Job Description

SERVICE MANAGER: 35,000-36,000 based on experience

Full-time (job-share or part-time considered for suitable candidate). Based in North Northamptonshire

We are excited to be managing the Healthwatch North Northamptonshire Service and appointing new staff for the service. Our aims and mission are to give voice to the public and engaging communities especially those who are least heard and the most vulnerable. You will also be committed to working collaboratively with communities, VCSE and statutory sector services.

The Service Manager will have significant knowledge of health and social care services and community engagement including working with people who use services. The Service Manager will also be able to lead all the key functions of Healthwatch including:

Providing an effective Information & Signposting service for the public.

Priority Research Projects

Gathering Public and Patient Experiences

Proactively managing Community Engagement & Outreach work

Meeting Enter & View requirements

Promoting and supporting Volunteering

We are looking for someone who is committed to social justice and equalities and able to translate this into practice. We need a confident manager who is credible and can lead an effective work programme relevant to meeting the needs of local communities and informing change to policy and practice of health and social care services.

For an informal conversation which we encourage please contact:

Pratima Dattani CEO Support Northamptonshire

pratima.dattani@supportnorthamptonhsire.org.uk

Victoria Bell Development Lead, Support Northamptonshire.

Victoria.bell@supportnorthamptonshrie.org.uk

APPLICATION: Please send your CV and a covering letter showing how you meet the detailed job and personal specification.

CLOSING DATE: Monday 19 May 12 noon

PROPOSED INTERVIEW DATE: Friday 23 May or Wednesday 28 May

Service Manager: Healthwatch North Northamptonshire

Title:

Service Manager

Healthwatch North Northamptonshire

Salary:

35-36,000 FTE

Reporting to:

CEO Support Northamptonshire (SN)

Responsible for:

Healthwatch NN Staff and Volunteers

Location:

Wellingborough Office/ Hybrid working offered

Hours:

Full Time/Part Time considered for the right candidate

(minimum of 28 hours per week)

Background

Healthwatch North Northamptonshire is one of more than 150 local Healthwatch formed in response to the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Healthwatch represents the views and experiences of local people and help communities to exercise greater choice over the services they receive.

Healthwatch North Northamptonshire will champion the health and social care needs of our communities, acting as an independent local voice and ensuring that services meet the needs of our communities and remain high quality.

Our vision is to inspire positive change in North Northamptonshire's health and social care service through effective community engagement and ensure people and communities have a strong voice to influence and challenge how health and social care services are provided.

We hope to ensure that Healthwatch North Northants has a strong presence, with an effective, proactive and independent local voice. We act as a 'critical friend' to the commissioners and providers of health and social care services to enable progressive and beneficial decisions to be made.

Job Purpose:

To lead and manage all aspects of the Healthwatch North Northamptonshire service in line with statutory duties, service specification, performance requirements and in line with the values and objectives of Support Northamptonshire.

Our aim is to raise awareness amongst commissioners, providers and other agencies about the importance of engaging with communities, and the expertise and value that individuals can bring to discussion and decision making on local and national issues.

We hope to carry out this work in North Northamptonshire through specific ways:

By capturing community views through people's experiences and by understanding and reporting on these experiences to health and social care services.

By actively promoting community involvement in the commissioning, provision and scrutiny of health and social services, giving people and communities a stronger voice to influence and challenge how health and social care services are provided within their locality.

By undertaking community-led research in priority areas to examine the impact of health and social care services, its pathways and make any recommendations for change.

Healthwatch can monitor and review how local services are planned and run (except for social care facilities for children and young people) and have the statutory power to 'Enter and View' premises delivering health and social care services. This enables authorised representatives of Healthwatch to observe the nature and quality of services, report on their findings and make recommendations so that local authorities and health services can exercise their duty to respond.

By providing Information & Signposting Service to help people understand the services available in their local area and to make informed choices about different health and social care services.

KEY TASKS:

To work closely with the Healthwatch NN Advisory Group and the Support Northamptonshire's CEO to:

1. Fulfil Healthwatch NN's statutory purpose, contractual requirements and its strategic and operational plans and objectives.

2. Contribute and challenge at a strategic level, influencing and shaping decisions made by commissioners and providers, in line with the vision and priorities of Healthwatch NN.

3. Implement a project management approach to the design and delivery of all workplan activity and deliver on respective programme areas including:

Providing an effective Information & Signposting service for the public. Priority Research Projects Gathering Patient Experiences Proactively managing Community Engagement & Outreach work Meeting Enter & View requirements Promoting and supporting Volunteering
4. Coordinate all statutory functions including enter and view visits, information requests, escalations to Healthwatch England, and the coordination of intelligence gathering from a range of sources including the Information and Signposting function, and the NHS Complaints Advocacy service.

5. Work closely with the Care Quality Commission, Experts by Experience representatives, Social Service Quality Inspectors and any other stakeholders that perform a quality or inspection role to ensure coordination of activities and awareness of each other's workplans.

6. Lead on all communications with Healthwatch England, the CQC and other national partners, ensuring the timely distribution of intelligence collated locally, and escalating matters of serious concerns.

7. To lead and undertake research and issue led investigations. in priority areas, provide quantitative and qualitative analysis on key data, ensuring projects and reports are achieved on time and to a high quality and that recommendations are reported and reviewed.

8. To develop a core team of community volunteers who can support and contribute to the work of Healthwatch NN and support them to be proactive and enthusiastic in fulfilling their roles.

