Operations Manager

Job responsibilities

Job Summary

The Operations Manager is a highly visible and credible leader within the Group Practice’s 4 contracts over 7 sites, adopting any new contracts as they join the group. The Operations Manager is integral in ensuring patients can access care across the health system and that daily clinical operations are running effectively.

The post holder will ensure that work across sites is planned and monitored, liaising with clinical and non-clinical team members regularly to enable clear communications and team working. The role encompasses various responsibilities for providing operational and HR support to the Support Managers, Group Manager, Clinical Director and Clinical Leads and will require the post holder to work across all group sites and deputise in the absence of the Head of Service.

Leadership and Performance

• Develop strong cohesive working between teams and across sites.
• Work with the Support Managers, to ensure that staff at all sites are working appropriately and to full capacity, within budget.
• Providing and receiving complex contentious information and negotiating between staff and patients at all levels
• Work collaboratively as a key member of the group practice team, helping to develop and promote a positive working culture, encouraging staff participation and involvement in developing and improving their own contribution towards the success of the surgeries and the organisation.
• Initiate, develop and maintain excellent third party relationships with sub-contractor providers, (e.g. Darnall Well-Being, Zest, Social Services, Citizens Advice) to grow, maintain and support service and performance delivery.
• Set targets and monitoring standards for reception tasks.
• Maintain and develop positive relationships with Primary Care Networks (PCNs) to ensure best use of funding and to gain efficiencies for PCNs and Clover patients.
• Provide effective line management and leadership of the Support Managers across several sites.

• Ensure that direct reports have clear objectives and good appraisal and development arrangements.

HR

· Facilitate the work of the practice admin staff and supervise staff performance through the Support Managers to ensure provision of an efficient service for clinicians and patients.

· Liaise with PCS HR support teams for guidance with HR issues and hold them accountable for providing support to the practice in a timely and efficient way.

· Line management of Support Managers working to this postholder

• Ensure that PCS HR & performance systems are in place for efficient and effective working within the practice.
• Adhere to non-clinical staffing budgets.

· Take responsibility for the application of HR policies and procedures to support the business of the group and identify gaps in policies when applying PCS policies to the group.

· Be accountable for sickness absence management across all staff types employed for Clover by PCS.

• Accountability for ensuring all staff fully understand the sickness reporting procedures.
• Support line managers to ensure the effective delivery of appraisal for all staff.

· Support the Support Managers, Head of Primary Care, Clinical Director and Clinical Leads, by leading HR in resolving any employee relations (disciplinary/ grievance) issues to a satisfactory conclusion.

• Maintain HR filing systems ensuring all personnel files are CQC compliant.
• To complete and maintain relevant documentation pertaining to all staff ensuring timely notification to the HR and payroll departments.
• Responsible for ensuring collation of mandatory training with the training lead
• Identify the level of performance and capability of all non-clinical team members and facilitate opportunities for further development (including talent recognition, setting SMART objectives and effective feedback across all levels of performance).
• Have oversight and responsibility to re-deploy non-clinical staff across sites within resources to cover unforeseen sickness and absence to ensure practices are safe to operate.
• Lead the recruitment, induction, ongoing personal/professional development and retention of direct line reports (Support Managers), aiming to achieve a sustained and highly competent administrative team.
• Provide an efficient recruitment service to support managers to ensure vacancies are quickly filled and practice non-clinical staffing levels do not fall below the set minimum.

Operations

The Operations Manager will manage and support the provision and maintenance of the group estates, equipment and buildings’ services to ensure a safe and suitable environment for the care of patients and staff.

• Under the guidance of the HoS, carry out tasks required to facilitate business change.
• Develops and writes policies, working practices and service changes/developments across the whole of Clover and into other areas such as PCN’s. This may involve leading on service development areas e.g changing QOF processes, or implementing new systems
• Deal with urgent matters on behalf of the Practice – taking necessary advice from the HoPC and Clinical Director and informing them as appropriate.
• First line co-ordination of serious untoward and major incidents.

