Job Description

HAS & Advice Services Manager

Job Title:HAS & Advice Services Manager

Location:Whitechapel

Salary:£27,434.91 (pro-rata) inclusive of London Weighting

Line Manager:Will Davidson – Head of Quality & Performance

Line Manager To:deafPLUS/visionPLUS Social WelfareCaseworkers

Project Overview

deafPLUS’ Advice Services have served the Deaf and Hard of hearing communities for over 45 years. This is an exciting time for the HAS & Advice Services Manager to manage a consortium of Advice Services in Hackney as well as to develop it to the next level.

The project has been commissioned by Hackney Council to enable an accessible Hackney Advice Service (HAS) as part of a consortium of 5 local voluntary organisations. The partners are - deafPLUS, visionPLUS, City & Hackney Mind, Refugee Women's Association and Royal Society for Blind Children of which deafPLUS is the lead partner. The Service has been set up to meet the advice needs of local people with disabilities.

The fundamental aim of HAS is that it is accessible to all disabled residents and migrant women in Hackney enabling them to understand their rights, access services that they are entitled to and tobuild their capabilities.

Theconsortium works to deliver free advice, casework and appeal representation for people with sensory disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health disabilities, as well as migrant women. It deliversthese services through drop in sessions, appointments and home visits across Hackney, as well as advice given over the phone and internet.

Job Role

  • The HAS & Advice ServicesManager will be responsible for ensuringall contractual obligations, set by and for the consortium, are met.
  • To liaise between the Consortium Partners and external agencies,ensuringthat delivery of the project is met.
  • To have overall responsibility for the delivery of the project, complying with the accredited qualitymarks.
  • To further develop new statutory fundingopportunities in support of and independent to current projects.
  • To manage 2 part time deafPLUS/visionPLUS Caseworkers

Terms and Conditions:

  • This is a part time position of 27 hours perweek
  • Contract until 31stMarch 2019.
  • Salary: £27,434.91 (Point 529) pro rata

Main tasks:

  • Provide support to manage the successful implementation of consortium contractual requirements and reporting, ensuring compliance, accurate information and good quality narrative reports on programme outputs.
  • Maintain good and professional working relationships with consortium partners and other organisations.
  • Monitorand evaluate the project to ensure progress against objectives and compliance with all Consortium Steering Group guidelines.
  • Prepare reports for the Consortium Steering Group (CSG), SMT and Boards.
  • Organise, arrange and facilitate CSG.
  • Provide best practice advice related to grant and contract management.
  • Manage the consortium to deliver a high quality Social Welfare Advice service including identifying and organising training and workshops for 6 caseworkers.
  • Ensure high quality services are delivered in accordance with our quality marks.
  • Review and input to relevant legal agreements.
  • Ensure each Consortium agent is trained and efficient on Charitylog – deafPLUS’ database management tool.
  • Assist in developing training materials.
  • Assist in the development and maintenance of work processes and checklists for contract implementation and report reviews.
  • Represent the Consortium as appropriate at internal and external meetings.
  • Develop a strategy for new and existing contract bids.
  • Research and develop new consortia opportunities, including statutory funding opportunities.
  • Cover of the Advice Service during staff absences.
  • Management of deafPLUS/visionPLUS Caseworkers including carrying out staff 1-2-1s and annual appraisals
  • Management of the Advice Line.
  • Accept referrals to the Service as part of a Triage process.

In detail:

Service delivery

  1. Ensuring the effective delivery of the HAS project ensuring it meets its annual targets
  2. Managing and maintaining the HAS helpline including the acceptance of referrals, operating the triage system, forwarding on of referrals to partners and adding the details to Charitylog
  3. Managing deafPLUS/visionPLUS Caseworkers ensuring they meet the service targets
  4. Conducting quarterly supervision and annual appraisals of the Caseworkers

Consortium communications

  1. Manage a communications network between each of the individual Consortium members, ensuring that it is used effectively.
  2. Co-ordinate and disseminate information to the partners by establishing and managing a communication framework, and ensuring that it is used effectively.
  3. Act as the main contact and liaison between the Council and partners.
  4. Lead and participate in regular meetings and Steering Groups between the partners and the council, ensuring effective communication with and between all parties.
  5. Organise forums, working groups, seminars, roadshows, training sessions, and other information-sharing activities involving staff from all partners, the Council and other voluntary organisations.
  6. Pursue appropriate networking with staff from partner organisations, other local authorities, other consortia, national and regional organisations on behalf of the Consortium.
  7. Make presentations for and on behalf of the Consortium on appropriate topics and facilitate group work with consortium partners.
  8. Respond to enquiries about the Consortium from other authorities and organisations, and to represent the Consortium at a regional or national level as appropriate.
  9. Distribute client referrals to partner organisations as part of the service triage system

Contract Management

  1. Support the individual Consortium members authorised officers in monitoring the performance of partner contracts and to address any problems/ issues or concerns arising from the contracts with individual members.
  2. Use management information provided by deafPLUS’ finance team to prepare reports based on statistical analyses of the partners performance against set targets.
  3. Develop systems to monitor partners’ delivery of the Advice Service.
  4. Ensure any issues or concerns with a contracted partner’s performance are dealt with appropriately.
  5. Advise the partners of any performance or other issue with the suppliers which may affect the supply contracts and liaise with the Council to ensure any such problems are resolved to the satisfaction of all of the Consortium members.
  6. Find solutions for the Consortium when poor performance by a partner has been addressed but where there has been no significant improvement.
  7. To set up annual spending plans for the Consortium and to monitor individual members’ expenditure against the spending plans. Identify any shortfalls in spending with the appropriate partner and liaise with the Council as appropriate.
  8. Ensure Charitylog is used effectively across the Consortium.
  9. Manage a dispute resolution process between Consortium members.

Development

  1. Identify, shape and influence the change management processes required to deliver a best practice programme for the Consortium, by the development of effective working relationships with a wide range of service users, both within the Consortium members and authorities and externally.
  2. Develop a partnership approach to develop advice services and procurement with Consortium members and other relevant organisations.
  3. Lead on the sustainability of HAS by tendering for further contracts.Further develop new statutory funding opportunities; in support of and independent to current projects.
  4. Share knowledge and expertise with other deafPLUS departments in the development of new and existing Advice Services across the organisation.Provide support with bid writing.
  5. Attend external meetings and procurement events related to the development of Advice Services.

General:

  1. Attend regular supervision and annual appraisals as per deafPLUS staff development policies.
  2. Develop an agreed personal training plan and attend internal and external training as required.
  3. Attend deafPLUS staff meetings and others as required.
  4. Participate in fundraising activities when required.
  5. Ensure knowledge on Social Welfare Advice and Welfare Rights is up-to-date.
  6. Adhere to deafPLUS’ quality marks: Advice Quality Standard (AQS), Matrix Standard, Positive about Disabled People and Advocacy QPM.
  7. Adhere to and promote deafPLUS’s policies and standards, especially the Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety and Total Communication policies.
  8. Support the Line Manager and other deafPLUS staff in achieving the aims of deafPLUS and carry out other relevant duties as agreed.
  9. Coordinate own Access to Work support where required.

Confidentially:

To respect the confidentially of information relating to the work of the team, the work of deafPLUS and its clients and users.

Note:

The final interpretation of this job description rests with the CEO in consultation with the Head of Services and the jobholder. It will be reviewed in the course of supervision meeting and any amendments will be negotiated with the jobholder. The jobholder is also expected to share in other work with deafPLUS as time permits and by agreement with the Head of Services.

Signed (job holder):

Date:

Signed (CEO):

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