Job description

Job responsibilities

Communication

• The post holder will develop and maintain relationships with ICB staff (including neighbouring ICBs where appropriate), service providers, patient representative groups and other partner organisations relevant to the local health system including police and probation.
• Develop effective communication mechanisms between and within agencies and networks to promote common understanding of objectives and more coherent joint/partnership working.
• Initiate and maintain regular contact with key stakeholders both within the organisations and externally through meetings, email and face-to-face to maximise and promote partnership working and to maintain momentum for service development and improvement.
• Lead negotiation and discussions in highly complex situations, analyse information provided/discussed, facilitate a resolution and monitor implementation of agreed actions to improve quality of service and implement new services.
• Contact with others is usually direct and face-to-face and the post holder may have to deal with highly difficult and complex situations during particularly stressful and contentious discussions where there may be resistance to change.
• Regular contact with patients and the public on a variety of issues relating to development of services.
• Communication will involve one to one meetings, small group sessions or public speaking and making presentations to groups of varying size, from one to one to large groups.
• Work across teams and agencies to embed commissioned system changes into other work streams and priorities.
• Provide regular reports and presentations on progress, recommendations and proposed action against national and local targets and joint projects to the ICB Governing Body, ICB Localities, Joint Commissioning Boards and any other Boards/groups as appropriate.

Analysis and Judgement

• Interpret national policy and targets against local provider performance and take corrective action where needed to ensure these targets are met.
• Focus on health outcomes and healthcare, quality, safety, cost effectiveness and the delivery of targets and equality of service provision for the Coventry & Warwickshire ICB population.
• Support the ICB to develop the Negotiating Strategy setting out agreed strategic commissioning and contracting objectives, both generic and provider specific, working collaboratively with other ICB partners, as required.
• Maintain an overview of performance against agreed local and national targets and take appropriate action to support other officers or agencies to improve results where necessary e.g. QIPP delivery.
• Use information to support use of contracted activity and the planning and development of new services.

Planning and Organisational Skills

• Plan and organise complex activities within a multi-agency setting across Coventry & Warwickshire to ensure strategic planning is undertaken to ensure services meet requirements identified.
• Responsible for proposing and drafting changes, implementation and interpretation to policies, guidelines and service level agreements (SLAs) which may impact services and Sector.
• Ensure clinical leadership is central to the delivery of all commissioning activities.
• Lead the management of the contract portfolio for the ICB for Mental Health & Learning Disabilities to support the ICB's business and strategic objectives by:
  • Monitoring performance against contractual targets and validates price and activity and the wider performance metrics.
  • Managing contract compliance by ensuring early diagnosis of issues and timely, effective intervention to ensure that contractual plans and targets are delivered, and risk assessments undertaken.
• Work with ICB Localities, Clinical leads, primary care and secondary care and 2 local authorities in the development of ICBs integrated plans affecting health care.
• Develop business cases as required to support implementation of new developments.
• Lead and project manage specific projects as agreed with the Director of Commissioning.
• Provide evidence to demonstrate impact of projects on service delivery using change management techniques.

Responsibility for patient care

• Responsible for promoting quality improvement and service standards across the health economy in relation to Mental Health and Learning Disabilities.
• Chair and participate in Care and Treatment Reviews for those aged 14 onwards with a diagnosis of Autism and or a Learning Disability
• Embed appropriate patient and public involvement within commissioning activities at all levels of decision making.
• Ensure the services have mechanisms in place for patient and carer involvement in service improvements

Physical Skills

• The post holder will be required to use a computer, either stand alone or part of a networked system, and will be responsible for the quality of information.

