Associate Service Manager

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Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.

Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup.

We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 - the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.

To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable over staying comfortable; Listening over always knowing best; and Succeeding together over achieving alone. You can read more about our visions and values here

Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as "good" or "outstanding" in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.

LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King's College London's GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.

We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

Job overview

The post holders will assist the Service Manager/Associate General Manager and General Manager to develop and deliver high quality, patient / service user focused and cost-effective pathways and service meeting the requirements of our commissioners and the Trust's Annual Business Plan.

The post holders will contribute to the overall divisional strategy in providing and developing a working environment and open culture which fosters high morale and commitment among all staff and promotes their wellbeing, professional and personal development.

Main duties of the job

To assist the Divisional Management Team in ensuring the smooth and effective running of the Division.

To support on the delivery of Cancer waiting times and 18-week performance for the Trust ensuring that the access policy is followed.

To be responsible for weekly reporting on cancer targets and 18-week performance and supporting the Service Manager/Associate General Manager and General Manager in capacity planning to ensure sustained achievement of the target.

To provide primary budget management for pay and non-pay within that service area.

Working for our organisation

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

1. Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
2. Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
3. Improving the experience of staff with disability
4. Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
5. Making equalities mainstream

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To ensure that the Division's activities focus on supporting patient care within available resources and in line with the strategic direction of the Division and the Trust.

Responsible for the delivery of identified quality and service improvement projects or development programmes that contribute to the modernisation of patient services.

To ensure the delivery of excellent, patient focused and cost-effective services which are responsive to the needs of patient's, carers and General Practitioners and are in line with the Trust's strategic direction and service plans.

To set and review standards of inpatient and outpatient-based services continuously, in line with the national performance targets, local contractual requirements, activity and financial targets.

To play an active role within the Division's Management Team, participating in the full range of the Division's affairs.

Deal with and respond where appropriate to all complaints and PALS concerns in accordance with Trust policy, ensuring that any necessary remedial action is taken.

To ensure the efficient organisation of services, co-ordinating Consultant and junior doctors leave in order to support the delivery of 18 week and access targets.

Support the Divisional Management Team to achieve CIP targets and work with key stakeholders and partners to maximise the QIPP agenda

To compile on a regular basis complaints analysis for the Division Team ensuring that these are updated within the set timescales.

To attend and participate in Divisional Meetings and to represent the Division (or Trust) at external meetings as required.

To attend relevant departmental meetings within the Trust to represent the Division and provide updates on various issues e.g. Service Delivery, HR issues, Health & Safety matters, Security issues.

As a member of the Division's Management Team, ensure that the Division meets performance targets.

To identify and lead change management and redesign projects to achieve access targets.

To undertake risk assessment for areas of responsibility and ensure that appropriate health and safety, fire and other statutory regulations are adhered to.

To provide regular reports to the Division Team relating to activity, identifying adverse variances and monitoring activity trends.

To ensure accurate recording of all activity within area for which the postholder is responsible, including any service plan monitoring information as required.

To monitor achievements of quality standards, particularly performance targets and support initiatives to maximise throughput and minimise delayed discharges.

To prepare monthly performance monitoring reports for the Division's Management Team and to prepare more detailed quarterly analysis of performance trends.

To prepare Business Cases for service developments for submission both internally and externally as required.

To act as the Division's link for both internal and external IT developments, in particular to support the development of the Electronic Patient Record.

To support the Division in planning and scheduling for capital developments.

To deputise for the other Service Managers in periods of absence.

Workforce and Education

Create a culture which fosters staff involvement, a progressive attitude to work life issues, is free from harassment and bullying and respects the dignity and diversity of all staff.

Be responsible for the recruitment, management and development of all non[1]medical staff in area of responsibility, and enable them to deliver a high quality service and fulfil their individual potential.

To undertake staff appraisal for non-medical staff, setting objectives and identifying training and development needs in accordance with the Trust Performance Management Guidance.

To conduct return to work interviews for any periods of sickness and to monitor and manage sickness absence within area of responsibility.

To take appropriate action with issues of staff discipline, grievance, poor performance and sickness within area of responsibility, in accordance with the Trust's procedures.

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential criteria

• Educated to first level degree or equivalent experience
• Management/leadership qualification or equivalent experience at post graduate level
• Further relevant training

Desirable criteria

• Masters degree
• Clinical background

Experience

Essential criteria

• Proven experience of working in a management/leadership role in an acute healthcare environment
• Experience of leading and motivating a team
• Identifying and interpreting national policy and implementing required changes
• Experience of managing waiting lists

Desirable criteria

• Responsible for a budget and budget setting
• Business case development and annual planning, longer term planning

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria

• Awareness of current legislation and developments and agenda within the NHS, particularly in relation to 18 weeks RTT.
• Financial procedures including budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes
• Business planning /annual planning/long term planning
• In depth understanding of change management
• Able to use IT systems including Microsoft Office
• Knowledge of service improvements/transformation and project management
• Good analytical and problem solving skills - ability to analyse highly complex data/information and make judgements/draw conclusions - including ability to respond to unexpected demands
• Risk management and governance
• Able to oversee medical workforce rotas.
• Able to efficiently deploy staff to cover the rota on a daily basis to reduce the need for locum expenditure balanced with meeting the needs of the service

Desirable criteria

• NHS IT Systems

Knowledge and Skills Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

• Ability to work independently and make autonomous decisions
• Strong communication skills both written and verbal - able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive information and use persuasion, influencing and negotiation with individuals and groups including stakeholders
• Ability to embrace, lead and drive change
• Ability to organise and prioritise own workload and direct the work of others and adjust plans as required both in the short and long term
• Able to work flexibly to meet the demands of the role
• Demonstrates a strong desire to improve performance and services

We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.

As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women's staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce.

Please note, not all roles will meet the criteria for a skilled worker visa.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• Job Description (PDF, 776.6KB)
• Working at LGT (PDF, 4.2MB)