South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is looking to recruit an experienced and motivated Strategy Manager to join our Strategy and Transformation Directorate. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in shaping and delivering the Trust’s strategic priorities, supporting organisation-wide planning, and leading high-profile projects that improve outcomes for our communities. Working closely with senior leaders, partners, and people with lived experience, you will help ensure we are inclusive, and responsive to the changing NHS landscape.
We looking for someone who has proven experience in the NHS (or similar environment) and strong project management expertise. Someone who can build effective relationships and influence at senior levels. The post-holder must be confident analysing complex information and translating it into clear strategic advice, be an excellent communicator, have strong written and interpersonal skills, and a collaborative approach. This is a rewarding role for someone passionate about improving mental health services, offering the chance to develop your career within a leading Trust known for innovation, research, and high-quality care.
Please note:
This post may close earlier than the advertised date if a high volume of applications is received.
Your supporting statement must clearly demonstrate how you meet the shortlisting criteria outlined in the person specification.
Key duties will include:
- Provide strategy planning expertise and leadership across the Trust: Designing, implementing, and overseeing effective processes for strategic planning, strategic prioritisation and resource allocation, liaising with functional and subject matter experts.
- Lead the project management of Trust wide Strategy development and annual strategic planning for the Trust
- Lead engagement and partnership work with service users, carers and community representatives using a range of involvement methods to ensure their voices are central to the Trust’s strategic work.
- Maintain awareness of the external NHS environment by assessing new policies and guidance and advising the Trust of impact and actions required.
- Act as part of a team, seeking out intelligence and disseminating important, appropriate and required information.
We provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK and aim to be a leader in improving health and wellbeing – locally, nationally and globally.
We serve a local population of 1.3 million people in south London, as well as specialist services for children and adults across the UK and beyond.
Each year we provide inpatient care for over 5,000 people, and treat more than 40,000 patients in the community in Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon.
Our 5 Commitments
As a Trust, we are dedicated to delivering care according to our five key commitments:
I will be caring, kind and polite
I will be prompt and value your time
I will take time to listen to you
I will be honest and direct with you
I will do what I say I am going to do
These commitments sit alongside our values: Kindness, Respect, Together. We have created a framework to set out the behaviours we want to see under each of these values and the behaviours that our service users and their carers should hold us accountable to.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategy development and planning
Manage the strategic planning frameworks within the Trust, including leading their development, design and implementation. This includes establishing and maintaining strong relationships with senior managers and contributing to the resource allocation process.
Work closely with the Trust Operational Directorates to identify, evaluate and coordinate specific developments, which reflect and further augment the Trust's strategic direction.
Ensure that strategic planning processes and objectives are actively monitored and delivered to plan, and mitigations planned where required.
Provide strategic expertise to Trust functions to develop enabling strategies aligned to the Trust Strategy.
Develop and produce reports and presentations to present complex information to senior managers within the organisation and at Board level.
Identify and implement opportunities to involve service users, carers and community members in strategic planning.
Analyse and interpret complex information, including performance, quality and financial data.
Make comparisons exercising judgement to identify options. Project and program management
Lead key project and system redesign work, under direction of members of the Executive Team, that will help modernise service delivery, and enhance its quality, efficiency and efficacy.
Lead the project management for the Trust wide strategy refresh
Lead planning and delivery of Trust-wide strategic projects, using a structured project management approach.
Implement the project management of annual Trustwide strategic planning
Lead the development of project plans and the delivery of agreed objectives in line with wider programmes or strategies.
Resolve highly complicated and/or conflicting issues and initiate corrective or appropriate action.
Identify and manage project risk and issues.
Co-ordinate minutes, agendas and papers for distribution in preparation for meetings, ensuring this is done in a timely manner.
Exercise autonomy in decision making and problem solving in contentious situations to facilitate the successful delivery of projects.
Build links between the different areas of the team programmes in order to enhance strategic planning and delivery.
Policy and Strategy Horizon Scanning
Conduct regular policy and strategy horizon scanning, preparing briefing documents and facilitating discussion on these with colleagues.
Prepare briefings for the Trust Chair, CEO, Board and Executive Leadership Team on relevant topics.
Conduct needs analysis and benchmarking exercises.
Other
Working with the Head of Strategy and PPI, and the Deputy Head of Strategy, support the strategic work on carers for the Trust, including the governance, and work around Triangle of Care
Act as a senior manager in the Strategic Planning and Equalities Team, with the ability to influence and produce executive ideas that may shape and benefit the organisation as a whole. This includes writing papers for the Executive Team and demonstrating excellent interpersonal skills in order to undertake change management where required.
Work under limited supervision, setting own work priorities on a day-to-day basis.
Line management and/or supervision of staff or graduate trainees [no current direct reports but there may be in future]
Deputise for team members when required.
The post holder will have considerable freedom to act, influence and shape future Trust policy within these areas, in support of the Executive Team. As such, the post holder must work effectively with a wide range of senior managers in a credible way that develops a successful image for the team whilst adhering to tight deadlines.
