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South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

About

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is part of the National Health Service (NHS). We respond to 999 calls from the public, urgent calls from healthcare professionals and provide NHS 111 services across the region.

As part of the NHS we are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. It ensures that health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate high quality care and encourages care services to improve.

You can find our latest report here South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust - Overview - Care Quality Commission (cqc.org.uk) and previous reports on the CQC Website.

We have a vision to support our staff and provide a caring, high quality and efficient urgent and emergency care service to our communities.

Our 4,000+ staff provide services to 4.9m people across Kent, Surrey, Sussex and North East Hampshire.

Our two main functions:

Accident and emergency service to respond to 999 calls
NHS 111 service for when medical help is needed fast, but it's not an emergency

We currently have a number of available roles and we would love for you to join our service.

Contact

Address: Nexus House; 4 Gatwick Road; Crawley; West Sussex; RH10 9BG
Contact Number: 0300 123 0999

Find out more

Jobs Website

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Closed

Ref: 278-SecExMRCML-0924-CC Vacancy ID: 6668750

Make Ready Centre Manager Lead

Closed for applications on:

Vacancy status: Closed

Closed for applications on:

Location

Site: Crawley HQ
Town: RH10 9BG
Postcode: RH10 9BG
Major / Minor Region: West Sussex

Contract type & working pattern

Contract: Secondment: 9 months (Until 19/02/2025)
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Salary

Salary: £53,755 - £60,504 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Grade: (Band 8a)

Specialty

Main area: Strategy & Engagement

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) has a vision to ‘support our staff to provide a caring, high quality and efficient urgent and emergency care service to our communities’. We are rated ‘Good’ for care by the Care Quality Commission and while the other areas under their most recent report require improvement, our aim is to continually improve and to reach outstanding across all areas of the Trust.

Our 4,000+ workforce provide services to 4.9m people across Kent, Surrey, Sussex and North East Hampshire. We handle over 1 million calls to 999 and 1 million calls to NHS 111 every year. More information regarding our services and locations can be found on our website.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Performance Manager for Make Ready is responsible for ensuring the effective operational delivery of the full range of Make Ready services across the Trust. This includes developing efficient systems, policies, and procedures that are consistent throughout all hubs. The role supports the development and implementation of the Make Ready Strategy, aligned with the Trust’s business and clinical priorities, while ensuring cost-efficient services that comply with all relevant regulations.

This position involves monitoring and evaluating performance to ensure that Make Ready services meet key performance indicators (KPIs) and service standards. The role supports the quality assurance, governance, and training teams in auditing, reviewing, and implementing service improvements to meet National Standards, Hygiene Code, and Infection Control requirements.

The post holder will work closely with the Head of Fleet & Logistics, quality governance, and training managers to ensure the achievement of the Directorate’s Business Plan objectives. This includes ensuring that Make Ready services are delivered at the highest standards, meet statutory regulations, and are in line with Trust requirements. The role requires collaboration with clinical teams, supply chain, infection prevention and control (IPC), Vehicle Resource Centres (VRC), Health and Safety Executives (HSE), and other stakeholders to ensure the best patient outcomes.

Additionally, the Performance Manager is responsible for developing and using KPIs to monitor daily operational performance, conducting regular reviews, and implementing short-term performance recovery initiatives. The post holder will also oversee the induction, training, and development of key skills within the Make Ready management team, ensuring consistency and best practice across the department.

Main Responsibilities:

Operational Delivery:
- Ensure the operational delivery of Make Ready services across all hubs, including the development of efficient and consistent systems, policies, and procedures.
- Assist in the development of the Make Ready Strategy to support the Trust’s business and clinical priorities.
Performance Monitoring:
- Monitor and evaluate performance of Make Ready services to ensure KPIs, service standards, and Trust objectives are met.
- Develop robust KPIs for all elements of the Make Ready process and hold managers accountable for meeting them.
Quality and Compliance:
- Support quality assurance, governance, and training teams in auditing, reviewing, and implementing service improvements to meet National Standards, Hygiene Code, and Infection Control requirements.
- Ensure compliance with statutory regulations and lead on governance processes to monitor quality and service delivery within the Make Ready hubs.
Collaboration and Communication:
- Work with the Head of Fleet & Logistics, clinical teams, IPC, supply chain, VRC, and other stakeholders to ensure Make Ready services meet operational and patient needs.
- Present regular performance reports to the Head of Fleet & Logistics and other boards, translating complex data into actionable insights.
Leadership and Development:
- Lead short-term performance recovery initiatives and regular review meetings to ensure KPIs are met and training is completed.
- Oversee the induction, training, and development of the Make Ready management team, ensuring consistency and the adoption of best practices.
Data Management and Reporting:
- Work with the Performance & Predictive Analytics Team to develop and present data in a timely and usable format.
- Design user reports based on complex data, providing regular updates on performance to various boards and meeting groups.
Provider Management:
- Liaise with the Make Ready provider to ensure their systems are fit for purpose, requesting changes when necessary to meet the Trust’s requirements.
Performance Improvement:
- Lead on quality improvement initiatives and empower local quality initiatives using standard improvement cycles such as PDSA or DMAIC.
- Implement performance improvement strategies and modernize working practices to improve efficiency and value for money.
Stakeholder Management:
- Maintain excellent relationships with Trade Union colleagues, ensuring successful communication of changes or contentious information to large groups of staff.
- Challenge and influence thought processes to drive desired changes within the department.
Risk and Audit Management:
- Conduct annual surveys, risk assessments, and audits to monitor service performance, addressing any service failures, risks, or regulatory non-compliance.
- Present monthly performance reports with action plans where necessary to address service delivery issues.