· To ensure that the Emergency and Disaster Recovery Plan is kept up to date and communicated to all team members.

· Complete audits as part of QI and reporting systems

· To be an authorised signatory for expenditure up to £1,000

· Planning, developing, structuring and scheduling plans, which may require frequent changes to keep activities on track

· Works to existing policies, with freedom to act within occupational boundaries. Expected to be autonomous and work to outcomes rather than activities. The post-holder is expected to identify how to achieve outcomes

· Role requires prolonged concentration

• Communicate with the HoPC and Support Managers on the status and progression of immediate remedial works, maintenance and other associated Estates works.
• Investigate estates related incidents, complete incident reporting procedures and write appropriate reports as required and to ensure that all necessary actions are carried out to resolve the problem
• Create performance and quality reports using statical reports and formula
• Occasional exposure to highly emotional issues e.g addressing death, or dealing with personal issues
• To inspect and ensure the site, buildings and building services are functioning and presentable at all times
• Support practices to prepare for any external inspection visits i.e. CQC.
• Take part in significant event analysis/critical incident appraisal.
• Analysis data and to identify course of action within boundaries, and investing issues such as complaints, Significant events and HR matters
• Develops patient health promotion activities, and identifies how best to engage with patients en masse to improve health screening uptake
• Be proactive in the prevention and management of risk using assessment tools and staff training.

· Undertake associated duties in adverse conditions as operational circumstances require.

• Review and ensure that all operational systems including the telephone system, appointments system, messages, visits, results, prescribing systems, waiting room call screen, access, incoming mail, scanning, etc. function at an optimum level at all times.
• Requirement to work at high pace, with frequent interruptions but still deliver high quality documents
• Requirement to travel around Sheffield several times a week (722, all 7 sites + PCN meetings)

Customer Service

· Present a positive image of Clover Group Practice internally and externally.

· Work closely with other members of the team in providing a high quality front of house service to patients, responding swiftly to escalated queries and complaints.

· Act as ‘Investigating Manager’ for non-clinical complaints assigned by the HoPC.

· Focused on patient’s best interests, patient centred.

Attendance at Meetings

· Operations Meetings

· PCN Meetings

· SLT

· SMT and disseminating clinical information

Personal Development

· Ensure continuing personal and professional development

· Ensure engagement with appraisal and regular review of personal development goals including participation in at least biannual multisource feedback

· Ensure compliance with mandatory training

Experience

Essential

• Knowledge of primary care, general practice.
• Ability to influence key decision makers.
• Significant experience in an (ideally senior) operational leadership and development role.
• Experience managing teams including those who are geographically dispersed.
• Experience of working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholder e.g statutory and voluntary organisations.
• Comfortable with a high level of accountability.
• Sound IT skills, especially MS Office applications.

Desirable

• Knowledge/experience of PCS and/or operators of similar services.
• Experience of building business relationships and managing contracts with NHS commissioners/local authorities.
• Experience of working in primary care.
• Ability to influence and lead at a senior level.
• Experience leading organisational change.

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to degree-level or equivalent experience.
• Very good standard of oral and written English and mathematics (level 3 or above)
• Management qualification (level 5 or above)

Desirable

• Finance for non-financial managers training.
• Chartered Manager; membership of CMI or equivalent.
• Programme/project management qualification.

Circumstances

Essential

• Ability to travel within and around Sheffield/South Yorkshire.

Desirable

• Ability to work additional hours / work flexibly.
• Full driving licence and own vehicle.

Behaviours and Values

Essential

• Commitment to deliver high quality, excellent value, effective and efficient services.
• Calmness, flexibility and adaptability.
• A systematic, methodical and sensitive approach to problem solving, taking into account diverse viewpoints.
• Commitment to continuous professional development.
• Honesty and openness in communicating with colleagues.
• Transparency.
• Willingness to learn from colleagues.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).