Director of Operations

Director of all service provision operations for Turning Point Scotland and member of the executive team.

Your main responsibilities will be to:

• Culture setting and leading by example with a clear values based approach.
• Service visits and being in touch with the services, cultures, changes and developments.
• Ensure, as a member of the Executive Team and sole lead for Operations, that Turning Point Scotland’s corporate strategies and plans are developed and implemented.
• Ensure the continuing relevance and effectiveness of services to the needs local needs and national government strategy by building active partnerships and being well connected.
• Seek innovative practice and approaches to our services and delivery.
• Communication and linkage of people and departments- behind the scenes connections internally and externally.
• Budget review and financial decision making.
• Oversee systems that ensure that projects comply with relevant legislation and registration requirements and meet the highest possible standards of service delivery by monitoring and evaluating service standards with the involvement of users and purchasers.
• Take responsibility for writing, implementing and reviewing all operational policy
• Ensure the protection and best use of the organisations’ resources by implementing and observing Turning Point Scotland’s systems and procedures for financial control and property management.
• Apply human resource strategies, approaches and plans so as to promote: equality of opportunity, staff skill development and service quality, positive workforce planning, increasing flexibility, sound appeal and individual risk assessment decision making, reflective approaches and a culture of positive employee relations.
• Directly line manage and provide supervision to the Operations Managers.
• Resolve conflicts, complaints and respond to feedback as appropriate and work towards continuous improvement and development.
• Represent Turning Point Scotland in order to promote the aims of the organisation, support corporate communication and organisational or business development strategies.
• Enable the organisation to develop and achieve its corporate strategy and plans by undertaking specific tasks as requested, as a member of the TPS Strategic Management Team and in corporate project groups.
• Lead safe systems within service delivery and using risk assessment for risk enablement as appropriate in different setting and for different purposes.

Turning Point Scotland is a national social care charity providing services to adults with addictions, learning disabilities, mental health issues, those in the criminal justice system and those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.  

Due to the retirement of Wendy Spencer, our long serving Director of Operations, we are looking for a bright, experienced, innovative individual to join our executive team, lead our operational managers and to oversee our services across Scotland. A key element of this role will be to ensure delivery of the Strategic Plan.

This is an exciting opportunity to provide leadership in one of Scotland’s leading social care charity where ‘because people matter’ is our day to day driver.

The post holder will be able to demonstrate vision and leadership characteristics along with the values of respect, compassion, inclusion and integrity.

The post holder will provide management to our team of Operations Managers operating diverse services and, will work as part of a small executive team demonstrating interpersonal skills and providing professional views but with a willingness to compromise. As the range of service we provide is so wide, we are seeking an experienced senior manager who has experience of at least two key areas of our work and an ability to demonstrate transferability in evenly applying the over-riding professional principals and approach to all areas of service delivery.

The post holder will:

• Have a thorough background in operational services and a demonstrable ability to set up, develop and maintain effective services
• Be a natural culture carrier with a strong values base that s/he can demonstrate through their work and management practice that is aligned to ‘because people matter’
• Be able to demonstrate a record of achievement at a senior and strategic level
• Hold a professional social work, nursing, health or social care qualification or equivalent
• Be a clear thinker, analytical and have sound decision making skills
• Have excellent communication skills including written and spoken
• Be collegiate, reflective and keen to learn
• Have a positive, personable and reassuring approach that engages and connects with people
• Have strong credibility and an ability to influence and convey information to audiences
  

There will be significant travel commitments and regular meetings across Scotland. We encourage technological alternatives to meeting when appropriate. A driving license and car is essential.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to equality of opportunity and an inclusive, diverse workforce. Women are particularly welcome to apply as the gender balance of our workforce at all levels is important to us and women are under-represented within our organisation at this level. Each application will be treated on its own merit.

Required/essential

Qualifications & Experience

You will hold a professional social work, nursing, health or social care qualification or equivalent

You will have thorough experience in the development and management (new, maintaining and evolving) of effective social care service provision in at least two key areas of our work along with an ability to demonstrate transferability in evenly applying the over-riding professional principals and approaches to all areas of service delivery.

Considerable values-based leadership experience at a strategic senior management level.

Experience in setting and managing revenue and capital budgets, including new service developments with assistance from business development and finance colleagues

Experience of managing a professionally qualified team

Driving/Logistics

Car driver and access to a car for work purposes with business use insurance

Understanding of working in a multi-site environment where much communication is done via email and phone

Be able to travel frequently using own vehicle, mostly within Scotland, but occasionally elsewhere, which will involve working some unsocial hours and sometimes staying away from home overnight

Skills & Knowledge

Have excellent knowledge of health, and local authority structures and systems and changes including familiarity with coproduction, outcome based support and self-directed support, tendering & contracts, as well as health and social care integration

Have skills in and knowledge of provision of services which support people with complex needs including positive approaches to analysing and managing risk

Have vision and leadership characteristics along with the values of respect, compassion, inclusion and integrity

Be a clear thinker, analytical and have sound decision making skills

Have excellent problem solving skills and an ability to manage conflict calmly and constructively to find solutions

Communication & Cultural Approach

Be able to communicate confidently, clearly and concisely both orally and in writing including chairing meetings, emails, appropriate challenge, preparing tenders, reports and presentations

Have strong interpersonal skills and can clearly provide a professional view but with a willingness to compromise

Be a natural culture carrier with a strong values base that s/he can demonstrate through their work and management practice that is aligned to ‘because people matter’

Be collegiate, a good team-player, reflective and keen to learn

Have a positive, personable and reassuring approach that engages and connects with people

Have strong credibility and an ability to influence and convey information to different audiences

May have/advantageous

A relevant management qualification

You may also have experience in the development and management of other areas of community based social enterprise, health, social care or specialist housing services that cover one or more of the following: learning disability, homelessness, criminal justice, social enterprise

We are a large, stable national provider and a charity. As we are not for profit there is ongoing investment into our staff training and development, a good GPP pension scheme, and annual leave and sick pay that significantly exceeds the statutory minimum. 

We also have a brilliant employee assistance programme (independent advice, information and support online, by phone and in person), a group reward scheme to help your money go further and access to a contributory ‘hospital’ fund. We have a relationship with a credit union and promote saving directly from salary. 

We aim to provide a working environment where opinions and ideas are valued and arrangements are in place to ensure that there is a high level of staff representation and that people are encouraged to make their views heard and to participate at service and organisational levels.

As a leading national social care provider our breakthrough and forward-thinking models of practice and service are well recognised. Examples of this recently have been: Housing First, Psychologically informed environments (PIE), Citizenship and both Scottish and International research and evaluation of a range of projects. We work across a wide range of types of services and the organisation provides pathways for development: a career development workshop; appraisal; learning and training options; internal forums and project groups; and opportunities for internal secondment, temporary acting up or sideways roles and career progression.

The salary scale for the post will be (based on the full time equivalent of 37 hours per week)

• £64,950
• £66,007
• £67,063

The annual leave entitlement will be (reduced pro rata for part time posts and will include a proportional entitlement to public holidays)

30 days per year, plus 8 public holidays and 2 local holidays.