Area Manager

Reporting to: / Regional Director
Staff reporting: / To be defined
This role sits within: / The Services Directorate
Key internal relationships: / Regional Director
Senior Operations Manager
Senior Practice Consultants
Area Managers
Finance
IT
Business Development
Key external relationships: / Commissioners; Commercial Sector; Trusts and Foundations; Strategic Networks; Partner Organisations, General Public
Budget responsibility: / To be defined
Band:

Overall purpose

  • Responsible for the day to day strategic management of Relate services within a defined territory ensuring that services are client led, efficient and income is maximized
  • Responsible for ensuring service quality across a defined territory ensuring compliance with the Relate Clinical Governance Framework across all services
  • Contribute to strategic business planning and service development and diversification through knowledge of local need, opportunities and challenges

Key delivery areas

Transition and Integration

  • Ensures effective business continuity during the transition and integration of services into the new and larger Relate
  • Supports the development of staff into new roles
  • Supports and drives the new culture within services
  • Supports the transition/novation of contracts into Relate National and work with External Stakeholders to ensure the minimum disruption to Service Delivery

Operational Management

  • Takes responsibility for all aspects of the day-to-day management of a range of Relate services ensuring high quality, efficient and effective delivery at all times and the line management of the Operations Manager
  • Proactively maximises performance of services, setting and monitoring against KPIs to ensurethey are client led, efficiently resourced and downtime is minimised. Takes appropriate action to prevent or address issues arising
  • Ensures that all contract deliverables are met or exceeded including outcomes, compliance and quality
  • Ensures a culture of continual improvement

Service Development

  • In conjunction with colleagues within the Relate Communications team, undertakes work to actively promote Relate services to a range of audiences, including commissioners, funders, partner organisations and the general public
  • Leads on service diversification across defined territory broadening the scope of services beyond counselling and therapy, in line with national Services Strategy
  • Supports the Regional Director in developing and maintaining external relationships that ensure Relate is well placed to influence local commissioning intentions and can maximise benefits of joint working with other organisations
  • Proactively participates in a range of strategic networks and forums in order to promote Relate services and capitalise on emerging opportunities
  • Builds strong and positive relationships with key health, social care and other relevant commissioners/funders
  • Contributes to the annual business planning process to ensure that local commissioning priorities and other identified local needs are considered
  • Works collaboratively with the Relate Business Development team regarding local tender and grant opportunities, contributing to bid writing processes as required
  • Ensures planning for new services is aligned to Relate strategy, identified local need and commissioning priorities
  • Ensures all new contracts are implemented efficiently and in line with contractual requirements
  • Shares best practice with colleagues across Relate and the Federation providing support and mentoring to colleagues in other areas in relation to specific contracts and services as appropriate

People Management

  • Leads and motivates a team of paid and volunteer staff
  • Ensures staff are aware of and working to organisational policies and procedures at all times
  • Ensures all staff haveregular one to ones and an annual appraisal in line with organisational policy
  • Ensures clinical staff are appropriately qualified and meet minimum requirements around clinical supervision and consultation
  • Recruits, trains and develops new staff in line with organisational policy
  • Sets and monitors key performance indicators for all staff taking appropriate steps to manage under performance
  • Provides a direct line management function to specified staff

Service Effectiveness

  • Proactively monitors service effectiveness using a range of management information tools
  • Produces accurate and timely monitoring reports as required
  • Works collaboratively with the Senior Operations Manager to maximise the effectiveness of client booking and payment systems
  • Ensures service delivery complies with the organisation’s clinical governance framework
  • Deals with complaints in line with organisational policy

Financial

  • Supports the Regional Director and the Finance team in developing and managing annual budgets, including provision of accurate costings, monitoring expenditure, reconciling income and expenditure, monthly reporting and re-forecasts
  • Manages services within agreed budget, maximising efficiency at all times
  • Operates within limits of financial authority
  • Works with the Business Development Team to contribute to the development of budgets for new services, grant applications, and tender submissions as required ensuring costings are accurate and achieve full cost recovery
  • Ensures that staff are aware of and comply with financial controls

General

  • Works collaboratively with colleagues across the Organisation and externally
  • Ensures compliance with relevant legislation including data protection, health & safety, HR and equality
  • Undertake travel commensurate with the role, including occasional national travel

Any other duties which may be regarded as reasonable within the nature of the duties and responsibilities of the post as defined, subject to the proviso that any change of a permanent nature shall be incorporated into the job description in specific terms with the Managers agreement.

N.B.All staff must adhere to the RELATE codes of practice on confidentiality, equal opportunities and health and safety.

Person Specification

Essential / Desirable
Experience /
  • Experience of strategicallymanaging a broad range of services in a health or social care setting and delivering them within a quality assurance framework and culture of person-centred care
  • Experience of leading a team, supporting personal development and providing line management in accordance with organisational policies and procedures
  • Experience of developing positive/fruitful relationships with a broad range of stakeholders, including the commercial sector and commissioners
  • Experience of working collaboratively across departments and/or with peers towards realisingorganisational strategy and achieving common goals
  • Experience of setting up new services in line with contractual requirements
  • Experience of managing a budget including monitoring and controlling expenditure and providing reports
  • Experience of writing comprehensive monitoring or similar reports
  • Experience of performance improvement including setting and managing against KPIs
/
  • Experience of operational management within Relate

Personal skills, abilities and knowledge /
  • Able to prioritise and manage own workload as it relates to service management and provision and the flexibility that can require
  • Ability to apply the Relate Clinical Governance Framework consistently
  • Ability to motivate staff across a broad range of functions
  • Excellent communication skillswith a persuasive style and strong negotiation skills
  • Proven ability to develop new income streams/business contracts/fundraise
  • Proactive solution focused approach with the ability to drive actions forward
  • Understanding of safeguarding and confidentiality in a counselling context
  • Ability to work flexibly and collaboratively
  • Proven IT skills and able to work with the main Microsoft office applications especially word, excel and management information systems
  • Understanding of relevant legislation and compliance requirements including health & safety, HR, equality & diversity
/
  • Understanding of the key challenges involved in delivering clinical services

Other /
  • Ability and willingness to travel on behalf of Relate.

CFW/LD- 05/10/17