Divisional Co-ordinator

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, (LGT), is a community-focused provider of local and acute care, delivering high-quality services to over one million people living across the London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, and Bexley. We provide whole-life care and are here to support our communities to live healthier lives as well as taking care of them when they need us the most.

Employing almost 7,500 colleagues, affectionately known as Team LGT, we provide services at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, University Hospital Lewisham, and at over a dozen community settings in Lewisham. We also provide some services at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.

We have recently launched our new vision and values to mark the LGT10 – the tenth anniversary of our Trust forming in 2013. Our trust vision is to be exceptional. In the quality of our patient care; our support for colleagues; and in the difference we make through our partnerships and in our communities.

To achieve this we value Respect, Compassion, and Inclusion; Being accountable  over   staying comfortable; Listening   over  always knowing best; and Succeeding together  over  achieving alone. 

Our hospitals and community sites provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, as well as emergency and planned care. The Trust is rated as “good” or “outstanding” in over three-quarters of the services inspected by the Care Quality Commission.

Every year our work includes performing 10,000 procedures in our theatres; bringing seven and a half thousand new lives into the world; carrying out 570,000 visits to patients in their homes or communities and providing emergency care for more than 300,000 patients arriving in our busy Urgent and Emergency Departments.

LGT is a centre for the education and training of medical students enrolled with King’s College London’s GKT School of Medical Education. We are a training centre for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals. We are pioneering new roles that will support the changing needs of our patients and are one of the largest employers of physician associates in the country.

We are committed to working with our partners to deliver the best outcomes for our local communities. This means playing an active role in the South East London Integrated Care System (ICS), and in formal partnerships including the South East London Acute Provider Collaborative, provider partnerships with our local mental health trusts and borough-based boards of the ICS in Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

An exciting career opportunity is available for a skilled individual to join as Gynaecology Associate General Manager (8B) on a fixed-term cover secondment. The successful candidate will provide efficient and effective operational management support for Gynaecology.

The main goal of this role is to assist lead clinicians and senior managers in delivering responsive, innovative, and high-quality services that meet the highest clinical and performance standards.

This is an opportunity to contribute to the improvement of healthcare services and make a meaningful impact on the lives of patients.

The Associate General Manager will undertake a range of diverse responsibilities, including:

Monitoring service delivery - Ensuring the successful delivery of services in identified specialties by closely tracking progress against strategic and business plans throughout the year.

Business case development - Collaborating with the General Manager to produce accurate, high-quality business cases for service developments, leveraging strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.

Budget management - Demonstrating sound financial acumen by effectively managing budgets associated with the division's operations and initiatives.

Continuous improvement - Working in collaboration with service managers, lead nurses, clinical leads, and other teams to drive sustained improvements in processes, outcomes, and the overall patient experience.

Quality assurance - Ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality services within the division, with a focus on excellent patient experience and adherence to established clinical standards.

Team collaboration - Contributing to a dedicated, diverse, and professional team environment, fostering a spirit of collaboration and determination.

Working for our organisation

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development Widening access (anchor institution) and employability Improving the experience of staff with disability Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development Making equalities mainstream

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide timely, efficient and effective operational management support for divisional service areas, assisting the lead clinicians and senior managers as required and ensuring that these services are responsive, innovative and provided to the highest possible clinical and performance standards. 

To take forward agreed projects to improve patient pathway, service delivery and patient experience in agreed areas. To lead on ensuring that all performance/quality targets are achieved. To problem solve as appropriate, developing and implementing lasting solutions in conjunction with clinical and managerial colleagues. To be a key member of the divisional management team, taking full responsibility for actions and for keeping other team members fully informed at all times.

The post holder will manage a team of administrative staff. This may include supervisors, clinic staff, medical secretaries, receptionists, pathway coordinators, project leads and others.

To deputise for the Divisional Director of Operations when required.

Key Result Areas & Performance 

1. Strategic Direction

1.1.To promote and support the development of the Trust’s mission, values, aims and objectives.

1.2.To contribute to the production of the Division’s strategic and business plans, leading for identified specialities, as part of the annual planning cycle and on an ad-hoc basis as required.

1.3.To monitor service delivery against strategic and business plans in identified specialties throughout the year to ensure successful delivery.

1.4.To work with the Divisional Director of Operations to produce accurate, high quality business cases for service developments, taking into account activity and income projections.

1.5.To play a major role in modernising the operational delivery of services within the division in line with the strategic direction of the Trust, working with clinical teams to embed changes and deliver required efficiency improvements. 

1.6.Responsible for the delivery of identified quality and service improvement projects or development programmes that contribute to the modernisation of patient services 

1.7.To develop a cross-working relationship across all delivery areas of care.

1.8.To work with and support the Transformation team in order to implement change management.

1.9.To work collaboratively with colleagues from Whole system integration group (WSIG) and partner organisations to promote the tripartite agenda, service integration and development.

1.10.To deputise for, and act up on behalf of, the Divisional Director of Operations

2. Service Development and Performance Management

2.1.To ensure that the divisional services provided are of a consistently high quality and deliver excellent patient experience.

