Job summary
Are you an experienced and compassionate healthcare leader looking for an opportunity to make a real impact? The Midhurst Macmillan Service is seeking a Deputy Head of Service to support the delivery of high-quality, specialist palliative care to patients and families facing complex, life-limiting illnesses in the community.
This role is vital in ensuring the smooth operational management of our services, working closely with the Head of Service to maintain and enhance patient safety, quality of care, and service effectiveness. You will be a visible and accessible leader, providing strong professional and clinical leadership across the team. Your expertise will support service development, ensuring our care remains patient-centred, responsive, and aligned with national and Trust initiatives.
If you are passionate about specialist palliative care and have the leadership skills to drive service improvement, we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
As a Deputy Operational Head of Service, you will provide:
- Operational Leadership: Support the Head of Service in managing daily operations, ensuring services remain high quality, patient-focused, and financially sustainable.
- Service Improvement: Monitor and analyse performance data, identify areas for improvement, and implement action plans to enhance service delivery.
- Clinical Operational Leadership: Provide specialist advice and guidance to the team, ensuring safe, effective, and evidence-based care for patients and families.
- Workforce Support: Offer compassionate and facilitative leadership, fostering a supportive and collaborative working environment.
- Strategic Development: Assist in planning for future service needs, ensuring the Midhurst Macmillan Service continues to evolve and meet the needs of our community.
This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a dedicated team providing exceptional care in the heart of the community. If you are ready to take the next step in your leadership journey, apply today!
If you would like any further information please contact Joanna Stuttaford (Macmillan Head of Service) by calling 01730 811 121 or emailing joanna.stuttaford@nhs.net.
About us
We are the main provider of NHS community services across East and West Sussex, with 6,000 staff serving 1.3 million people. We deliver essential care to adults and children, helping them manage their health, avoid hospital admissions, and reduce hospital stays. Our Trust's vision is to provide excellent care at the heart of the community.
Why work for us?
Positive 2023 NHS Staff Survey results, highlighting compassionate leadership and wellbeing
Varied environments: community hospitals, patients' homes, and bases across Sussex
Flexible working options: part-time, flexi-time, annualised hours, and flexi-retirement
Excellent training, development, and research opportunities
Cost-effective workplace nurseries in Crawley, Hove, and Brighton
Active EMBRACE, Disability & Wellbeing, LGBTQIA+, and Religion & Belief networks
Level 3 Disability Confident Leader and Veteran Aware Trust
Beautiful Sussex location near the South Downs and coast
Our values - Compassionate Care, Working Together, Achieving Ambitions, Delivering Excellence - guide everything we do.
We embrace diversity and encourage applications from all backgrounds, particularly from ethnically diverse, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We aim to create an inclusive environment and support reasonable adjustments during recruitment.
This post may close early if sufficient applications are received.
Job description
Job responsibilities
This role is ideal for a compassionate and strategic leader with a strong background in healthcare management, operational performance, and workforce development. You will bring extensive experience in service delivery, budget management, clinical governance, and multi-agency collaboration, ensuring the highest standards of patient care and safety.
As a natural problem-solver and critical thinker, you will confidently assess and manage clinical risks, streamline processes, and influence change. Your ability to engage stakeholders, communicate complex information effectively, and develop high-performing teams will be key to success.
Job description
Job responsibilities
This role is ideal for a compassionate and strategic leader with a strong background in healthcare management, operational performance, and workforce development. You will bring extensive experience in service delivery, budget management, clinical governance, and multi-agency collaboration, ensuring the highest standards of patient care and safety.
