will not be possible without the help, support and action of every single member of our team.
Job Overview
We are excited to be recruiting to a 1.0 WTE, Band 7, Lead Specialist Liver Dietitian to join the Adult Dietetic and Hepatology Service at the Freeman Hospital. This post is until 29 November 2026 and the successful candidate will be responsible for inpatient and outpatient dietetic care of patients under the Newcastle hepatology service.
Newcastle Hospitals is a tertiary hepatology centre and one of the 7 liver transplant centres in the UK. Dietitians play a key role in the multidisciplinary team and so as the lead dietitian for this service, previous experience in liver disease is desirable.
The role also includes leadership of the Freeman Hospital dietetic team, jointly with our other lead specialist dietitians. Leadership roles involve clinical supervision, appraisals, job planning and the day-to-day line management of a small group of staff. Oversight and support is provided by the adult clinical dietetic manager and management team.
- Interview Date Thursday 29 January 2026
- 37 Hours 30 Minutes/Week
- You will be redirected to Trac to apply for the vacancy. Please expand the job details section and read all of the information before applying for the vacancy
Main duties of the job
Deliver a high quality dietetic service within the specialist area of Hepatology
Work effectively as part of the MDT including specialist nurses and Consultants
Work in collaboration within the acute and regional dietetic departments
Support the adult manager through provision of service specification and attending meetings regarding service provision
Take part in student training and supervision
Contribute to research and audit
You Should Be Enthusiastic And Self-motivated And Will
Have post-registration experience in liver disease
Have undertaken specialist training in weight management, NAFLD or liver
Be able to demonstrate ongoing CPD and have evidence of developing practice
Be able to support colleagues and take responsibility for the clinical supervision of junior staff and students
Have excellent communication skills
Be able to maintain good relationships with colleagues and the wider the MDT
As part of the wider dietetic department, ‘Newcastle Nutrition’, you will have support from colleagues at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and Centre for Aging and Vitality sites. Our Dietetic teams are enthusiastic, committed and have established a first class reputation.
Working for our organisation
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
With around 2 million contacts with patients every year, we deliver care from:
- Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)
- Freeman Hospital
- Newcastle Dental Hospital
- Cramlington Manor Walks
- Urgent treatment centres
- Newcastle Fertility Centre
- Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria
- Northern Genetics Service
We also have offices at Regent Point in Gosforth and community sites.
Please see attached information on what Staff Benefits we have to offer at our Trust under ‘Documents to download’ or ‘Supporting documents’.
For further information on The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust please visit: Careers | Newcastle Hospitals | NHS | Newcastle Hospitals and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
The successful applicant will join our friendly and supportive adult department of over 40 dietitians providing clinical support to patients and act as a source of expertise to the wider multidisciplinary team including medical, nursing and allied health professionals across the trust.
The department provides A, B and C placements for dietetic students. The Trust places significant value on its dietetic services in the provision of first-class patient care, and the dietetic service enjoys a high profile with excellent multidisciplinary involvement.
- Provides a professional leadership role in specialist areas of dietetic practice, coaching and mentoring staff and students of any discipline.
- Role will provide day to day supervision of department staff along with carrying out induction, appraisals, 1-1’s along with any other meetings relating to the staff in the specialist area.
- Act as a positive role model for the wider team, offering support when other leads are on leave.
- Will lead on service development within the specialist area to ensure that the service continues to meet the needs of service users.
- Provides highly specialist dietetic assessment, treatment, monitoring and management in one or more speciality areas of dietetics.
- Acts as a source of expertise in dietetics practice locally, regionally and nationally.
- Acts as a source of expertise in nutrition support and dietetics to patients, consultants and other health care professionals.
- Delivers education and training with staff at all levels.
- Contributes to designing, planning and implementing research and audit and contributes to publishing results, working in interdisciplinary teams or with other health professionals.
- Works in close association with specialist nurses/other specialised healthcare professionals in named areas in order to deliver integrated services. This may include supplementary prescribing.
Qualifications & Education
Essential criteria
- Health and Care Professions Council Registered Dietitian
- Degree in Dietetics or Science/Nutrition Degree plus Post-graduate Diploma in Dietetics
- Masters degree in relevant area of practice or equivalent level of specialist dietetic experience and training
- Evidence of specialist training through short courses or a validated qualification in one of more specialist areas of dietetics e.g. nutrition support, paediatrics, home enteral feeding, supplementary Prescriber (Non-medical prescribing course V300)
- Valid UK Driving Licence
Essential criteria
- Post registration experience in general clinical dietetics
- Evidence of continuous professional development in the specialist area
- Evidence of participation in and contribution to the publication of research and audit in one or more of the named speciality areas
- Experience of training dietetic staff, students and other healthcare staff
- Experience in supervising staff i.e., completion of 1-1’s, supporting preceptorship
- Evidence of initiating and publishing original research in one or more chosen areas
- Basic training in counselling and/or motivational interviewing or cognitive behavioural therapy
- Basic Food Hygiene
- Experience of working with wider multidisciplinary team towards a shared purpose/goal
- Evidence of leadership training
- Experience in recruitment
- Evidence of service development within specialist area
Essential criteria
- Clinical Supervisory Skills Course and/or Teaching Certificate
- Standard keyboard skills
- Good interpersonal skills
All references from current and previous employers will be sought and must cover a minimum of 3 years employment. Therefore, when completing the reference section of your application form, please give the address, telephone number and work email address of each of your current/previous line managers that cover 3 years employment. Failure to complete this section may result in your application not being processed.
Please note it is a requirement of The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who require a DBS for the post they have been offered pay for their DBS certificate. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first month’s pay.
Candidates who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e-mail. You should check your SPAM folders as well as your inbox. If you have not been contacted within 4 weeks of the closing date you should assume your application has been unsuccessful.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
- Senior Specialist Dietitian JD and PS (PDF, 252.7KB)
- Newcastle Staff Benefits (PDF, 274.4KB)
- Behaviour and Civility Charter (PDF, 93.8KB)
Further details / informal visits contact
Name Tom Crame Job title Senior Specialist Dietitian Email address thomas.crame1@nhs.net Telephone number 0191 2231231