2.2.To support the Trust’s performance management framework for the division and be accountable for performance in identified specialties against all key dimensions within the framework, including the achievement of national access targets, taking corrective action as required.

2.3.To help the clinical teams and service managers within identified specialities to resolve their operational issues on a day to day basis, should initial resolution not be possible. This will range from basic administration issues to more complex approaches requiring the support and agreement of large teams of people.

2.4.To lead in developing plans to achieve performance related targets in identified specialties such Length of Stay, Medically fit for discharge rates, within an environment of fixed resources.

2.5.To assist with or lead on the investigation and response to formal complaints as required, taking steps to ensure that lessons are learnt from issues which give rise to complaints and that these issues are not repeated.

2.6.To develop a strong understanding of the local and regional provision of identified services outside the Trust and work with the clinical leads to react to changes in that provision to secure strong services.

2.7.To ensure the establishment and maintenance of good relationships and communication throughout identified specialities, and with the wider Trust, promoting a culture where clinical and other staff are actively involved in decisions on how services are provided and targets delivered.

2.8.To deal directly with key external stakeholders including local CCG’s, other external agencies and contractors as required. To contribute to and administratively support any clinical/service related networks associated with the allocated services.

2.9.To assist with the production of accurate information for identified specialties on the Trust’s website and for the service directory.

2.10.To work with service managers, lead nurses, clinical leads and wider teams to achieve sustained improvements, including in the following areas:

§Service improvement – Length of stay, Elderly and Frail pathway

§Target discharge rates

§Improved Discharge processes- Continuing health care frame work

§Financial efficiency: for example coding depth and accuracy

§Patient access: including the 4 hour emergency target.

3. Workforce

3.1.To be accountable to the Divisional Director of Operations for the financial performance of key delegated budgets within identified specialties, taking actions to limit spending when required.

3.2.To develop cost reduction, income generation and efficiency proposals as required and implement them successfully.

3.3.To ensure that all those within the services with influence over expenditure have the knowledge/ability and information required to understand the current financial framework and impact of Payment by Results.

3.4.To ensure that valuable resources, for example in patient bed capacity, are used to maximum benefit by identified specialties.

3.5.To line manage a team of service managers staff within identified specialties, ensuring that all staff are managed in accordance with the Trust’s HR policies and procedures. This includes recruitment and selection, performance management, appraisal and personal development.

3.6.To review and update administrative policies and procedures, taking action as appropriate to enable continuous improvement of service quality. 

3.7.To ensure inpatient and discharge administration is carried out in accordance with the Trust’s policies, ensuring all changes and other adjustments are carried out on quickly and efficiently and to continually monitor the effectiveness of pathways in place.

3.8.To be conversant with the new Care Guidance system and ensure that all relevant staff have the skills to manage this effectively and in a manner that ensures the patient pathway is clearly understood.

3.9.To liaise with and regularly review the services provided by support departments such as transport, portering and medical records. 

3.10.To ensure relevant reports are sent out in advance of the deadline and relevant service information is up to date.

Person specification

Essential criteria

Masters degree in healthcare or management or demonstrable ability to work at Masters level Degree and/or equivalent senior management experience Evidence of continuous professional development Project management experience

Essential criteria

Operational management experience within the acute sector Proven track record of meeting significant national targets Knowledge and understanding of the modernisation agenda and the opportunities for redesigning services and the tools and techniques for achieving service change Significant experience of staff management, including the setting of objectives, team and individual appraisal, recruitment and disciplinary issues Significant budget management experience, including reducing costs, monitoring and determining corrective action Developing and implementing strategic plans at service level to enable the attainment of Divisional objectives

Skills

Essential criteria

Full range of IT skills including spreadsheet analysis Experience of dealing with complex issues in a large organisation Excellent communication skills across the organisation and with a wide range of staff with differing levels of responsibility and different professional backgrounds Ability to work pro-actively and co-operatively with senior management and clinical staff, including at times of stress

Desirable criteria

ECDL

Personal Qualities

Essential criteria

Commitment to self-development with ability to demonstrate in depth knowledge of key policies and themes in healthcare provision in the UK An ability and interest in coaching staff to improve performance Commitment to promoting equality and diversity in the workplace and in service delivery and development

We reserve the right to close the post before the stated closing date, please apply early. We do not contact applicants with the outcome of the shortlisting. If you have been shortlisted, you will receive an invite to an assessment day or interview.

As a local employer and anchor institution we work closely with our community to recruit locally and we welcome applications from the widest variety of people to ensure our workforce are reflective of the local communities which we serve. We encourage all suitable candidates to apply including if you are Black, Asian or other ethnic minorities, live with a disability (visible or not) or are LGBT+. We have a number of active staff networks including Disability, LGBT+, Multicultural Inclusion and Women’s staff networks to bring staff together and celebrate diversity across our whole workforce. 

Please note, not all roles will meet the criteria for a skilled worker visa. 

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

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