Pathway Operational Manager (POM)

Job description

Job responsibilities

Demand and Capacity

Robust demand and capacity planning is essential for us to maximise the resources available at Sussex MSK Partnership and ensure we provide an effective service for our users. It's the responsibility of the Pathway Operational Manager to have oversight of the entire process, identifying areas of high demand and planning resources accordingly. This will include:

1. Working closely with Professional Leads to monitor and co-ordinate demand and capacity, sourcing and supplying the data needed to support service decisions and ensure timely access to the service for users.

2. Analysis of referral trends and flows of referrals through the service to ensure that the demand of the service is effectively managed and escalated to the Service Manager as required.

3. Assessing forward capacity across the geography for different pathway groups and ensuring the workforce is flexed in a way that best suits the service needs.

4. Working alongside other Pathway Operational Managers to evaluate the daily needs of the service and deploy administrative resource accordingly.

5. Leading on the scheduling and maintenance of a range of clinics, ensuring they are fully utilised and prepared in a timely manner.

People Management

You will need strong people management skills in the role as you'll be a leader within the service, building relationships and helping to motivate others. You will need to:

1. Line manage a group of Senior Patient Care Advisors (SPCAs), undertaking regular 1:1 meetings, annual appraisals, and supporting them with line management of the wider administration team. Staff may be employed by Here or our partner organisation, Sussex Community Foundation Trust (SCFT).

2. Create and maintain a culture of open feedback within the team, enabling people to bring their best self to work.

3. Encourage staff to take ownership of their personal development and upskilling to help refine and improve the service.

4. Enable the supervision of all staff using the relevant organisational policies and training structures in place.

5. Share learning from both new ways of working and from incidents with clinical and non-clinical staff as necessary.

Collaboration and Communication

The role is often seen as the bridge between our clinical and administrative teams. As such, you will be working with key groups of people across the organisation, as well as external primary care contacts. You will need to:

1. Communicate with providers and partners on a regular basis to ensure the smooth flow of a patient through the service. This will include using information such as waiting times to assist in a patient's decision-making process.

2. Work with a group of SPCAs to ensure that all waiting lists are regularly monitored and kept up-to-date.

3. Be flexible and adaptive, making sure to be present at the sites we work from across Crawley, Horsham, and Mid-Sussex to connect with clinical and non-clinical colleagues.

4. Working alongside other departments (Development & Improvement team, Computer Systems Intelligence team) on service improvement projects to ensure the relevant parties are involved and effective change management takes place.

Data, Policies and Processes

Working in operations means that you will be working with data and processes on a daily basis, gathering performance data, processing reports, and communicating their significance to other staff. You will need to:

1. Achieve and maintain high standards for access, quality, safety and patient engagement.

2. Adhere to and ensure targets are met, including contractual targets, corporate standards and KPIs.

3. Ensuring statutory and mandatory training is up to date and in line with the Commission for Quality of Care standards and outcomes.

4. Ensure that all incident, complaint and plaudit reporting is done following policy and that all learning is cascaded as needed.

5. Proactively review current processes to identify where development and improvement may be appropriat and manage process change.

Person Specification

Skills

Essential

• - Proven track record in developing strong relationships with the ability to maintain working relationships both internally and externally
• - Able to analyse referral trends and effectively manage the demand of incoming referrals
• - Able to demonstrate the values of the organisation to help maintain the working culture
• - Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to demonstrate empathy and leadership and mitigate conflict where necessary
• - Able to communicate effectively in person and virtually with a wide range of people, ensuring information is shared accurately
• -Able to handle complex situations which can often including holding difficult conversations. Able to listen to different opinions and work towards a resolution

Desirable

• - Able to manage complex tasks and project manage with a solution focused mindset/lens to ensure the delivery of set objectives

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree level or a minimum of 3 years in a project or service delivery role and/ or equivalent

Personal Qualities

Essential

• - Highly developed organisational skills
• - Ability to influence, negotiate and persuade
• - Good team worker combined with ability to lead projects and to work on own initiative. Self-motivated and able to work with minimum supervision
• - High degree of accuracy and attention to detail. Able to write clear, concise, grammatically accurate reports and project documentation
• - Able to work to deadlines within a time constrained environment and to work under pressure with competing demands, demonstrating a high level of resilience in the face of challenging situations
• - Resilient with a can-do attitude
• - Flexible and adaptable where necessary. Comfortable with change that happens at a pace

Experience

Essential

• - Able to work with a professional team
• - Intermediate level using Word, Excel, and Outlook
• - Able to use numerical data, summarising into accurate reports
• - Able to support staff in dealing with upset of difficult people by telephone
• - Committed to equalities in employment and promoting diversity in the workplace

Desirable

• - Experience or knowledge of the NHS/Public Sector
• - Experience of working with the ERS System (NHS), patient administration systems and/or appointment booking systems

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Care Unbound Ltd t/a Here

Address

4th Floor

177 Preston Road

Brighton

East Sussex

BN1 6AG

Employer's website

https://hereweare.org.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)