Recruitment of Head of Information Management & Technology

Introduction

This brief provides information on Look Ahead Care & Support, the context and content of the new Head of Information Management & Technology role, and the specification covering the kind of individual required for that role.

Look Ahead Care & Support

Look Ahead provides specialist support and care services to people with a variety of needs. They are a dynamic and innovative organisation who have been supporting people across London and the South East for almost forty years, and who are committed to growing their support and care services.

They work with people whose lives can be challenging and at times chaotic. They support each customer as an individual, to take control of their support, achieve their goals and aspirations, and move towards a positive, independent future. As an organisation, they have always been shaped and led by their customers. Today they are proud that they continue to work in partnership with them to deliver innovative services of the highest quality.

They work in partnership with local authorities and health trusts to provide specialist support and care services to:

  • People with mental health needs
  • People with learning disabilities
  • Young people, care leavers and teenage parents
  • Homeless individuals and families
  • People with offending and sex work histories
  • People with substance misuse needs
  • People experiencing/fleeing domestic abuse
  • People with physical disabilities

Look Ahead services

Look Ahead is committed to providing high quality, innovative and flexible support to all our customers. They offer a full range of specialist support and care services that are tailored to customers’ individual needs and aspirations.

They are proud to have been at the forefront of personalisation in their sector over the last five years, and they have worked with customers and commissioners to develop a range of personalised models that work for different services and client groups. Providing genuinely personalised support is integral to their approach and is now firmly embedded across all their services.

All customers receive Look Ahead’s Personalised Offer, giving them real choice and control in four key aspects of their support:

  • Choice of Support Worker
  • Choice of time and place of support
  • Control over resources
  • Designing and delivering their own services

Their customer groups include those with mental health issues: people with learning disabilities; young people (aged 16 to 25) with varied and complex needs; families including homeless families, teenage parents and individuals facing domestic abuse; rough sleepers; and individuals with varying degrees of physical disabilities.

They continue to innovate pioneering new ways of providing their customers with greater choice and control over the support they receive, the services they access and the lives they lead.

The Information Management & Technology team

Reporting to the Finance Director, the organization now requires a Head of the team currently comprises seven staff plus contractors and suppliers. The core team provides good day-to-day IT services to the organisation through the provision of networks, software, help desk, and telephony.

Having grown from 700 to having 1,400 staff in the past seven years, and being located in more than 120 sites in which virtually all staff are IT users, the demands from the organisation on technology and information management are growing. And with organisation turnover of over £50 million, the budget for IT stands at about £1 million. Moreover, Look Ahead operates in a competitive market in which the organisation tenders for care and support contracts in a very price sensitive environment. So key to being successful in continuing to win contracts that enable high quality service provision is how the organisation harnesses its knowledge management and its use of technology.

CHARITY

We work on macro issues affecting the third sector such as ‘what is public value’, thought leadership and reputational issues for individual charities and very specific policy issues.

CONSUMER

Brands are no longer owned and managed by brand managers, rather their success, or failure, rests in the hands of customers. We recognize the power of engaging customers as brand custodians either through co-creative approaches, collaborative approaches or using deliberative methods.

CORPORATE

We help them to assess and understand the drivers of their reputation and, crucially, helping them identify the leavers to enhance or change their reputation. We also have extensive experience in issue management, and are used to working fast on challenging and complex issues.

EDUCATION

We work with education opinion leaders, practitioners, parents and learners of all ages involving them in informed discussions that really drive change. We place particular emphasis on enabling parents, young people and the wider public to reach informed viewpoints on complex policy issues; we have developed a raft of innovative techniques to enable them to do so.

ENVIRONMENT

We have worked extensively in this arena for the last decade and have a wealth of experience and expertise in the fields of rural affairs, environment and climate change. We work with public, private and voluntary sector organisations to help drive and influence progress.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

We have built-up expertise in understanding the issues and drivers that predominate in this complex and highly competitive sector. Our work makes use of a wide range of techniques including permanent campaigning, collaborative consultation and defining influence models.

GOVERNMENT / PUBLIC BODIES

Work in this area makes use of a wide range of approaches and frequently involves the development of innovative new methods of enabling public participation.

HEALTH

These range from government departments and agencies, charities and commercial providers, as well as local authorities and NHS organisations. We don't just measure public opinion, we strive to engage stakeholder audiences with the decision-making process and, in doing so, we aim to build an effective dialogue between services and the populations affected by them.

INTERNATIONAL

Projects include thought leadership work with opinion leaders internationally, identifying and understanding future leaders and what drives and motivates them, reputation evaluation and perceptions of the value of national identity.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

We understand the complex and unique role played by local government, and we understand the wide range of stakeholders with whom they need to engage. We also have developed some of our most exciting innovations around public participation in this sector. Our team has a wealth of direct experience working with and within local government.

PROPERTY & PLANNING

We are most well known for Bristol Harbourside, where we were brought in after two failed planning applications and an expensive public inquiry.The result after the public consultation?Unanimous approval by the Planning Committee and the scheme is nearing completion.

