Recruitment Brief: Advanced Practice Lead (Urgent Care)
Job Banding : B8a
Location: NIAS Headquarters Belfast and regionally as required
Reports to: Consultant Paramedic
Accountable to: Chief Paramedic Officer

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) is seeking an experienced and credible Advanced Practice Lead (Urgent Care) to provide senior clinical leadership and professional oversight for the development, governance and delivery of Advanced Paramedic (Urgent
Care) practice across the organisation.

This is a senior clinical leadership role within the NIAS Clinical Directorate, reporting directly to the Consultant Paramedic (Advanced Practice) and working closely with the wider Consultant Paramedic team, Deputy Director of Paramedicine and Chief Paramedic Officer.
The post holder will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of advanced paramedic practice, urgent care pathways and system integration across Northern Ireland.

The Role
The Advanced Practice Lead (Urgent Care) will act as a professional and clinical lead for the Advanced Paramedic Urgent Care (APUC) cohort, ensuring excellence in advanced clinical decision-making, supervision, education, governance and patient outcomes. The role spans operational advanced clinical practice, leadership and system development,   supporting advanced practice delivery across:

• Integrated Clinical Hub (secondary triage / hear & treat)
• Advanced Paramedic response vehicles
• Interface with primary care, acute care and HSC partners
• Unscheduled and urgent care pathways

The post holder will be a visible senior clinician, maintaining regular clinical practice, providing expert advice to clinicians across NIAS, and contributing to senior clinical on-call and operational decision-making when required.

Key Responsibilities
• Provide expert clinical leadership in urgent care and advanced paramedic practice
• Lead and support clinical supervision, portfolio development and sign-off for APUCs
• Act as a senior clinical advisor for complex clinical decision-making
• Drive the development, implementation and evaluation of advanced practice pathways
• Lead advanced practice clinical governance, quality assurance and risk management
• Support investigation of complex complaints, incidents and clinical concerns
• Work collaboratively with HSC partners, medical colleagues and multidisciplinary teams
• Lead and contribute to education, training, research, audit and service evaluation
• Influence the wider NIAS career and advanced practice framework
• Contribute to digital innovation, including ePCR development and performance indicators

Who We’re Looking For
You will be a HCPC registered Paramedic experienced in advance practice with strong professional ethos and credibility, a clear understanding of advanced practice principles, and the confidence to lead at senior level.

You will bring:

• A recognised Master’s level qualification in Advanced Practice
• Non-medical prescribing qualification
• Significant experience in urgent care and remote clinical assessment
• A track record of clinical leadership, service development and change management
• Strong skills in clinical practice, supervision and quality improvement
• The ability to work across organisational and professional boundaries to improve patient care

Why This Role Matters

This post is central to NIAS’s ambition to deliver safe, effective and sustainable urgent care through advanced paramedic practice. You will help shape how advanced practice operates across the system, influence future workforce models, and directly improve patient experience and outcomes at scale.

For the right individual, this is an opportunity to lead at the highest clinical level, influence regional urgent care delivery, and help define the next phase of paramedic advanced practice in Northern Ireland.

See attached Job Description for full details of essential criteria.