Job summary
We have an exciting opportunity to join the high performing NHS Referral Management Service (RMS), as the Operations Manager on a 12 month fixed term contract. The Operations Manager has overall line management for approximately 18 Referral Administrators and the Supervisor.
The RMS offers patient choice to patients over a wide range of specialities commissioned by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board including dental and termination of pregnancy referrals. The service manages in excess of 135,000 referrals per year from GP practices in Cornwall and is led by General Practitioners.
The role of Operations Manager is key to the successful day to day running of the RMS. The successful candidate will have experience of leading a high performing team and experience of managing operational performance.
What we can offer you in return:
* Hybrid working, up to 2 days a week working from home.
* Work within a supportive and enjoyable team environment.
* Competitive annual leave allowance, starting at 27 days plus bank holidays, increasing to 29 and 33 days at 5 and 10 years.
* Access to excellent career and personal development opportunities within the NHS.
* Access to discounts at many leading retailers through NHS workers schemes.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the service, including line management of all band 3 referral administrators and the band 4 supervisor. The post holder will be an experienced manager with strong leadership skills to motivate and develop the team. They will need to be able to monitor the operational needs of the service and be able to flex the workforce capacity to meet variable workload priorities. In a constantly changing environment, the post holder will need to be able to manage service changes in a calm and methodical way, overcoming barriers as they arise. The post holder will be expected to have extensive specialist knowledge and experience covering booking systems and processes.
About us
NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (ICB) is a statutory NHS organisation responsible for developing a plan for meeting the health needs of our communities, managing the NHS budget, and arranging for the provision of joined up health services which improve the lives of people who live and work in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
By collaborating as an integrated care system (ICS) our health and care organisations can tackle complex challenges, including:
* improving the health of children and young people
* supporting people to stay well and independent
* acting sooner to help those with preventable conditions
* supporting those with long-term conditions or mental health issues
* caring for those with multiple needs as populations age
* getting the best from collective resources so people get care as quickly as possible.
We are always keen to hear from people who would like to work with us, and we positively encourage applications from all sections of the community regardless of sex, sexual orientation, racial origin or disability.
You can look forward to excellent benefits including discounts in store and online, optional pension and life assurance, flexible working options, salary sacrifice vehicles and cycles and much more.
Date posted: 08 April 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 6
Salary: £37,338 to £44,962 a year pa pro rata
Contract: Fixed term
Duration: 12 months
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 471-7129743
Job locations: New County Hall, Treyew Rd, Truro, TR1 3AY
Job description Job responsibilities
Leadership and people management
Full line management responsibility for the supervisor and approximately 20 referral administrators, including rostering, capability, disciplinary, sickness, induction, training, coaching, mentoring, recruitment and development.
Responsible for ensuring all staff comply with the CIOS ICB HR policies and procedures and deploy appropriate actions as required by the policies.
Foster and promote a positive work environment for all team members in line with the organisations values, by leading by example.
Act as the initial point of contact for all patient concerns and complaints, dealing with cases in a calm manner and using negotiating skills as needed.
Assist in investigating and drafting responses to formal complaints received through the organisations complaints department.
Assist in responding to freedom of information requests.
To promote an ethos of outstanding customer service which places the patient at the heart of the RMS.
Work with the RMS performance and information manager to ensure that managerial cover is available at all times.
Support managers, clinicians and senior booking staff in the development of new pathways and services.
Share knowledge and experience with other members of the department on a regular basis.
Provide support and operational advice to the service manager.
Gather feedback from team members through regular staff surveys, analyse and interpret the feedback and implement changes as required.
Service and operational performance
Plan, organise, monitor and control a range of complex operational activities involving multiple cohorts of activity, considering interdependencies.
Plan, risk assess then implement standard operating procedures for all operational activities within the service.
Based on information provided by the performance and information manager, analyse complex data and act on referral trends, making changes as required to ensure that the service meets its outputs.
Assist the service manager in developing recovery plans if service performance deteriorates.
Proactively propose and manage operational changes within the RMS.
Work with e-RS staff from provider organisations and the national team and use information on the e-RS website to identify good practice.
Attend relevant meetings and national/local workshops and events on behalf of the organisation.
