Job summary Here at Defence Medical Services (DMS) we are an inclusive and dedicated organisation working to provide excellent care to our entitled personnel. Are you a motivated individual who strives to deliver excellent healthcare? Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to join a large organisation working as part of a professional encouraging team? Do you want to be part of a great organisation which has great additional benefits? Look no further We are looking for a Band 8A Mental Health National Service Lead to be based at DMS Whittington. You will need to have the ability to work autonomously, act independently and to make effective decisions. To be able to manage competing tasks and prioritise effectively. Be a strong team player with a commitment to supporting operational chain of Command along with a strong evidence base of supporting staff and individuals. Possess strong written and verbal communication skills and to be Information Technology literate. This position offers 37.5 hours per week. There is a requirement to travel if required to various sites across the business area. Does this sound like the role for you? If so, we would love to hear from you Benefits Include: Free Parking Access to Gym Access to NHS Pension A culture encouraging Inclusion and Diversity Main duties of the job The successful candidate will support Defence Healthcare Recovery Group (DHRG) in delivery of a safe and effective Mental Health (MH) service within the firm base at a national level in order to enhance and sustain the operational effectiveness of supported units. The national mental health care pathway manager works directly for the Defence Command Mental Health (DComd MH) working in partnership with Staff Officer Second Class (SO2) Mental Health (MH) Operations (Ops) and the network managers. They are responsible for the monitoring and support of day-to-day delivery of the clinical care pathways in order to meet the needs of supported units. The post holder will establish and maintain effective organisational links with primary and secondary care providers (military, NHS and where appropriate private), the Chain of Command (CoS) and supported Units. About us Our success depends on our people, our Whole Force regular and reservist military, civil servants and contractors, all working as one, working together seamlessly to deliver for us. Our civil servants are a central part of this Whole Force, developing strategy, making policy, supporting ministerial decision-making and Parliamentary processes. In fact, with over 2,000 different roles working across 650 sites around the world, now really is an excellent time to join one of the largest, most exciting departments in government. The Ministry of Defence is committed to attracting and retaining people from across the full range of backgrounds and enabling flexible ways of working as the norm. We offer maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks full pay followed by 13 weeks of statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid, and paternity leave of 2 weeks full pay. In return, you can expect a department that helps you learn and develop that recognises your expertise and contribution, both as an individual and part of a team. If you've ever wanted to do more, see more, go further or be better, we have roles in more professions and vocations than ever before. Let's see where your future will take you, together. Date posted 31 January 2025 Pay scheme Agenda for change Band Band 8a Salary £50,952 to £57,349 a year Per Annum (Pro Rata for Part Time) Contract Permanent Working pattern Full-time, Job share, Flexible working Reference number K0003-24-0316 Job locations Defence Healthcare Recovery Group HQ, Coltman House Defence Medical Services Whittington Lichfield WS14 9PY Job description Job responsibilities Duties and responsibilities for the role include but are not limited to: Production and implementation of the National Management Plan, in line with the DHRG Commanders direction, DPHC policy and overall responsibility for production of performance management statistics. The post holder will undertake analysis of information and data directly from MH facilities to identify trends and issues in order to support and deliver Quality Improvement Programmes (QIPs). Developing, in collaboration with others, processes, procedures and systems to ensure the efficient and effective management of services. Managing the effective allocation of available resources across the nation for all MH facilties to deliver safe and effective care. Acting as the National lead for the MH care pathways. Supporting and advising on compliance with National and Service Health Care Governance (HcG) standards by providing direction and support to the DHRG MH units to ensure that the necessary procedures are carried out on behalf of Comd DHRG. Please pay particular attention to the attached Job Description and Person Specification, which outlines the role requirements in further details. Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements. The sift will be completed within 5 working days of the vacancy closing date. Interviews will be held on a date to be confirmed. There will be no reimbursement for any travel for interview. Requests to work part time will be considered, taking into account business needs. Please note the salary will be pro-rata where part time hours are undertaken. All employees joining Ministry of Defence who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check. Please ensure you demonstrate that you have the required skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications and memberships in your CV and that you have saved it. At interview, you will be tested against the following NHS Technical Skills: NHSC1 - Communication NHSC4 - Service improvement HWB3 - protection of health and well-being NHS General NHS G6 - People Management NHS Information & Knowledge - NHS IK2 - Information Collection & Analysis A short presentation will be required at interview stage, the subject is to be confirmed. Please see the link to our Youtube channel for advice preparing your best responses with some hints and tips on answering behaviour based questions. Hints and tips such as: Your behaviours can be based on situations from work, volunteering or home; match your situation to the behaviour requested and how to use your 250-word limit. (You will need to copy and paste the link into your browser). https://www.youtube.com/DMS_MilMed To be considered for this role, qualifications and memberships detailed must be held in full, prior to submitting your application. Access to the NHS pension scheme is available to the successful candidate. If found successful for this position, you will be required to provide evidence of your immunity to Hepatitis B. Please note that evidence of your vaccination is not a proof of your immunity, but your serology levels will be required. Failure to provide sufficient evidence may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn. We encourage all our employees and prospective ones to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to any exemptions that may apply. Please see the attached further information document for full details. There is no requirement to deploy as this is met by our uniformed personnel, but you will form the continuity of care required by our patients when based at home. As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn. This vacancy is part of the A Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative, Making the Civil Service a Great Place to Work for Veterans - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact dbscivpers-sgdmsresourcingteammod.gov.uk. The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments. Job description Job responsibilities Duties and responsibilities for the role include but are not limited to: Production and implementation of the National Management Plan, in line with the DHRG Commanders direction, DPHC policy and overall responsibility for production of performance management statistics. The post holder will undertake analysis of information and data directly from MH facilities to identify trends and issues in order to support and deliver Quality Improvement Programmes (QIPs). Developing, in collaboration with others, processes, procedures and systems to ensure the efficient and effective management of services. Managing the effective allocation of available resources across the nation for all MH facilties to deliver safe and effective care. Acting as the National lead for the MH care pathways. Supporting and advising on compliance with National and Service Health Care Governance (HcG) standards by providing direction and support to the DHRG MH units to ensure that the necessary procedures are carried out on behalf of Comd DHRG. Please pay particular attention to the attached Job Description and Person Specification, which outlines the role requirements in further details. Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD office, will also count towards this level of attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements. The sift will be completed within 5 working days of the vacancy closing date. Interviews will be held on a date to be confirmed. There will be no reimbursement for any travel for interview. Requests to work part time will be considered, taking into account business needs. Please note the salary will be pro-rata where part time hours are undertaken. All employees joining Ministry of Defence who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check. Please ensure you demonstrate that you have the required skills, knowledge, experience, qualifications and memberships in your CV and that you have saved it. At interview, you will be tested against the following NHS Technical Skills: NHSC1 - Communication NHSC4 - Service improvement HWB3 - protection of health and well-being NHS General NHS G6 - People Management NHS Information & Knowledge - NHS IK2 - Information Collection & Analysis A short presentation will be required at interview stage, the subject is to be confirmed. Please see the link to our Youtube channel for advice preparing your best responses with some hints and tips on answering behaviour based questions. Hints and tips such as: Your behaviours can be based on situations from work, volunteering or home; match your situation to the behaviour requested and how to use your 250-word limit. (You will need to copy and paste the link into your browser). https://www.youtube.com/DMS_MilMed To be considered for this role, qualifications and memberships detailed must be held in full, prior to submitting your application. Access to the NHS pension scheme is available to the successful candidate. If found successful for this position, you will be required to provide evidence of your immunity to Hepatitis B. Please note that evidence of your vaccination is not a proof of your immunity, but your serology levels will be required. Failure to provide sufficient evidence may result in the offer of employment being withdrawn. We encourage all our employees and prospective ones to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to any exemptions that may apply. Please see the attached further information document for full details. There is no requirement to deploy as this is met by our uniformed personnel, but you will form the continuity of care required by our patients when based at home. As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn. This vacancy is part of the A Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative, Making the Civil Service a Great Place to Work for Veterans - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. There is a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. If you need to advise us that you need additional help or reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process, please contact dbscivpers-sgdmsresourcingteammod.gov.uk. The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments. Person Specification Provide a CV Essential Please copy and paste your full CV as your response to this question. You will not be able to upload your CV as an attachment. Please ensure to refer to the essential criteria where applicable as your application may be rejected should insufficient information to shortlist be included. Please use double spacing where possible. Registration details Essential Please provide your membership registration details. You are required to be registered with the relevant professional body, as detailed in the advert, prior to submitting you application. Your application will not progress should you fail to provide a valid membership registration number. Qualifications Essential Registered Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist (OT) or Psychologist with significant post registration experience. Desirable Post Graduate Level qualification or equivalent in Leadership. Specialist Clinical qualification (Advanced Clinical Practice/similar). Experience Essential Experienced manager with demonstrable management experience in an Adult Mental Health setting. Demonstrable experience of working as a graduate level professional in adult mental health services. Demonstrable previous experience of personnel management. Experience in project management and/or leading on Quality Improvement Programmes. Person Specification Provide a CV Essential Please copy and paste your full CV as your response to this question. You will not be able to upload your CV as an attachment. Please ensure to refer to the essential criteria where applicable as your application may be rejected should insufficient information to shortlist be included. Please use double spacing where possible. Registration details Essential Please provide your membership registration details. You are required to be registered with the relevant professional body, as detailed in the advert, prior to submitting you application. Your application will not progress should you fail to provide a valid membership registration number. Qualifications Essential Registered Mental Health Nurse, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist (OT) or Psychologist with significant post registration experience. Desirable Post Graduate Level qualification or equivalent in Leadership. Specialist Clinical qualification (Advanced Clinical Practice/similar). Experience Essential Experienced manager with demonstrable management experience in an Adult Mental Health setting. Demonstrable experience of working as a graduate level professional in adult mental health services. Demonstrable previous experience of personnel management. Experience in project management and/or leading on Quality Improvement Programmes. 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. UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Additional information 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. UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). Employer details Employer name Ministry of Defence (Defence Medical Services) Address Defence Healthcare Recovery Group HQ, Coltman House Defence Medical Services Whittington Lichfield WS14 9PY Employer's website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence (Opens in a new tab)