Support Services Manager @ Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw Children's Hospice

Job summary

Lead Services That Make a Difference Every Day

At Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, we provide compassionate care and support to people facing life-limiting illnesses, children with complex needs, and the families who matter most to them.

We're looking for an experienced and people-focused Support Services Manager to lead our Patient and Family Support and Administration teams. This is a varied and rewarding role that combines operational leadership, service development, people management and oversight of our IT infrastructure, helping to ensure colleagues have the tools, systems and support they need to deliver outstanding care.

Main duties of the job

As Support Services Manager, you'll provide visible and compassionate leadership across a range of non-clinical services that play a vital role in supporting patients, families, carers, volunteers and colleagues.

You'll lead and develop teams, oversee day-to-day operations, coordinate administrative services, monitor service performance and drive continuous improvement. You'll also work closely with our external IT support provider to ensure our technology, equipment and infrastructure remain reliable, secure and fit for purpose.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who thrives in a people-centred environment and enjoys balancing strategic thinking with hands-on operational leadership.

About us

At Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw, you'll be part of a supportive and values-driven organisation where every role contributes to improving the lives of local people and their families.

We offer

• A meaningful and rewarding role within a respected local charity.
• The opportunity to lead and shape important support services.
• A supportive and collaborative working environment.

We have a range of benefits, including:

• 7 weeks annual leave entitlement, inclusive of Bank Holidays
• Generous group pension scheme (6% employee/employer contribution)
• Life insurance for all staff working regular hours
• Company maternity and adoption schemes
• Excellent learning and development opportunities
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
• Health and wellbeing initiatives.
• On-site catering facilities
• Free on-site parking
• Occupational sick pay scheme

Our values are at the heart of everything we do:

Caring

• We provide compassionate, person-centred care that recognises the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of patients and those important to them. Respect We treat everyone with dignity, kindness and sensitivity, valuing individual experiences, choices, cultures and beliefs. Innovative We embrace learning, research and continuous improvement to enhance patient outcomes and develop the future of hospice care. Inclusive We create an environment where diversity is celebrated, everyone belongs, and all voices are welcomed and valued.

Interviews will take place on Wednesday 25th November.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Overall Purpose of the Role

The Patient, Family and Administration Team Lead will provide effective leadership to the Patient and Family Support and Administration teams. The postholder will oversee the delivery and development of patient and family support and administrative services, ensuring teams are well supported, resources are used effectively and services contribute to safe, high-quality care.

The role will also coordinate the organisations IT infrastructure and equipment requirements, working with the external IT support provider to ensure technology is reliable, fit for purpose and supports the effective delivery of hospice services.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and People Management

• Provide visible, supportive and compassionate leadership to the Patient and Family Support and Administration teams.
• Provide day-to-day line management, support and direction to staff within both services.
• Create a positive, inclusive and supportive working environment where individuals feel valued and able to contribute.
• Lead on appraisal, regular supervision, wellbeing conversations and performance management.
• Support recruitment, induction, development and retention of staff and volunteers.
• Identify individual and team development needs and encourage ongoing learning and professional development.
• Ensure appropriate staffing, workload management and service cover arrangements are in place.
• Promote staff wellbeing and resilience, recognising the emotional demands associated with hospice and palliative care services.
• Support staff through organisational and service changes.
• Encourage effective communication, collaboration and shared learning across both teams.

Patient and Family Support

• Lead the effective day-to-day delivery and development of Patient and Family Support services.
• Ensure services are compassionate, responsive, inclusive and centred around the needs of patients, families and carers.
• Ensure appropriate systems are in place for referrals, triage, allocation of work and caseload oversight.
• Promote a holistic approach which considers the emotional, psychological, social, practical and spiritual needs of patients and those important to them.
• Promote dignity, independence, choice and inclusion.
• Encourage collaborative working with nursing, medical and other clinical services to support joined-up care.
• Develop effective relationships with community organisations and external partners where this benefits patients and families.
• Monitor activity, outcomes and feedback to understand the impact of services and identify opportunities for development.
• Ensure appropriate professional or clinical matters are escalated to the relevant clinical lead where necessary.