Maintain an extensive working knowledge of e-RS and other IT systems which do or may support e-RS and PAS systems and the ways they are applied in the NHS workplace.
Devise, write and implement RMS operational policies and procedures.
Maintain the online system of information resources including training documents and SOPs for the service, ensuring that they are regularly reviewed and adapted to reflect the needs of the service.
Performance management
To strive to ensure that all RMS objectives, outputs and outcomes are achieved.
To write, implement, monitor and control the objectives, and associated KPIs for the operations department, reporting to the service manager weekly or by exception.
Project management
Lead on operational projects within the service and the wider organisation if required.
Lead on writing and implementing policies related to different projects and activities within portfolio.
Use strong problem-solving and negotiating skills to overcome barriers and ensure the success of the project.
Facilitate the use of problem-solving tools to identify root causes of problems, identify solutions, prioritise, implement and monitor and control.
Work with highly complex data, facts and situations requiring analysis, interpretations and comparisons on a range of options and make decisions on the most appropriate approach. This will include information such as referral and activity data across various specialties from different sources and in variable formats, consideration of IT interdependencies and workforce requirements, which will all need to be factored into options appraisals and decision making.
To operate in a highly political and sensitive environment.
External relationships and communication
Represent the RMS at operational meetings with provider organisations.
Present complex information to a range of stakeholders including GP practices, CIOS ICB colleagues and provider organisations, both in writing and verbally at high level meetings.
Actively work to build relationships with stakeholders to maximise the potential of the service.
Communicate complex or contentious information from different sources to a wide range of stakeholders, using persuasion, strong negotiating skills and tact to overcome barriers. This will include communicating with different providers, GPs, commissioning colleagues and other clinicians to devise and implement new pathways, addressing any operational issues and overcoming any issues, whilst trying to balance conflicting opinions and priorities.
To liaise and build relationships with partners in the planned care commissioning team, Devon referral support service and provider organisations.
Governance
Ensure the library of training documents and SOPs for the service are regularly reviewed and amended to reflect the service needs.
Responsible for ensuring all administrative staff are appropriately trained and updated, including all mandatory training.
To take a lead role in overseeing the complaints within the service which will promote a learning environment so that complaints are not only investigated and responded to, but also used as an opportunity to improve services.
To ensure incidents and complaints are investigated, actioned and reported to the service manager.
To be responsible for the quality of communication from the team, ensuring data protection and confidentiality are adhered to at all times.
Responsible for being a smartcard sponsor and ensuring e-RS access for RMS staff is in line with agreed governance processes.
Financial responsibilities
Authorised signatory for approving timesheets and other HR paperwork.
Authorised signatory for approving expenses claims.
Person Specification
Qualifications, training and professional membership
Essential
* Educated to degree level or equivalent experience, and significant specialist knowledge of the primary and secondary care appointments interface
* Evidence of continuous professional development
Desirable
* Project management qualification
* Full training on the e-RS system covering various specialist roles
Knowledge and experience
Essential
* Proven ability to manage / lead a high performing team, including objective setting and performance management.
* Proven track record of leading and managing operational service change, in an environment of cross organisational resistance.
* Significant proven experience of working in a patient or customer centred environment and handling sensitive / confidential data.
* Experience of writing standard operating procedures and operational policies, including monitoring and reviewing policies as needed.
Desirable
* Significant experience of working across primary / secondary care patient booking systems.
* Extensive work experience of using e-RS and other NHS databases.
Skills and abilities
Essential
* Full range of IT skills (including MS Access, Excel, Word and Outlook).
* Able to lead and motivate a team.
* Excellent communication skills used across bands / organisations with staff from different professional backgrounds.
Personal qualities, behaviours and aptitudes
Essential
* Resilient when working under pressure whilst continuing to deliver results.
* Self-motivated and able to motivate other managers, GPs and members of the team.
* Professional, honest, trustworthy, high integrity, strong team ethics.
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.
Employer details
Employer name: NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board
Address: New County Hall, Treyew Rd, Truro, TR1 3AY
Employer's website: https://www.cios.icb.nhs.uk
#J-18808-Ljbffr