ICS Portfolio Senior Specialist

Job responsibilities

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Working to the ICS Portfolio Senior Manager support the functioning of the single point of contact (SPC) i.e., for information and requests for reporting coming into and out of Black Country Integrated Care System.
• The ICS Portfolio Specialist is pivotal role in supporting the delivery of the priorities of the ICS, helping to embed a culture of continuous improvement within the organisation and embedding the function of the ICS Portfolio.
• Working in a complex environment covering business, transformation and improvement initiatives across the ICS, you will have an existing excellent track record of delivering programmes of work that make a real difference.
• Support the ICS Portfolio Senior Manager in establishing and maintaining effective internal management oversight of the Portfolio including leading monthly reporting processes and assurance, risk and issue management, appropriate methods of mitigation and escalation processes and budget management.
• Acting as Portfolio specialist for the ICS, deliver tasks as agreed with the ICS Portfolio Senior Manager
• Design, Develop and embed end-to-end processes and ways of working to ensure a consistent and best practice approach to the development of the ICS Programme and any other key projects.
• Ensure the ICS is compliant with its legal requirements as a statutory organisation and is able to make decisions to enable the development and delivery of its Plans
• Facilitate and embed a one team approach to identify opportunities for joint work and delivery within the Black Country
• Engage with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure that effective working relationships and efficient working practices are delivered and to support the development of the ICS
• Draft papers and reports for key decision making forums to ensure appropriate oversight and escalation on performance against Plan and ICS Programme delivery
• Present verbal, written and numerical information in a manner that is easily understood, professionally and applicable in style to its audience i.e. one to one setting and in complex meetings to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
• The post holder will oversee and line manage the work of a small team on a day-to-day basis, including undertaking appraisals, recruitment including progressing any disciplinary or capability issues, as necessary.
• Ensuring issues are presented verbal and written in a style that is easily understood and professionally whilst explaining any complexities and consequences in a detail manner.
• Prepare reports, briefings, documents and performance reports relating to the programme portfolio.
• Monitor and report monthly on your project portfolio, advising on any slippage and proactively recognising when exception reporting is required.
• Interpreting information / data from reports (both financial and non-financial) and identifying any inaccuracies and feeding back this to the relevant leads or execs
• Support Project Managers to develop and maintain robust delivery plans for ICS priorities / projects
• Maintain all documents within your portfolio to enable accurate reporting and tracking of project / financial delivery
• Support and Represent the ICS Portfolio Director / ICS Portfolio Senior Manager at any key local meetings
• Work with the Governance Officer to ensure effective risk and issue management is completed
• Participate in relevant internal and external working groups/projects, services and initiatives to provide project, information and analytical advice and expertise.
• Support the ICS to develop and implement processes and systems that align to the corporate strategy.
• Liaise with other Managers to share best practice.
• Ability to challenge Programme Project Managers (especially around non-delivery) and support to project managers/leads, and make judgements and decisions relating to the management of the programme. Take immediate and decisive action where projects are failing to meet key milestones/targeted levels of improvement.
• Responsible for acting as a source of specialist knowledge, preparing briefings for senior management and external partners as well as contributing expertise to media briefings.
• Become the central point of contact for ICS templates and best practice for all ICS staff.
• Responsible for the analysis and interpretation of a range of information and its presentation to a wide variety of stakeholders, and influencing their decision-making when appropriate.
• Critically evaluate the quality of all programme / project plans, and strength of organisational capability and capacity to achieve the planned outcomes.
• Support the development of the skills and abilities of the members of the Portfolio team. Facilitate appropriate links with other teams to encourage knowledge sharing and learning, with respect to transformation, innovation and improvement.
• Working independently to effectively manage their own workload, prioritising work appropriately to meet the needs of the department and associated deadlines.
• Liaise with the project managers to ensure the production of the precise project documents and project control documents are completed timely and correctly.
• Distilling complex information and presenting it in an accessible and understandable way to a range of audiences, in both a writing and verbal manner.
• Ensuring that all documents and reports provided for the whole ICS programme portfolio are consistent and accurate in there style and format.
• Responsible for ensuring that the central ICS share point drive / documents management system is maintained, accurate and accessible to all staff across the ICS.
• Control the access to the ICS share point drive and its contents.

