Job overview

Please note, at this stage, the role is open only to internal staff (including NHSP and Agency staff currently on placement within our organisation) and staff substantively employed within Kent and Medway NHS Trusts and the Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB). Any individual who is at risk of redundancy will be given priority, provided they meet the essential criteria.

An opportunity has arisen for a Service Manager within the West Kent Directorate. 

You will be responsible for the overall management of a range of nominated services within the Directorate. You will work closely with colleagues in all other relevant teams,  ensuring excellent clinical, operational and financial outcomes.  As part of the mental health transformation, there is a need for you to work collaboratively with other providers enabling seamless patient pathways and service user engagement.   

You will need to be proficient in the use data and analysis to support better outcomes for patients and will actively coordinate initiatives to ensure improvement plans are developed and implemented.  

You will be supported to know who the internal and external stakeholders are and when to use them effectively in promoting and securing the services’ reputation. You will identify opportunities for service improvement and growth seeking support from the General Manager to maximise these. They will also deputise for the General Manager in all aspects of the service as required. 

Specific Service Responsibilities for Service Managers vary. For this post it includes the all age Mental Health Together + service in South West Kent, the West Kent Memory Assessment Service Community and the Personality Disorder Service across Kent. 

Main duties of the job

Working closely with the Professional Heads and the General Manager to provide demonstrable assurance that the quality of the clinical services including patient safety, patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes meet the required high standards. This will include investigations into serious incidents, complaints and staffing issues, appraisal, supervision and training of staff and compliance with mandatory reporting.

Service Managers work closely with the Team Managers (direct reports) and other professionals to ensure care pathways are effective with regular reviews to enable strategic and operational plans to be delivered.

Service Managers are responsible for ensuring good patient flow management utilising a combination of demand and capacity information, length of stay data caseload management and adherence to agreed clinical pathways. In addition, Service Mangers systematically make certain that clinical governance arrangements are imbedded within services and are working to full effect. 

Working for our organisation

We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway. Rated ‘Good’ by the CQC, we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 in the community each year.

Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It’s why we’re passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us - if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's doing well together.