TELECOMS, MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY

Our work for organisations as diverse as BT, BBC, News International, Siemens and Ofcom has helped our clients to understand and engage with live and controversial issues.

Nature and purpose of the role

The purpose of the role is to develop and lead the Information Management and Technology strategy that will enable the achievement of business objectives now and in the future. The individual will lead and drive the Information Management change agenda ensuring IT solutions are fully integrated and embedded within the business. The person will provide vision, inspiration and leadership of the IT team and build strong relationships across the business, raising the profile of Information Management and Technology and the competitive benefits of this to the business, customers and staff.

Role description

  • Lead, develop and implement an Information Management strategy aligned with Look Ahead’s overall strategic and business objectives.
  • Manage and drive the change programme associated with implementation of the Information Management and Technology strategy and objectives.
  • Programme manage all IT led initiatives and projects.
  • Source, implement and manage 3rd party contractors and suppliers; build relationships to keep abreast of potential service offerings and the benefits of these to the business.
  • Ensure the organisaton’s key suppliers continue to improve service delivery, value and maintain good operational practices in line with Look Ahead requirements.
  • Agree, implement and measure key service metrics which demonstrate service level delivery achieved in comparison to business objectives.
  • Work with senior managers and their teams on future requirements, ensuring these are factored in to future financial and project plans.
  • Ensure Look Ahead staff have the necessary training and support in place to support effective use of all IT applications and systems.
  • Contribute to business projects as part of the team providing an IT perspective and expertise.
  • Establish a robust disaster recovery plan ensuring all relevant staff have the skills and knowledge to implement this so that services can be maintained in the event of a major emergency.
  • Ensure services comply with Human Resource, Health and Safety, Security, Data Protection and other policies and regulatory requirements.
  • Manage the IT team to ensure optimum performance, career development and ensuring we have a highly motivated and driven team.
  • Deliver services within agreed financial plan and budget (£1.0 million revenue, £0.5 million capital in 2013/14).
  • Engage with business colleagues to create maximum value from investment in IT within the business.
  • Responsible for the secure operation of all Look Ahead IT services, systems, hardware, data, internet, firewalls including any Government and Client standards.
  • Keep abreast of changes in relevant technologies, capabilities and value added services to ensure Look Ahead maintains a forward plan for IT services, ensuring operational capability at scale is maintained.
  • Ensure services adhere to all Look Ahead standards and facilitate introduction of new standards as required.

The organisation may change this job description from time to reflect the changing needs of the business.

Person specification

Personal Attributes

  • Socially adept, networks widely, well connected in sector.
  • Approachable and open behaviour.
  • Prefers working as part of a group or team.
  • Is fundamentally calm and resilient, does not let emotion adversely affect them or obscure their judgement.
  • Enjoys directing others, is assertive and independent minded, will challenge others.
  • Drives change, enjoys dynamic diverse environments and demonstrates entrepreneurialism, creativity and innovation.
  • Demonstrates significant confidence and high levels of self-esteem.
  • Is respectful, articulate and sensitive in style of communication.
  • Is passionate and enthusiastic about his/her career and job experiences.
  • Is motivated towards excellence and improvement of personal performance with a can do attitude.

Benchmark Qualification and Experience Level

  • Educated to degree level (ideally technology related).
  • ITIL Foundation Certificate or equivalent technical knowledge.
  • Evidence of continued professional development.

Essential technical skills/knowledge

  • Microsoft Technologies (Windows 2010, MS Office professional, active directory, exchange).
  • Knowledge of CISCO internetworking equipment (or equivalent).
  • Knowledge of VoIP systems implementation and management.
  • DNS and DHCP.
  • Server Infrastructure/Hardware.
  • Antivirus Software solutions.
  • Understanding of databases and software development.

Experience

  • High degree of business analytical and communication skills, able to communicate IT issues to a non IT audience.
  • Successful track record of working in Information management and technology roles across a range of positions and technologies, at least one of which should have included strategic IT responsibilities.
  • Successful track record in programme and project management.
  • Minimum 5 years senior management/leadership experience.
  • Senior budget holder with associated planning and forecasting skills.
  • Demonstrable experience of complex contract management and tendering experience.
  • Demonstrable interest in and ability to keep up to date with best practice and developments in the external IMT environment.

Reporting arrangements

This role will report to the Finance Director.

Location

The roles will be based at the head office of Look Ahead Care & Support in High Street Kensington in London, and will be expected to travel as required to various sites across London and the South East.

Remuneration

The salary on offer for this role is up to £75,000 plus membership of the Senior Manager Performance Related Pay Scheme, and a Defined Contribution pension scheme.

Further information

Look Ahead has retained Rockpoolsto recruit this role. For a further discussion, please contact one of the following consultants:

Mohan Yogendran

Tel. + 44 (0)20 3137 3404

Tel. + 44 (0)7786 190671

E-mail:

Nancy Scott

Tel. +44 (0) 20 317 3408

Tel. + 44 (0) 7984 172291

Email:

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