As a natural problem-solver and critical thinker, you will confidently assess and manage clinical risks, streamline processes, and influence change. Your ability to engage stakeholders, communicate complex information effectively, and develop high-performing teams will be key to success.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Bachelor's degree in a health, social care or related area of study or relevant experience
- Postgraduate qualification in management or equivalent level of knowledge acquired through experience
- Evidence of continuous professional/leadership/management development
Experience
Essential
- Experience in a leadership role including contributing to operational management of services
- Experience in management of health services
- Experience of monitoring, analysing and assessing clinical operational performance
- Experience of managing budgets
- Experience in drafting service level business plans, local standard operating procedures and policies
- Experience of staff management, including recruitment and retention of staff, performance management, and managing sickness absence, and misconduct
- Experience of managing staff including appraisal and personal development planning
- Experience of partnership working with a wide range of statutory and non-statutory service providers
- Experience of assessing risks within a clinical service and developing risk management plans
Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of NHS Human Resource Policies and Procedures
- Knowledge of clinical and operational governance and its application to services
- Knowledge of multidisciplinary team working and an understanding of differing professional roles boundaries
- Knowledge of budget management, target setting, and action planning and performance management
Other Requirements
Essential
- Ability to travel to meet the requirements of the job
Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Ability to monitor and maintain standards of care within clinical services
- Ability to identify, assess and manage clinical and operational risks
- Able to translate complex information make it meaningful to staff at all levels and across all professions both verbally and in writing
- Ability to occasionally manage distressing and emotional circumstances with staff, patients and their carers
- Ability to deal with competing demands, priorities and deadlines whilst managing operational imperatives and frequent interruptions
- Ability to engage stakeholders through discussion, presentation and direct liaison
- Well-developed presentation skills
- Word-processing and keyboard skills and ability to use Microsoft Office packages including Word, PowerPoint and Excel
- A natural curiosity backed by excellent critical analytical skills
- Able to effectively challenge poor conduct and behaviours
- Strong patient focus
- Excellent time management, prioritisation and organisational skills and ability to manage and deliver to agreed deadlines
- Skilled in writing clear and coherent operational business cases, reports, and service plans
- Demonstrate understanding of the unique qualities and needs of a team and ability to provide a caring, safe environment to enable everyone to do their jobs effectively
- Use and interpret varied information to generate new ideas and make effective plans for improvement or change
- Demonstrate understanding of how health and social care services fit together and how different people, teams or organisations interconnect and interact
- Able to communicate a compelling and credible vision of the future in a way that makes it feel achievable and exciting
- Ability to involve individuals and demonstrate that their contributions and ideas are valued and important for delivering outcomes and improvements
- Able to agree clear performance goals and quality indicators for services, supporting individuals and teams to take responsibility for results and providing balanced feedback
- Able to build capability within the workforce to enable people to meet future challenges. Using a range of experiences as a vehicle for individual and organisational learning
- Able to use interpersonal and organisational understanding to persuade and build collaboration
- Able to work as part of a team, using own and others skills and adopting a coaching style to drive individual and organisational performance
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Bachelor's degree in a health, social care or related area of study or relevant experience
- Postgraduate qualification in management or equivalent level of knowledge acquired through experience
- Evidence of continuous professional/leadership/management development
Experience
Essential
- Experience in a leadership role including contributing to operational management of services
- Experience in management of health services
- Experience of monitoring, analysing and assessing clinical operational performance
- Experience of managing budgets
- Experience in drafting service level business plans, local standard operating procedures and policies
- Experience of staff management, including recruitment and retention of staff, performance management, and managing sickness absence, and misconduct
- Experience of managing staff including appraisal and personal development planning
- Experience of partnership working with a wide range of statutory and non-statutory service providers
- Experience of assessing risks within a clinical service and developing risk management plans
Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of NHS Human Resource Policies and Procedures
- Knowledge of clinical and operational governance and its application to services
- Knowledge of multidisciplinary team working and an understanding of differing professional roles boundaries
- Knowledge of budget management, target setting, and action planning and performance management
Other Requirements
Essential
- Ability to travel to meet the requirements of the job
Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Ability to monitor and maintain standards of care within clinical services
- Ability to identify, assess and manage clinical and operational risks
- Able to translate complex information make it meaningful to staff at all levels and across all professions both verbally and in writing
- Ability to occasionally manage distressing and emotional circumstances with staff, patients and their carers
- Ability to deal with competing demands, priorities and deadlines whilst managing operational imperatives and frequent interruptions
- Ability to engage stakeholders through discussion, presentation and direct liaison
- Well-developed presentation skills
- Word-processing and keyboard skills and ability to use Microsoft Office packages including Word, PowerPoint and Excel
- A natural curiosity backed by excellent critical analytical skills
- Able to effectively challenge poor conduct and behaviours
- Strong patient focus
- Excellent time management, prioritisation and organisational skills and ability to manage and deliver to agreed deadlines
- Skilled in writing clear and coherent operational business cases, reports, and service plans
- Demonstrate understanding of the unique qualities and needs of a team and ability to provide a caring, safe environment to enable everyone to do their jobs effectively
- Use and interpret varied information to generate new ideas and make effective plans for improvement or change
- Demonstrate understanding of how health and social care services fit together and how different people, teams or organisations interconnect and interact
- Able to communicate a compelling and credible vision of the future in a way that makes it feel achievable and exciting
- Ability to involve individuals and demonstrate that their contributions and ideas are valued and important for delivering outcomes and improvements
- Able to agree clear performance goals and quality indicators for services, supporting individuals and teams to take responsibility for results and providing balanced feedback
- Able to build capability within the workforce to enable people to meet future challenges. Using a range of experiences as a vehicle for individual and organisational learning
- Able to use interpersonal and organisational understanding to persuade and build collaboration
- Able to work as part of a team, using own and others skills and adopting a coaching style to drive individual and organisational performance
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
