Manager - Health and Social Care Consumer Champion
Salary: £35,000 per annum
Hours: Full time, core hours are 9am-5pm. Some flexibility is necessary around working hours.
Occasional evening and weekend work is required
Location: Kingston, with travel throughout the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Our client is the consumer champion for health and social care in Kingston upon Thames. It gives the community a strong voice to influence and challenge how local care services are designed and run, and the power to hold providers of local health and social care to account.
As the manager of a small organisation you will be as comfortable with the hands on work of the organisation as you are with leadership, and representing the organisation in public forums or in meetings with senior staff from NHS and social care services.
You will manage two Projects and Outreach Officers, and ensure the delivery of the contract and the smooth running of the organisation. You will be responsible for the financial management, fundraising and day to day operations of the organisation, ensuring that it runs effectively and developing its profile.
You will work closely with the Board, reporting progress, taking direction and servicing the Board when it meets in private.
Our work is challenging and constantly evolving, and the manager’s role is diverse. You will enjoy delivering impactful work and improving the experiences of local people, and be pragmatic and collaborative in your approach.
Primary Job Function
• Act as the officer responsible for the contract and other contracts which may be agreed by the Board from time to time, including ensuring compliance with all administrative, procedural, accounting, contractual and reporting requirements.
• To ensure that the views of patients and the public are gathered and reported so as to inform the development of local health and social care services
• To ensure that advice and information is provided to local people about access to and choices of local health and social services
• To lead the organisation staff team, ensuring that they have performance objectives that contribute to the delivery of the organisation Annual Strategic and Operational Plans and are supported to deliver on these
• To act as organisation Company Secretary and Data Controller in achieving compliance with the requirements of the Companies Acts; the Charities Commission; the Information Commissioners; the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and other relevant legislation.
Duties and Responsibilities
Operational Management
• To ensure the organisation operates in accordance with the policies and procedures approved by the Board and make recommendations to the Board on how these policies and procedures might be developed further to ensure the organisation functions effectively.
• To work with the Board, and such task groups and sub-committees it may establish, to produce an annual Strategic and Operational Plan for approval by the Board; and to report on progress and monitor delivery of such.
• To ensure that relevant data about health and social care provision is collected, collated and analysed for use by the organisation in delivery of the contract, and that regular and timely reports are available for use to inform the development of local health and social care policy and provision, and to inform the London Borough of Kingston upon Thames at the required periodic performance and contract monitoring reviews in the Service Specification contract with this Borough.
• To ensure that (as far as reasonably practicable) the training, development and access needs of the organisation active affiliates and volunteers are met.
• To identify tenders and funding opportunities to develop the business of the organisation and to prepare bids and applications as directed by the Board.
• To manage any contracts with contractors to ensure compliance with legal and contractual requirements.
• To monitor and evaluate the work of the organisation, producing information and reports for meetings with external stakeholders, as required.
• To manage external communications, ensuring the most effective use is made of different media to give a high profile, positive and consistent image for the organisation.
• To ensure that volunteers, staff or contractors who will supervise, care for or otherwise have significant direct contact with vulnerable people including children and young people, and volunteers interested in being authorised by the organisation to enter and view health and social care services taking place at agreed premises, are recruited, screened (including DBS (formerly CRB) checks), trained and supported.
Governance Support
• To ensure that the organisation operates at all times in accordance with national regulations about local Healthwatch and the legislation affecting charities and companies limited by guarantee.
• To service, support and make reports and recommendations to the Board and to ensure that all task groups and any sub-committees are serviced and supported by the organisation staff.
• To support the organisation in accordance with agreed quality assurance standards and ensure that achievement of these standards is monitored and reports produced on performance.
• To support the organisation to comply with the terms of the Service Specification contract for local Healthwatch with the Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
Stakeholder Management and External Liaison
• To promote and monitor the representation of the organisation on local strategic committees as agreed by the organisation Board.
• To ensure that the organisation has links with local voluntary and other groups where appropriate in collaboration and networking around health and social care issues.
• To ensure that an up to date and accessible database is maintained of the organisation active affiliates, affiliates, other stakeholders and contacts.
• To ensure that the Operations Plan contains a programme of outreach work to engage excluded and ‘hard to reach’ communities and user involvement groups with the development of local health and social care services. To work with local community organisations to achieve this.
• To work with lead officers, Commissioners and others on involvement in health and social care services to ensure that a wide range of views inform the development of health and social care services and that the most effective use is made of available resources to enable people to express their views about needs and service provision.
• To support the organisation to influence the commissioning and provision of local health and social care services, for example by responding to local consultations in a timely manner and providing information to inform the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.
• To work with Healthwatch England providing information as required and collaborating so far as possible in developing a national understanding of local views on and choices of health and social care services.
• To ensure collaboration with local Healthwatch initiatives in other Boroughs, particularly Richmond, Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton and Croydon and to ensure participation by the organisation in meetings of the South West health sector as required.
Financial Management
• To maintain the organisation’s financial records, inputting details of income and expenditure for review and oversight by the Treasurer.
• To provide sound and timely financial advice to the Board in cooperation with the Treasurer and ensure and maintain an effective Financial Control procedure.
• To prepare and manage the organisation annual budget in cooperation with the Treasurer; monitor cash flow and prepare reports as required by the Board.
Person Specification
Essential
Education and training
• Qualified to Degree level
experience
• Partnership working at a senior level
• Development of strategic and operational plans
• Staff management – minimum of 2 years
• Preparation and implementation of policies and procedures
• Financial planning and budget management
Skills
• Excellent oral and written communication skills for use in minute-taking, report-writing and during presentations
• Ability to work productively with a very diverse range of people and organisations
• Supervision and support of staff
• Ability to assess and analyse complex information
• Ability to manage conflicting demands and priorities
• Problem-solving
• Project management
• Supporting and motivating volunteers
• Use of Microsoft Office Word, Excel and Outlook
Knowledge
• Health and social care services - how they are governed and current issues
• Use of social media to facilitate involvement
• Data protection and confidentiality
Additional Qualities and Attitudes
• Commitment to equality and diversity
• Ability to learn quickly
• Willingness to undertake occasional evening and weekend work
• Understanding of current challenges facing NHS and Social Care
Desirable
• Understanding of charity and company law or experience of running a charity
Closing Date: 17:00 Wednesday 5th July.