Administration and Service Coordination

• Lead the provision of effective and responsive administrative support across the hospice.
• Ensure administrative processes contribute positively to the experience of patients, families, visitors and colleagues.
• Ensure effective administrative systems and ways of working are documented, understood and consistently followed.
• Coordinate team resources and cover to maintain service continuity.
• Promote clear and effective communication between administrative, clinical and support teams.
• Review administrative processes regularly and identify opportunities to simplify or improve ways of working.
• Ensure appropriate arrangements are in place to support reception, ward clerk and other relevant administrative functions.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure administrative capacity is aligned with service requirements.

IT Infrastructure and Equipment

• Coordinate the hospices IT infrastructure and equipment requirements, working closely with the external IT support provider and Administration team.
• Oversee the procurement, allocation, replacement and appropriate recording of IT equipment and assets.
• Support with identifying future infrastructure and equipment needs, contributing to forward planning, budgeting and the implementation of new systems and technology.
• Monitor external IT support arrangements, escalating significant or recurring issues and ensuring infrastructure decisions support information security, data protection and business continuity.

Day-to-day technical troubleshooting and IT helpdesk support will be provided by the hospices external IT support provider.

Quality, Governance and Service Improvement

• Promote a culture of quality, learning and continuous improvement within both services.
• Ensure relevant policies, procedures and ways of working are understood and followed.
• Contribute to audits, service evaluations, quality improvement initiatives and service reviews.
• Use service information, feedback and outcome measures to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Support the effective management and learning from incidents, concerns and complaints relevant to the services.
• Contribute to risk assessment and risk management processes.
• Ensure confidentiality and information governance requirements are maintained.
• Support compliance with relevant regulatory and organisational standards, including CQC requirements.
• Encourage learning from patients, families, staff and volunteers and ensure feedback informs service development.

Data and Information

• Promote accurate, timely and consistent recording of patient and service information.
• Ensure appropriate processes are in place to maintain data quality within the teams.
• Use service data and activity information to monitor performance and identify trends and improvement opportunities.
• Support reporting against relevant service measures and organisational objectives.
• Ensure information is handled confidentially and in accordance with GDPR, information governance requirements and hospice policies.
• Work with colleagues to improve data capture and reporting processes.

Partnership and Collaborative Working

• Build positive working relationships across Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw.
• Work collaboratively with clinical, operational and support teams to provide joined-up services.
• Encourage the development of constructive relationships with relevant external health, social care and community partners.
• Represent the services at appropriate internal and external meetings.

Person Specification

Personal Qualities

Essential

• A compassionate and approachable leader who acts with integrity, fairness and professionalism
• Confident while remaining open to the views and expertise of others
• Resilient and able to work calmly in an emotionally demanding environment.
• Proactive, organised and solution-focused.
• Adaptable and comfortable managing change.
• Ability to motivate, support and develop others.
• Committed to the vision, mission and values of Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw.

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience of leading, managing or supervising people.
• Experience of managing services, teams or operational functions.
• Experience of supporting and developing staff.
• Experience of working in a health, social care, charity, community or similarly person-centred environment.
• Experience of managing competing priorities and coordinating resources effectively.
• Experience of service improvement and implementing changes to ways of working.
• Experience of working collaboratively across different professional or service areas.
• Experience of handling sensitive and confidential information appropriately.

Desirable

• Experience within a hospice, palliative care or healthcare environment.
• Experience working with services supporting patients, families or carers.
• Experience of managing administrative services.
• Experience working within a CQC-regulated environment.
• Experience of using electronic patient information or case-management systems.
• Experience of audit, quality improvement or service evaluation.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Strong, compassionate and inclusive leadership skills.
• Excellent people management and team-development skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong organisational, prioritisation and problem-solving ability.
• The ability to manage different services and balance operational priorities.
• The ability to build effective relationships across professional boundaries.
• Confidence in managing sensitive and challenging situations appropriately.
• A good understanding of confidentiality, GDPR and information governance.
• An understanding of quality improvement and risk management.
• Good IT skills and confidence using electronic systems and Microsoft Office.
• The ability to interpret information and use data and feedback to improve services.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Qualifications

Essential

• Relevant management, professional or vocational qualification, or equivalent experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Good standard of literacy, numeracy and digital skills.

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

Eden Valley Hospice and Jigsaw Children's Hospice

Address

Eden Valley Hospice

Durdar Road

Carlisle

CA2 4SD

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.edenvalleyhospice.org/ (Opens in a new tab)