General Manager

Job overview

Reporting to the Associate Chief Operating Officer, the post holder will be an integral member of the Care Group’s Management Team and will be responsible for supporting the delivery of the Care Group’s strategy and the Division’s overall strategies and objectives.

In addition to supporting the delivery of the Care Group’s strategy the General Manager will take operational responsibility for the Diagnostic and Clinical Support services; this will include leading the senior team and ensuring services are delivered effectively and safely.  The Diagnostics and Clinical Support Care Group includes Imaging Services, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and Bed Management Team.

The post holder will have the requisite management experience to allow them to effectively oversee the performance of teams and will possess the personal qualities and skills to deal competently with operational issues.

The General Manager will implement patient-centred clinical operational strategy and plans, advising the Care Group Leadership team and ensuring that systems and processes are in place and adhered to.

The General Manager with lead plans and strategies for the Care Group, this includes accountability for the delivery of those clinical and clinical technical services within their area.

Main duties of the job

Main Duties and Responsibilities

To provide leadership and direction to the Diagnostic and Clinical Support Care Group, ensuring policies and procedures are developed and implemented to deliver clinical standards safely and effectively, ensuring performance targets are achieved within the allocated financial resources.

Accountable for the Care Group, working closely with the Clinical and Service Managers to ensure the service objectives are achieved.

Represent the Care Group at regional and partnership forums ensuring services are routinely benchmarked with the network.

Develop Care Group plans that ensures the service is delivered in line with the Trusts and Divisional Strategy and supports the Trust’s strategy for High Performing Services

Key Relationships

Divisional Managers, Therapy Managers, Clinical Managers, Clinical Specialists, Consultants, Community teams, external providers

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities

To provide leadership and direction to the Diagnostic and Clinical Support Care Group, ensuring policies and procedures are developed and implemented to deliver clinical standards safely and effectively, ensuring performance targets are achieved within the allocated financial resources.

Accountable for the Care Group, working closely with the Clinical and Service Managers to ensure the service objectives are achieved.

Represent the Care Group at regional and partnership forums ensuring services are routinely benchmarked with the network.

Develop Care Group plans that ensures the service is delivered in line with the Trusts and Divisional Strategy and supports the Trust’s strategy for High Performing Services

Communication

Communicate and receive highly complex, highly sensitive and at times contentious information, ensuring where there are barriers to understanding, information is provided in a format that supports understanding, is empathetic whilst maintaining the intention and context of the message.

As a member of the Divisional management team, attends and participates in divisional meetings, providing assurance with regards to the effective delivery of Diagnostic and Clinical Support services, acting as a conduit between the Care Group and the Divisional Directors and Senior Managers.

Communicate formally as and when required on behalf of the Care Group to the Division and Executive colleagues.

Communicates regularly with clinical and operational teams, ensuring their collective voice is heard and that concerns, ideas and suggestions are represented fairly and clearly.

Works collaboratively with the Service Managers, Clinical Director, Specialty Directors, Heads of Service and Clinical Service Managers, to ensure that services have a clear operational plan, communicated to all members of the Care Group.

Adapts appropriate communication skills, using persuasive and negotiating skills to achieve strategic objectives and to plan operational developments, including leading organisational change within the service.

Act as a patient/ staff advocate through the application of ethical, legal, and professional knowledge and skills. Provide support, empathy, and reassurance in the delivery of patient care.

Contributes to a supportive working environment in the interest of staff morale and patient care.

Develop external professional networks, which promote both the professions and the organisation.

Strategic

Develop strategic operational plans for the Care Group in collaboration with the Service Managers, Clinical Director, Specialty Directors, Heads of Service and Clinical Service Managers and clinical teams, ensuring consistency with the Trust Strategy.

Lead the annual planning round for the Care Group, overseeing the development of service plans and business cases that may be required, alongside the Service Managers, Clinical Director, Specialty Directors, Heads of Service and Clinical Service Managers.

Lead the implementation of service developments and service level agreements with the support of the Service Managers, Clinical Director, Specialty Directors, Heads of Service and Clinical Service Managers.

Planning and Organising Skills

Lead on service improvement projects or initiatives for the Care Group, overseeing the development of project plans, and delivery of individual projects, delegating to senior leads when appropriate.

Responsible for the interpretation, development and implementation of clinical and non-clinical policies pertaining to the Care Group, liaising with other agencies as appropriate.

Receive, manage, and analyse and interpret highly complex data, communicating findings to the Care Group and the Division.

Responsibility for patient/client care

Ensure the Care Group has a strategy for ensuring best use of clinical practice across all areas, ensuring that all clinical practice adheres to current legislation.

Ensure the Care Group has a policy to ensure continuous improvement and review of quality standards and has the competence to respond with appropriate plans when services fail to meet them consistently.

Ensure the Care Group has robust governance systems in place, with supporting programmes established within the team to monitor and deliver clinically effective high-quality services

Responsibility for policy/service development

Responsible for the identification and delivery of service development opportunities in order to achieve standards of best practice within the Care Group.

Ensure that research and development is facilitated within the Care Group.

Maintain personal familiarisation with national and local policy changes, that have the ability to affect the safe and effective operations within the Care Group.

Responsibility for Financial and Physical Resources

Responsible for Care Group budget, ensuring cost-effective use of resources, identify budget pressures as they arise and develop actions to address them which results in the delivery of a balanced budget.

Oversee the development of business cases within the Care Group to support the development or reconfiguration of services as and when required.

Responsible for ensuring the Care Group delivers its cost improvement programme alongside the Service Managers, Clinical Director, Specialty Directors, Heads of Service and Clinical Service Managers.

Authorised signatory for all claim sheets e.g., overtime, expenses, and general orders etc.

Responsible for advising the Division regarding the procurement of equipment, ensuring value for money, whilst ensuring the equipment meets the needs of services.

Responsibility for Human Resources

Provide effective leadership and management within the Care Group.

Ensure that departmental objectives and targets are achieved, acting where standards fail below the acceptable, enacting appropriate HR policies and procedures as required.

Responsible as per delegated responsibility for the investigation, case management and hearing of Employee Relation cases

Create a collaborative and positive workforce across the Care Group through effective engagement and objective setting.

Ensure that all staff are managed and developed within the Trust’s HR Polices and procedures

To assess the implications of national initiatives affecting the workforce, such as Working Time Directive, and to develop and implement action plans which will ensure compliance with New Deal and Working Time Regulations.

To participate in developing the Trust’s Strategy for Workforce Planning for the future and implementation of initiatives arising from it.

Implement innovative measures required to both retain and recruit staff in the short medium and long term.

Responsible for ensuring the Care Group achieves the Trusts Peoples measures in relation to sickness, recruitment, retention, and personal development reviews, taking corrective action where standards fall short of effective.

Responsible for ensuring the Care Group meets its obligations in relation to equality and diversity.

Responsible for ensuring all staff across the Care Group have effective annual performance reviews and corresponding personal development plans.

Responsible for risk management within the department ensuring the identification, reporting and action planning of risks and incidents, developing plans to minimize their impact on staff.

Responsibility for Information Resources

Responsible for ensuring the Care Group has effective policies and procedures to support the safe use and management of data and associated information resources, ensuring the principles of GDPR are embedded in Care Group practice; taking corrective action where standards fall short of effective.