Deputy Director of Operations
Job Description
Job summary
Sheffield Health Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SHPU) is an ambitious, values-led organisation with a growing reputation for delivering high-quality mental health, learning disability and community services. As we respond to increasing demand, deliver transformational change and strengthen integrated working across primary care, local authorities, provider collaboratives and the wider health and care system, we are seeking an exceptional Deputy Director of Operations to join our senior leadership team.
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, this pivotal role will provide strategic and operational leadership across a complex portfolio, driving improvements in flow, performance, quality, safety and productivity. The postholder will shape the future of services, lead innovation and transformation, support operational and financial objectives, and ensure meaningful involvement of service users and carers in service development. The role offers the opportunity to represent the Trust at senior system forums and work collaboratively across Sheffield and South Yorkshire to improve outcomes.
We are seeking an experienced, compassionate and resilient leader with a strong track record of delivering improvement in complex healthcare environments. This is an opportunity to join an organisation committed to inclusion, continuous learning and improving outcomes, grounded in our values of working together, being respectful and kind, being inclusive, and keeping improving.
Main duties of the job
As Deputy Director of Operations, you will provide strategic and operational leadership for the Trust's inpatient mental health services, ensuring safe, effective and high-quality care. You will lead performance, patient flow, access and discharge, while driving improvement and transformation to deliver better outcomes for service users and carers.
Working with clinical leaders, local authorities, commissioners and system partners, you will develop integrated pathways and innovative models of care, representing the Trust across local and regional partnerships and helping shape the future of mental health services.
You will provide visible and compassionate leadership to senior teams, ensuring strong governance, financial stewardship, workforce management and performance. The role requires a resilient and influential leader who can manage complexity, lead significant change and build a culture of continuous improvement.
We are seeking an experienced senior leader with strong healthcare and social care knowledge, excellent partnership skills and a proven track record of delivering improvement, managing resources and leading high-performing teams. You will demonstrate our values of Working Together for Service Users, Respect and Kindness, Everyone Counts, Commitment to Quality and Improving Lives.
About us
We are passionate about providing the very best care to the people we support, and we're looking for amazing people who share this passion to join us.
What is it that makes our Trust such a special place to work? Well, it's all about the people. Our staff, service users, carers and families all come from such diverse backgrounds and all have expertise and stories to share.
It's important that you feel supported in your role, that the people who you work with are as passionate as you are and that your health and wellbeing is taken care of
If you're interested in developing your career, you'll have access to a range of training and education opportunities, including apprenticeships, work experience and placements, as well as the chance to get involved in research.
We are very proud of the difference we make to people's lives each and every day and if that's something that you'd like to be part of we'd love to have you with us.
Job responsibilities
The post holder is line managed by the Chief Operating Officer and leads the inpatient portfolio, at senior operational level, setting strategic direction across inpatient wards, associated pathways, contracts, transformation workstreams and Trust-wide operational programmes.
- Lead the strategic and operational delivery of the inpatient portfolio, ensuring flexible inpatient capacity, lead and manage safe patient flow daily, timely access, effective discharge, Home First inpatient workstreams, and delivery of the local quality, safety and performance agenda.
- Drive integrated working across inpatient services, Mental Health, Community and Specialist services, securing measurable improvements for patients and carers. Lead the delivery of effective pathways across inpatient areas including Maple, Endcliffe, Burbage, Beech, DD1, G1, 4th ward, Forest Lodge, Forest Close, Decisions Unit, Woodland View and Birch Avenue, and align these with Primary Care Networks, Integrated Care Partnerships and Provider Collaboratives. Strategically, this role will need to represent services in relevant forums and be responsible as the Trusts representative in the place-based partnership and provider collaboratives both linked to specialist services and at scale.
- Enable the meaningful involvement of service users and carers in the development, delivery, and monitoring of services. To ensure high response to care opinion, patient and carer feedback inclusive of timely responses to complaints/compliments etc
- To lead the services to operate in a community-orientated culture to promote social inclusion and support for people experiencing mental and physical health issues considering the characteristics of the local community.
- To ensure services work closely and effectively with collaboratives, ICP, local authorities and ICS partners. This means leading the development of partnerships with PCNs, local authority, third and community sector and other NHS organisations.
- Lead on all aspects of collaborative working with stakeholders ensuring the development and maintenance of effective joint working and relationships within Sheffield and South Yorkshire ICS. As part of this task, participating and representing the Trust as required on all key forums such as the Clinical Quality Review meetings, the Local Authority Health Scrutiny Committee, the Health & Wellbeing Boards, etc.
Please refer to the Job Description & Person Specification for further information.
Person Specification
Knowledge and skills
Essential
- Understanding of the provision and delivery of health and social care services, particularly mental health and inpatient services, including patient flow, access, discharge and quality requirements.
- Environmental and political awareness
- Knowledge of our business, inpatient portfolio and associated pathways, and how these support patient care, safety, quality and performance.
- Highly effective collaborative leadership skills.
- Ability to influence across a range of diverse stakeholder groups, including system partners, Local Authority, commissioners, provider collaboratives and VCSE partners.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to develop and maintain strong working relationships, both within and outside the Trust.
- Highly effective change management and transformation skills, including service redesign, continuous improvement and implementation of new operating models.
- Excellent management skills, including financial management, workforce accountability, governance, risk and performance management.
- Ability to analyse complex situations, including operational, quality, risk, workforce and financial information.
- Common sense approach to problem solving.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Process redesign and control skills.
- Ability to promote equality of opportunity for service users and staff.
- Self-belief - maintaining a "can do" attitude
- Self-awareness - knows strengths and limitations and is aware of personal impact on others
- Self-management - ability to manage a complex and busy agenda.
- Drive for improvement.
- Identifies with the values of the NHS and Local Government, as well as the values of the Trust.
Training and qualifications
Essential
- Master's degree or equivalent level attained through experience
- Postgraduate management qualification or equivalent experience
Experience
Essential
- Significant senior level experience within a complex organisation delivering clinical/social care services, preferably including mental health or inpatient services.
- Experience of directly managing significant resources, including budgets, workforce capacity and operational performance.
- Experience of multi professional collaboration at a senior level
- Experience of working collaboratively with other organisations, including system partners, Local Authorities, commissioners and voluntary/community sector partners.
- Strong track record of leading complex organisational change, transformation or service redesign.
- Significant experience of line managing staff
- Experience within mental health, with understanding of inpatient pathways, patient flow, ...