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level qualification or significant experience of working in a project management environment in a health setting
• Thorough understanding of Project lifecycle from project initiation through to project closure and transition to BAU
• Project management qualification e.g. Prince 2/Project Management qualification or equivalent experience or training

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Strong IT skills and High Standard of presentational skills using Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Microsoft Project
• Current and broad knowledge of NHS and understanding of the current NHS national agenda
• Clear communicator with excellent writing, report writing and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear reports and plans concisely and accurately for diverse audiences
• Persuading project boards and staff of the importance of projects and prioritisation against other workload demands
• Negotiation, motivational and persuasion skills to influence others
• Communicating on complex matters and difficult situations, by using persuasion and influence
• Ability to communicate at all levels within the organisation both orally and in writing
• Developing, fostering and proactively forming links with key internal (at all levels up to Executive and Governing Body) and external stakeholders; and acting as a key contact/communication link between them
• Communicating project information about performance and change, including with partner organisations and other outside stakeholders in a clear, concise and effective manner both orally and in writing
• Ability to challenge Programme Project Managers (especially around non-delivery) and support to project managers/leads, and make judgements and decisions relating to the management of the programme
• Ability to identify when projects are failing to meet key milestones/targeted levels of improvement and take immediate and decisive action where required
• Ability to collate information and prepare paperwork in accordance with procedures
• Able to produce concise reports within time constraints
• Ability to prioritise work accordingly within deadlines and ensure others meet their milestones and deadlines
• High attention to detail and ability to identify financial and non-financial reporting errors
• The ability to analyse and interpret data/information from very complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources and to make judgments on situations, choosing from a range of possible options and recommend and appropriate course of action to address any issues
• Support the use of analytical approaches to generate regular assessments of project performance and analyse, identify and resolve failures to meet project standards
• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
• Ability to identify project slippage and proactively recognising when exception reporting is required
• Providing support in setting timescales for successful project completion
• Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly
• Strong project management skill and ability to ensure deliverables are met by the project team and are consistent with the organisation's standards
• Contribute to the review and development or existing managerial systems
• Propose changes to projects informing policy and making recommendations
• Managing the ICS Portfolio team on a daily basis, undertaking appraisals, recruitment including progressing any disciplinary or capability issues, as necessary
• Ability to engender trust and confidence and demonstrate integrity in the provision of advice and support
• Skills for managing projects ensuring they meet financial targets

Experience

Essential

• Experience of managing risks and reporting risk failures to boards and directors
• Experience of drafting reports/papers and correspondence at Senior Management Team level
• A minimum of 2 years experience of working within a Portfolio Management team in a similar role and grade
• A minimum of 2 years NHS experience at the same grade or above
• Supporting all aspects of a project (timelines, deliverables, meeting planning, marketing and communications, etc.)
• Experience of maintaining a central share drive / documents management system to ensure that it is accurate and accessible to all staff
• Experience of setting up and implementing internal processes and procedures

Other Requirements

Essential

• Ability to travel across the geographical area served by the ICS and wider as required

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Has a deep sense of vocation for the values and principles of public service in general and the NHS in particular
• Professional calm and efficient manner
• Used to working in a busy environment
• Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change
• Effective organiser, influencer and Networker
• Reliable, well organised, efficient and accurate
• Self-motivated with a proactive approach
• Team membership the ability to work creatively as a member of a team, both with internal colleagues and with others from outside the organisation
• Is committed to promoting equity and has a sound understanding of diversity issues
• Ability to support stakeholders on improvement measures and how to use them effectively

Autonomy

Essential

• Ability to work in a Team and to work on own initiative/assertive without supervision
• Ability to support work across different teams in a matrix approach to deliver overall programme goals