Job summary
- Main area
- Inpatient Urgent Care Management
- Grade
- Band 8B
- Contract
- 10 months (fixed term end date will be determined after pre-employment checks have been completed)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 371-MHS1177
- Employer
- Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Inpatient (MH) Management, Prospect Park Hospital, Honey End Lane, Tilehurst, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 4EJ
- Town
- Reading
- Salary
- £66,582 - £77,368 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 01/10/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Service Manager Inpatients
Band 8B
Job overview
Are you an experienced mental health leader looking for an opportunity to make a real difference across inpatient services? We are looking for an inspirational and compassionate Service Manager to provide clinical and operational leadership across our Mental Health Inpatient Wards.
Reporting to the Head of Service Inpatients, you will play a pivotal role in ensuring our wards deliver safe, high-quality, responsive and person-centred care for people with severe and complex mental health needs. You will provide visible leadership to Ward Managers and multidisciplinary teams, supporting a culture of excellence, recovery, inclusion and continuous improvement.
Working as part of the Senior Leadership Team, you will contribute to clinical governance, service transformation and strategic planning, while ensuring services meet local and national standards, quality indicators and regulatory requirements.
This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of inpatient mental health care, strengthen partnership working across the wider system and enhance the experience and outcomes of service users and their families.
If you are an innovative leader who can inspire teams, navigate complexity and turn strategic ambitions into high-quality care, we would love to hear from you.
Main duties of the job
-
Provide compassionate clinical and operational leadership for Mental Health Inpatient Wards including line management of Ward Managers
-
Work with the Head of Service, Senior Leadership Team and multidisciplinary teams to deliver safe, high-quality, person-centred care
- Ensure inpatient services work effectively as part of Berkshire's wider Mental Health Services, developing pathways and strong partnership working with community and system partners
-
Lead clinical governance, quality improvement, risk management and regulatory compliance, ensuring achievement of national and local standards
- Promote recovery-focused practice, patient choice, clinical excellence and positive service-user and family experience
-
Support the strategic development, transformation and integration of inpatient services in line with local and national priorities
- Lead workforce development, supporting recruitment, retention, engagement and effective use of resources
- Champion patient and public involvement, ensuring service-user and family voices shape service development
-
Maintain effective communication with internal and external stakeholders, providing expert advice on clinical management and practice
-
Support 24/7 duty management and on-call arrangements for Prospect Park Hospital
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Keep the Head of Service informed of emerging clinical, workforce and operational issues, deputising as required
- Promote a culture of quality, safety, dignity, recovery and continuous improvement across the service
Working for our organisation
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The “must haves” for this role:
- Professional health registration (RMN)
- Recognised management qualification
- Recognised mentoring qualification
- Previous experience in a band 8A management post or higher
- Demonstrable track record for the development of strategy formulation & implementation
- Evidence of senior operational management experience within mental health services
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, it’s important that examples and responses given in your supporting statement genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey.
In addition to explaining how you meet the person specification, you must complete your employment history for at least the last five years. Any experience, skills or responsibilities referenced in your supporting statement should be evidenced within your employment history. Applications that do not include sufficient employment history to support the experience claimed may not be shortlisted.
We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Stonewall Proud Employer, Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
We have identified that this is a role where we have underrepresentation of ethnically diverse colleagues. As part of our commitment to inclusion and Unity Against Racism we offer guaranteed interviews to candidates who meet the essential criteria and identify as: Asian or Asian British, Black or Black British, Mixed and ‘Other’ Ethnic Groups.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Michelle Mbayiwa on 01189 605241 or email: [email protected] who’ll be delighted to help.
Please note, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person specification
Education, qualifications or training
Essential criteria
- Professional health registration (RMN/ OT)
- Masters degree or equivalent experience
Desirable criteria
- Recognised management qualification
- Recognised mentoring qualification
Continuous Professional Development
Essential criteria
- Evidence of continuous professional development
Previous Experience
Essential criteria
- Previous experience in a band 8A management post or higher
- Experience of working as a registered practitioner in at least two differing specialist areas
- Experience of leading projects, organisational change and of people management
- Demonstrable track record for the development of strategy formulation & implementation
- Evidence of senior operational management experience within mental health services
- Proven ability to manage services with varying needs including ethnic minorities, gender and cultural boundaries
Desirable criteria
- Experience in public speaking to large groups of staff
- Proven ability to manage budgets for several services
- Demonstrable evidence of successful professional and organisation change
Knowledge, skills and abilities
Essential criteria
- Comprehensive knowledge of mental health policy legislation and programme for change
- Knowledge of operational and strategic planning processes that can be used in creating positive changes to the services
- Evidence of developed analytical skills to be able to analyse and make judgements on complex facts or situations
- Ability to adapt leadership style to differing situations
- Demonstrable knowledge and ability in generic mental health care issues, patient assessment and management, risk management and clinical governance and effectiveness
- Good IT skills
- Good knowledge of statutory and civil law as it applies to the services provided by the Trust
- Possess a comprehensive knowledge of related legislation including equal opportunities
- Demonstrable knowledge of complaint investigation, SIRIs and disciplinary investigations and hearings
Desirable criteria
- Demonstrable experience of high-level facilitation, negotiation and influencing skills
Leadership / Management
Essential criteria
- Evidence of a participative and supportive approach to management with a dynamic approach to change
- Act inspirationally toward junior members of staff
- Ability to build alliances and secure relationships with other healthcare professionals
Desirable criteria
- Demonstrable ability to work across organisational boundaries
Additional Requirements
Essential criteria
- Ability to travel to multiple sites in the course of duties
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Michelle Mbayiwa
- Job title
- Head of Mental Health Inpatients
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01189 605241
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