Job overview We are seeking an inspirational, compassionate and experienced leader to join us as our Divisional Director of Operations. This is a pivotal senior leadership role responsible for the daily operational delivery and strategic direction of our mental health services in BaNES, Swindon and Wiltshire (BSW) You will provide leadership to multi-disciplinary services and drive operational excellence across inpatient and community services. You will work with colleagues and system partners to lead transformational change and service improvements. You will enable collaborative working with external system partners and internal stakeholders to ensure high quality integrated care. BSW cover a wide portfolio of services including acute/crisis care (crisis services, home treatment teams, hospital liaison and inpatient services), community care and specialist services (older adults/dementia services, early intervention in psychosis) and Talking Therapies. Right to Work in the UK This position is not eligible for Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. Applicants must already hold the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application, as the organisation is unable to support sponsorship for this post. Main duties of the job The Divisional Director of Operations will lead the delivery of key performance, workforce, financial and governance priorities. They will ensure that services meet the needs of service users and carers, achieving agreed standards and financial targets. Working within the Divisional Leadership team, the Divisional Director of Operations will deliver strong value based leadership to operational delivery and share responsibility for the overall strategic direction, performance and culture of BSW. Working for our organisation We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care. We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset. We are passionate about promoting good mental health and wellbeing. Our staff are pivotal in everything we do and we are committed to involving them fully in the development of the Trust and our services. We are proud to be fostering a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. A key commitment to this is improving staff representation from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, those from the LGBTQ communities, and people living with disabilities - we are a 'Disability Confident Employer' offering a guaranteed interview to Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. Detailed job description and main responsibilities People leadership and management Provide inclusive, compassionate and effective leadership for your team by setting clear vision and direction. Develop a culture and environment in which members of staff are encouraged and supported to deliver high- quality services and are supported to innovate and improve services where appropriate. Encourage your team to feel able to raise concerns openly and safely. Promote equality of opportunity in service delivery and employment, ensuring that no person receives less favourable treatment than another on the grounds of gender, marital status, race, religion, creed, colour nationality ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation or disability. Support prompt recruitment by identifying vacancies to the AWP Recruitment Team as soon as they arise, and participate in the selection and effective induction and onboarding of new joiners to the team. Ensure that all team members have a very positive introduction to the team and a well-supported first year. Take responsibility for encouraging people to stay with AWP, ensuring that you are aware whenever a member of your team is considering leaving, seeking to understand their reasons and encouraging them to stay. Ensure that key messages are cascaded in your team and that your team are encouraged to put forward suggestions. Show appreciation to your team when they do good work and support them when they are struggling. Consider the individual needs of team members for a healthy work-life balance and think about how their needs can be supported by providing flexible ways of working. Support all team members to keep their mandatory and statutory training up-to-date and identify the learning and development needs of all team members of the team ensuring that everyone has an up-to-date personal development plan (PDP). Ensure that every team member as at least an hour of supervision (one-to-one meeting) each month, this may include both managerial and clinical supervision. Ensure all team members receive a constructive assessment of their performance each year and set SMART objectives for the coming year. Seek support from the HR Team to tackle any worries regarding matters of discipline, including both conduct and capability concerns, supporting a 'just and restorative culture'. Take prompt action regarding serious concerns and ensure clear plans are in place for problems which are less serious in nature but prove difficult to resolve. Act as a positive role model at all times, encouraging people to feel equal members of the team whilst working within clear frameworks and policies. Promote effective use of bank and agency nursing staff, providing a safe and effective service, complying with regulatory standards. Performance and information management Ensure delivery of all the agreed key performance indicators for your service, particularly relating to outcomes and essential standards to be met. Ensure that you and your team understand data quality standards and that all the necessary records for your service are maintained and reported. Ensure that you and your team understand all of the clinical and business action plans relevant to your services. Ensure that you and your team understand all of the monitoring, auditing and reporting systems relevant to your services. Service development and planning Actively seek opportunities for improvement for the services which you and your team provide by identifying research evidence and best practice elsewhere, interpreting/translating and facilitating adaptation for AWP. Analyse and interpret data to inform the strategic direction of the services which you and your team provide Ensure multidisciplinary involvement and the use of quality improvement (QI) techniques in service improvement, by negotiating shared solutions, facilitating the resolution of complex or contentious issues and managing any conflict into constructive outcomes. Ensure effective risk identification, analysis, mitigation and management within your services, encouraging all members of your team to be aware of and to manage risks. Governance and policy Ensure that you understand all of the key governance requirements, policies and standards for your services and that these are communicated to your team; make sure your team understand the importance of good governance. Support the development of policies relevant to your services, including your team in this work. Financial and resource management Monitor and exercise appropriate control over the budget(s) for your team, ensuring that both you and your team understand the resources available to support provision of a high quality and cost-effective service. Challenge and manage poor financial management and poor use of any resources. Ensure optimum use of people and other resources; particularly though emphasizing use of substantive staffing and effective use of bank and agency staff. Ensure that whenever you authorise expenditure you are thoughtful and careful about whether there could be a more cost-effective solution. Ensure that your use of resources is in accordance with AWP Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions. Please see attached Job Description for full list of duties Person specification Education & Qualifications Essential criteria Educated to Masters degree level or equivalent experience Relevant management qualification or equivalent senior management experience Experience & Knowledge Essential criteria Extensive experience within a Mental Health service Able to demonstrate/provide extensive evidence of senior leadership ability and experience Extensive experience developing and leading strategic and operational plans across large and complex services Extensive understanding and experience of national and international best practice in specialist areas and nursing A good understanding of Transformation plans and local position and the implications of these for service development and delivery Substantial experience in managing clinical community and in-patient services, budgets and people at service manager level and above. Desirable criteria Experience of delivering substantial service change and updating Trust Boards, Joint Commissioning Board and Scrutiny Committee on progress and delivering to agreed objectives Experience of management in another sector Skills & Abilities Essential criteria Fully understands the regulatory environment within which the Division / AWP operates Ability to manage highly complex priorities Excellent communication skills, able to express complex information Ensures a culture and ethos of challenge and support for all staff Strong people management skills Commitment to achieving positive service outcomes We are proud to be fostering a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. A key commitment to this is improving staff representation from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities, those from the LGBTQ communities, people with 'lived-experience' of mental health conditions and people living with disabilities,- we are a 'Disability Confident Employer' offering a guaranteed interview to Disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. This includes people with a variety of disabilities and neurodivergent conditions (for example autism, ADHD, sensory, physical and learning disabilities). We encourage applications from people who wish to work on a flexible basis, recognising that flexibility may mean a range of different working patterns and hours, we do our utmost to work with our staff to meet their needs and the needs of our service users. Click here to view our