9. To represent and promote Healthwatch NN with the NHS, Local Authority and Third Sector stakeholders and

10. Deliver presentations and progress reports at key statutory bodies including the Health & Well Being Board, Health & Care Partnership and Overview and Scrutiny Committee as required.

11. Act as the central point of contact for key stakeholders, commissioners, and service providers and sit on issue led boards and networks and attend such meetings when deemed it could add value to the work of Healthwatch.

12. Ensure effective working relationships are in place with neighbouring Healthwatch, and explore opportunities for cross boundary working and joint utilisation of resources. and ensure appropriate protocols are in place for collaborative working.

13. Identify, advance and manage collaborative relationships with key strategic stakeholders and partners to achieve our statutory roles (including voluntary sector, statutory agencies and other local Healthwatch)

14. Act as ambassador for Healthwatch NN, working with other organisations and bodies as appropriate, taking part in external working groups and events to further the work and reputation of the organisation.

15. Lead and develop and maintain productive networks, relationships and partnerships with key stakeholders and other appropriate bodies and organisations.

16. Where deemed appropriate, prepare formal requests for information to providers and commissioners, and keep a record of requests and timelines for responses. Identify appropriate actions when a late or insufficient response has been received, including onward referral to the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

17. Identify gaps in the knowledge of Healthwatch North Northamptonshire about the health and social care needs of local residents and look to address these, particularly working with key partners.

18. Assess local strategies and policy documents, to identify gaps where local public concerns are not being addressed.

19. Adopt an effective and shared approach to information management with appropriate sharing of data to avoid duplication, misinterpretation or underuse of data.

20. Work with the team to identify gaps in service provision and alert local commissioners of any such gaps.

21. Act as the central point of contact for all incoming press enquiries and be available to provide comments when health and social care related articles appear in the news, or direct enquiries to Senior Management where appropriate.

22. Act as the central point of contact for any complaints made against Healthwatch North Northamptonshire and escalate accordingly to internal policies.

23. Deliver key performance targets and ensure contract monitoring reports are produced in a timely manner.

24. Manage the Healthwatch NN website and social media , production and publication of reports and all external materials and content.

25. Line manage Healthwatch NN staff and carry out supervisions and appraisals in line with Support Northamptonshire policies and procedures

26. Working with the relevant staff ensure the necessary infrastructure, resources and relationships are in place for the effective and efficient management of Healthwatch NN.

27. Ensure compliance with all Support Northamptonshire policies and procedures

Additional responsibilities:

1. To work as a senior manager and work collaboratively with other services within Support Northamptonshire.

2. To support SN with the ongoing development of systems for planning and managing all aspects of Healthwatch NN activities within available resources and budgets

3. To lead and support fund raising strategies, such as bid writing for approved projects

4. To work effectively with other employees and volunteers to promote the aims and objectives of Healthwatch NN, and to present a positive image of both to the public

5. To comply with Health and Safety policy and procedures.

6. To comply with Equal Opportunities policy and procedures.

7. To maintain working knowledge of the policies and regulations governing the organisation

8. To attend all staff meetings

9. To undertake any training and development deemed necessary for the pursuance of the post

10. To operate in a way that contributes to the continuous improvement of services and embraces the organisation's quality initiatives

Person Specification:

The ideal candidate for this role:

Is passionate about social justice and addressing health inequalities

Has experience of co-production and best practice in community engagement

Is knowledgeable about key health and social care services.

Is an experienced manager who is driven to manage a small team to capture views and experiences of local health and care services and produce recommendations for change to reflect what people tell us.

Has the skills and confidence to influence change by working in partnership with other organisations and system partners

Requirements

Qualifications

Educated to degree level

Masters degree - Desirable

Research project management

Skills and Competencies

Excellent staff management, organisational skills, and the ability to manage several projects simultaneously

Excellent communication skills - written, verbal and listening skills

Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to develop effective working relationships internally and externally, with staff, partners and stakeholders

Excellent IT skills, including word processing, databases and spreadsheets

Website management skills, and ability to deal with social media

Excellent administrative skills, including attention to detail and the ability to keep up-to-date records

Ability to keep information confidential as appropriate in an office environment

Knowledge, Learning and Development

Awareness of the diverse communication skills of the public, including those who are vulnerable.

Knowledge of the health and social care services, pathways, and commissioning

Good knowledge of co-production and good practice in community engagement

Good knowledge of IT and its applicatio

Experience - quality and relevance

Experience of managing a portfolio of projects across varying programmes areas.

Experience of working strategically and at a high level with a range of stakeholders and partners, influencing and impacting change and decision making

Experience of line managing a team of staff

Experience of working with members of the public, especially those who are the most vulnerable and people from a range of diverse backgrounds and with different abilities.

Experience of supporting committees or boards

Experience of setting up and maintaining systems and procedures

Personal qualities and circumstances - essential and directly relevant to post

Understanding of structural inequality and its impact on health and wellbeing.

Strong affinity with the mission and values of the organisation

Awareness of own strengths and weaknesses, with good time management skills and flexibility in approach.

Ability to manage own workload and work with minimal supervision

Resilience in the face of challenging circumstances

Personal commitment to equity and diversity

Ability to respect and keep confidentiality.

Have a full and current driving licence.

Willingness to work evening or weekends when required.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 35,000.00-36,000.00 per year

Benefits:

On-site parking Work from home
Schedule:

Monday to Friday
Education:

Bachelor's (preferred)
Experience:

social care and health: 3 years (preferred)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Wellingborough NN8 1HR

Application deadline: 19/05/2025
Reference ID: Healthwatch North Northamptonshire - Service Manager