Policy and Service development

• Advise on appropriate local targets and strategies for commissioning services for mental Health and Learning Disabilities on national policy including joint commissioning arrangements with local authorities e.g., Mental Health Concordat, Parity of Esteem.
• Identify service improvement and commissioning opportunities and develop longer-term strategies in line with the QIPP, ICBs 2 & 5 year plan, The Better Care Programme and Health & Wellbeing Strategies.
• Plan and deliver annual QIPP programmes ensuring financial and quality targets are met
• Ensure service level agreements/specifications reflect quality outcome measures and support the review and management of performance against such measures.
• Work closely with other commissioners within ICB and Commissioning Support Services to help manage the impact of service changes on other patient pathways.

Responsibility for Physical and Financial resources

• Act in a way that is compliant with Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions in the discharge of this responsibility.
• Constantly strive for value for money and greater efficiency in the use of these budgets and to ensure that they operate in recurrent financial balance year on year.

Responsibility for Human Resources

• Forge positive working relationships, in order to support an effective matrix approach with both ICB and Local Authority staff to achieve agreed objectives.
• Work in a matrix management style and foster close working relations with other managers within the NHS and Local Authorities.

Professional Responsibilities and Freedom to Act

• Work on own initiative within national guidance
• Act on own professional judgement on a daily basis with regard to making decisions and recommendations.
• Responsible for policy interpretation on health care for children, adults and older people.
• Provide clinical leadership to develop clinical pathways, inform service redesign and system reform.
• Advise and formulate solutions to implement and meet government deadlines for implementation where conflicting opinions exist.
• Prioritise own workload and, where appropriate, that of others within the team and manage competing projects and timescales ensuring deadlines are achieved.

Responsibility for Research & Development

• Keep informed of local, regional and national development of health services and inform key stakeholders of those developments.
• Ensure all new service developments are based on good practice and where possible are research based.
• Undertake regular audits, evaluation and reviews of commissioned services.
• Benchmark local services against national indicators and recommend areas for improvement and develop plans to address variation.
• Maintain own professional development taking into consideration personal development needs and those to meet the organisations objectives.

Responsibility for Health and Safety

• Identify and report hazards relevant to the health and safety of clients and colleagues and follow the organisations reporting process.
• At all times maintain a clean and risk-free environment.
• Ensure compliance with health and safety legislation including COSHH, risk assessment, infection control and disposal procedures.
• Follow the organisations risk assessment process when considering new processes and procedures.

Person Specification

Training

Essential

• Educated to masters level or degree or significant experience
• Post Graduate clinical or managerial qualification
• Evidence of continuous personal development

Experience

Essential

• Experience of operating and delivering large scale complex projects in the public sector
• Experience of delivering difficult outcomes
• Understanding of the LA / NHS partnership agenda and of associated DH policy

Desirable

• Experience of successfully operating in a politically sensitive environment

Communication Skills

Essential

• Advanced credible communicator, with the ability to use a variety of communication tools to convey, negotiate and challenge complex information to a large range of internal and external audiences often at senior clinical and management/director level
• Evidence of effective influencing and negotiation skills at all levels and across organisational boundaries

Analytical Skills

Essential

• Ability to make judgments in highly complex situations in terms of numbers of stakeholders involved and the sensitivity of issues
• Ability to provide informative reporting at a Board level
• Able to develop understanding of new areas quickly

Planning Skills

Essential

• Ability to vision and translate strategic thinking into workable plans

Management Skills

Essential

• Experience of managing staff and providing support and supervision
• Demonstrable track record of leading and managing change within the NHS or local authority

Freedom to Act

Essential

• Demonstrable political skills and ability to understand and work effectively in sensitive political environments
• Enthusiasm for and understanding of opportunities and threats of partnership working

Other

Essential

• High standards of personal integrity
• Innovative and open to new ideas
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• Ability to work as a member of a team or independently
• Ability to motivate others
• Tactful and diplomatic
• Car driver essential
• The post-holder may be based within a variety of organisational settings across Coventry and Warwickshire for designated period of time.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

NHS Coventry & Warwickshire Integrated Care Board

Address

Parkside House

Coventry

CV1 2NJ