Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Associate Director – Offender Healthcare Operations

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Job summary

Associate Director - Offender Healthcare Operations for London & South East

A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a permanent role as Associate Director, to provide effective leadership and management of all Oxleas' Prison Healthcare services across London and Kent. We are looking for an experienced and driven senior leader to join our friendly senior leadership group.

You will possess excellent organisational skills. You will also be a quick but considered thinker, who is able to flex between dealing with emerging crises and working towards the service's long-term aspirations. You will be someone who excels in establishing and developing excellent working relationships with service users, colleagues, partner agencies and stakeholders, and you will be skilled at coordinating moving parts and dealing with ambiguity and nuance.

The role is extremely busy and challenging but hugely enjoyable and fun, and you will be made to feel very welcome!

Main duties of the job

The purpose of the role is to lead the operational deliver of integrated physical, mental and emotional well-being of detained populations within HMP London and Kent.1. In conjunction with the Service Director is responsible for the effective leadership and management of all Prison healthcare services which contractually we provide.2. In liaison with the Service Director and Heads of Healthcare will regularly link with key stakeholders including commissioners and prison governors and directors. This will include attendance at contract meetings and local prison governance forums.3. In liaison with the Service Director and other members of the Core Board will lead the development agenda on new business opportunities, including writing business cases.4. Provide direction and co-ordination in conjunction with Heads of Healthcare services in shaping and implementing the future provision and quality of services provided.5. To ensure proactive management of sub-contracted services, through a regular review process that ensure the required quality and financial standards are met.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

We're Kind
We're Fair
We Listen
We Care

Date posted

08 January 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8d

Salary

£93,903 to £107,412 a year pa inc

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

277-6905784-KENT

Job locations

Bracton Centre

Dartford

DA2 7AF

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for full details.

1. This post requires visible leadership and engagement at prison sites with an expectation of regular attendance at sites across HMP London and Kent sites: HMP Wandsworth, HMP Isis, HMP Swaleside, HMP Elmley, HMP Standford Hill, HMP Maidstone, HMP Rochester, HMP Cookham Wood, HMP East Sutton Park.

2. Responsible for overall annual budget of £44 million across 9 prison sites and approximately 500 wtes. Ensure that each site manages its expenditure within the income attributed to it, achieving agreed income targets and activity plan, taking mitigating action to reduce expenditure as required.

3. Is required to operate independently in providing leadership and direction to the prison teams ensuring effective participation in the development of services in the prisons.

4. Develop and maintain strong and positive relationships with the Service Director, Regional Managers and Heads of Healthcare to assist in moving services forward.

5. Develop and maintain effective working arrangements with Commissioners, voluntary organisations, secure service providers and other stakeholders.

6. Responsible for the performance management agenda within the prisons including reporting and monitoring arrangements.

7. Provide effective leadership through formal supervision and appraisal.

8. Actively promote a culture of equal opportunities for staff and service users.

9. Provide specialist knowledge and leadership on the delivery of healthcare in prisons across the catchment area ensuring the delivery of a high-quality service is delivered within allocated resources.

10. To participate fully in continuous professional development and supervision.

Person Specification

Education, Training & Qualifications

Essential

Educated to degree level with a relevant qualification at masters/doctorate or equivalent experience.
Leadership qualification.
Evidence of on-going professional development.

Knowledge and Abilities

Essential

Minimum of five years experience at senior management level in a health or social care organisation.
Experience managing large operational teams covering a large geographical area. Leading on cultural change to embed new ways of working across dispersed and diverse services and teams.
Working successfully with partner organisations and stakeholders including staff, service users, commissioners and regulatory agencies.
Managing significant budgets and achievement of recurrent efficiencies and savings.
Ability to analyse and interpret performance and financial information in ways that inform and drive improvement in services.
Ability to communicate clearly and openly with all staff on issues of difficulty as well as successes.
An excellent understanding of effective systems of governance and the management of clinical and non-clinical risks.
Excellent project management skills and the ability to see through tasks to their successful conclusion within timescales and budgets.
Strong performance management skills combining clarity around expectations, direction and holding others to account.
Excellent negotiation skills to broker agreements with a range of stakeholders including commissioners, governors and patient/family representatives.
Commitment to the aims and values of the NHS combined with high personal integrity.
Review, develop and lead implementation of workforce-related policies and protocols to support the Trusts strategic and operational priorities.

Desirable

Experience and knowledge of healthcare delivery in a prison environment.

Knowledge of and experience working in the NHS.

Skills

Essential

Skilled in the use of IT equipment and software: Proven editorial skills, management of information systems, advanced keyboard skills for accuracy.
Excellent oral and written communication Skills.
Full driving licence.
Physical Effort -Must be able to sit in a restricted position for long periods when writing up reports, sitting in meetings etc.
Mental Effort - There is frequent requirement for prolonged concentration when analysing, writing reports, attending meetings plus the postholder should expect frequent interruptions.
Emotional Effort - There will be occasions when dealing with highly distressing or emotional circumstances such as when conveying unwelcome news or having to deal with unexpected deaths. Strong ability to empathise and be sensitive to the needs of others, to overcome barriers to understanding to achieve project outcomes.
Working Conditions - Working in prisons will mean that the postholder is exposed to noise.

Attitudes, Aptitudes, Personal Characteristics

Essential

High level of integrity Team player Able to champion the Trusts values and principles at all levels.
Able to demonstrate political acumen, both within the organisation and externally. Keeps abreast of national and local policy and best practice to inform own working.
Able to develop oneself and others.
A professional manner and a positive approach. Strong customer focus.
Able to self-manage and work effectively in a complex deadline-driven environment; highly self-motivated and results oriented.
A systems thinker able to identify and take forward opportunities to make corporate processes more efficient and effective.
Able to problem solve and work proactively with colleagues to come up with solutions. Able to work flexibly, dealing with ambiguity and responding rapidly to changing priorities.

Other

Essential

This post requires the ability to travel at least 50% of time to ensure high visibility leadership and support to teams across London and the South East.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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 theUK 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)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION, PLEASE READ:

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide:

Proof of right to work documentation

Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID

Proof of address documentation

Non-UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home office Share code.

Address History:

5 years address history will be needed.

Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.

Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

In order to assist you in obtaining a Police Certificate, guidance can be sought from:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants

If the country you have resided in is not listed here, you can obtain the necessary information by contacting the relevant Embassy or High Commission for that Country. Their contact details can be found on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website (http://www.fco.gov.uk/en).