By fulfilling these responsibilities, the Performance Manager will play a key role in ensuring the Make Ready department delivers high-quality, compliant, and cost-effective services across the Trust.

Please note that the salary range noted on the vacancy is in line with agenda for change (AFC) pay scales. All successful applicants would be placed automatically at the bottom of the banding, unless proven, relevant NHS or equivalent experience can be demonstrated.

Following the revision of current national legislation (Vaccine as a Condition of Deployment), the Trust has reviewed our requirements relating to staff uptake of the SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) vaccination.

Going forward, for patient facing positions, we strongly recommend that new starters will be appropriately vaccinated unless medically exempt in order to offer greater protection against exposure to the virus for front line staff.

In line with this recommendation, if you are successful in your application for a front line post, we will seek information from you in relation to your vaccine status, including exemption status, as applicable.

Please note, all positions come with a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check relevant to the post. This will either be a basic, standard, or enhanced check depending on the role. The level of check will be outlined in the conditional offer letter sent to successful applicants.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to declare any unspent/unfiltered convictions. If you are shortlisted you will then be sent a self declaration form, which must be completed prior to attending interview. for any queries relating to declarations, please contact the Recruitment Advisor listed on the vacancy.

The Trust is passionately committed to being an inclusive employer - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed. As an employer we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement networks, facilities and services to support staff from different backgrounds.

We actively support equality of opportunity for all our staff and welcome applications from individuals regardless of age, any disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief. The Trust is making progress towards its aim of becoming more reflective of the diversity of our community in our workforce and guarantees an interview to candidates with disability who meet the essential criteria specified. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and disabled applicants and those from other under-represented groups.

The Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people - including those with long term health conditions, learning disabilities and hidden disabilities such as dyslexia. If you tell us that you have a disability we can make reasonable adjustments to ensure that any selection processes - including the interview - are fair and equitable.

We are a committed to offering opportunities to individuals with disabilities and offer on-going support, should you be successful, with any adjustments you may need when performing your role.

When completing the application please use your name as it appears on your passport and please ensure you include email addresses and contact numbers for your referees to avoid delay in the recruitment process.

Please note that under our Trust policies, we're unable to employ anyone under the age of 18 years old.

The majority of our roles will include some travel between sites for business purposes. If the vacancy you’re applying for includes work related travel, you will be required to ensure that you hold and have covered the cost of suitable car insurance to support this.

Should you require an application form in an alternative format including large print or braille, please contact [email protected] stating the vacancy reference number and we will be happy to provide this.

When completing the reference section, please include details to cover the last three years’ history.

Due to the high volume of applications at SECAmb, we regret that we will only be able to contact those applicants who are shortlisted for interview. If you have not heard from us within 10 working days of the closing date, then please assume you have not been shortlisted for interview on this particular occasion.

Please note that we contact all applicants via Trac Jobs and would advise you check your Trac Jobs account regularly.

Please be aware that the Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient applications are received. For this reason we recommend completing your application as early as possible.

Follow our recruitment on Twitter @SECAmbRecruit and check out our Facebook page - SECAmb NHS Recruitment. You can also find us on Linkedin under South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

We understand that AI tools can be useful for generating ideas or structuring your application. However, any content submitted must reflect your own experiences, skills, and understanding. Applications that are generated wholly or in large part by AI, without personalisation or accuracy, may be excluded from consideration. We value honesty, authenticity, and integrity in the recruitment process and expect all applicants to uphold these principles.

If you are a current SECAmb employee, by applying for this position, if successful you will move to the terms and conditions associated with the post. Any unsocial hours payments will be paid under the Section 2 agreement of agenda for change. Section 2 unsocial hours will need to be claimed via your monthly timesheet. More information regarding section 2 can be found in the Agenda for Change handbook and on the our dedicated Section 2 page on The Zone.

Applicant requirements

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.

Person specification

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Proven leadership and team working skills • Proven ability to motivate and inspire staff • Proven ability to translate strategic goals into tactical plans and to monitor progress and outcomes
• Ability to work under pressure to achieve tight deadlines. • Ability to handle detail within strategic plans and make informed decisions and judgements. • Ability to successfully network with senior colleagues in other agencies and emergency services. • Ability to manage performance and implement quality systems • Ability to assess risks, anticipate difficulties and successfully address them • Ability to learn, listen and seek further information when appropriate

Desirable criteria

• Understanding of the Make-Ready process

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of business planning, objective setting and performance management • Demonstrable recent or current management experience at the same or similar level• Managing effective relationships with more senior and line managers, colleagues and staff • Experience of working with trade unions and understanding the principles of partnership working
• Demonstrable evidence of devising and managing change programmes
• Proven leadership and team working skills • Proven ability to motivate and inspire staff • Proven ability to translate strategic goals into tactical plans and to monitor progress and outcomes

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Master’s degree, equivalent professional qualifications and/or substantial demonstrable experience in a similar role or setting
Expert knowledge in a number of disciplines e.g. financial management, performance management, information systems, staff management acquired through training, qualification and experience over an extended period
Evidence of up-to-date personal and professional development

Desirable criteria

Post ‘masters’ qualification (Level 8) or equivalent experience demonstrating a significant amount of advanced expert knowledge gained through substantial experience