Associate General Manager 

Location: Cross Site – Lewisham and Woolwich, South London 

Proposed start date: ASAP

Duration: 6 months with potential to extend

Band: 8B

Pay Rates: £29 - £33ph paid directly by the client. 

All rates are based on skills and experience 

Working Days and Hours: Monday to Friday, 37.5 hours per week

Job Summary: 

You will be the lead for the operating a department cross site – ensuring the department can safely run, monitoring department performance, working closely with senior directorate colleagues, your line reports and key stakeholders to provide high quality, safe and efficient patient care, ensuring that theatres are responsive, innovative and clinical care is provided to the highest possible clinical and performance standards. 

You will ensure the department scheduling and 6-4-2 process runs seamlessly and efficiently, and you will be a key leader within the department along with the matrons for each site, and the surgical hub. You will be responsible for working with the clinical team and smart together on the department equipment and consumables – looking at efficiency, safety and cost. 

Job Duties: 

Strategic Direction

• To monitor service delivery against strategic and business plans in identified specialties throughout the year to ensure successful delivery.
• To work with the General Manager to produce accurate, high quality business cases for service developments, taking into account activity and income projections.
• To play a major role in modernising the operational delivery of services within the division in line with the strategic direction of the Trust, working with clinical teams to embed changes and deliver required efficiency improvements. 
• Responsible for the delivery of identified quality and service improvement projects or development programmes that contribute to the modernisation of patient services 
• To develop a cross-working relationship across all delivery areas of care.
• To work with and support the Transformation team in order to implement change management.

Service Development and Performance Management

• To ensure that the divisional services provided are of a consistently high quality and deliver excellent patient experience.
• To support the Trust’s performance management framework for the division and be accountable for performance in identified specialties against all key dimensions within the framework, including the achievement of national access targets, taking corrective action as required.
• To lead in developing plans to achieve performance related targets in identified specialties such list utilisation, equipment management, scheduling, within an environment of fixed resources.
• To assist with or lead on the investigation and response to formal complaints as required, taking steps to ensure that lessons are learnt from issues which give rise to complaints and that these issues are not repeated.
• To deal directly with key external stakeholders, other external agencies and contractors as required. To contribute to and administratively support any clinical/service related networks associated with the allocated services.
• Service improvements across the department. 

Workforce 

• To be accountable to the Divisional Director of Operations for the financial performance of key delegated budgets within identified specialties, taking actions to limit spending when required.
• To develop cost reduction, income generation and efficiency proposals as required, and implement them successfully.
• To ensure that all those within the services with influence over expenditure have the knowledge/ability and information required to understand the current financial framework.
• To review and update administrative policies and procedures, taking action as appropriate to enable continuous improvement of service quality. 
• To ensure inpatient and discharge administration is carried out in accordance with the Trust’s policies, ensuring all changes and other adjustments are carried out on quickly and efficiently and to continually monitor the effectiveness of pathways in place.
• To be conversant with the new Care Guidance system and ensure that all relevant staff have the skills to manage this effectively and in a manner that ensures the patient pathway is clearly understood.
• To liaise with and regularly review the services provided by support departments such as transport, portering and medical records. 
• To ensure relevant reports are sent out in advance of the deadline and relevant service information is up to date.

Risk and Quality Management

• To work with the divisional governance manager to monitor risk within specific services, investigate reds/SUIs and to support the overall risk management structure of the division.
• Ensure that the risk register for identified specialties is kept up to date and that key actions are completed.
• Ensure that all risk assessments are completed for areas within identified specialties.

Financial Management

• Manage budgets for pathways and services within portfolio.
• To ensure that the pathways and services achieve contracted activity and access targets.
• To provide the clinical teams with comprehensive analytical support, in conjunction with Finance, Information and Contracting Departments.

Essential Experience: 

• Must have at least 2 years experience working in the NHS as a Band 8A or above. 
• Operational management experience the NHS
• Proven track record of meeting targets
• Significant experience of staff management, including the setting of objectives
• Significant budget management experience, including reducing costs, monitoring and determining corrective action
• Evidence of report writing and presenting skills, to include business cases and formal presentations
• Experience using Excel including spreadsheet analysis 
• Experience of excellent communication skills with a wide range of staff with differing levels of responsibility and different professional backgrounds
• Experience of dealing with complex issues 
• Ability to work pro-actively and co-operatively with senior management and clinical staff, including at times of stress

Desirable Experience: 

• Prince 2 qualified
• Project management experience 
• Proven experience of successfully running the 6-4-2 and scheduling process 

Personal Specification: 

• Commitment to self-development with ability to demonstrate in depth knowledge of key policies and themes in healthcare provision in the UK
• An ability and interest in coaching staff to improve performance
• Commitment to promoting equality and diversity in the workplace and in service delivery and development.
• Ability to work across diverse teams with strong influencing skills
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal 

Questions

1. Have you worked in the NHS in a band 8A role or above? 
2. Have you got operational management experience within the NHS?
3. Have you got experience of managing large teams dealing with complex issues with tight deadlines?
4. Do you have experience of report writing and presenting skills?
5. Are you able to commit to the hours and duties starting ASAP?