Job title: Service Manager (Strategic Scrutiny)
Job location: flexible (any Care Inspectorate office)
Responsible to: Chief Inspector
Responsible for: Strategic inspectors
Job purpose
Oversee and manage the day-to-day delivery of strategic inspection Ensure that the Care Inspectorate performs effectively and efficiently as an independent, scrutiny body.
Support the Chief Inspectors in ensuring that the Care Inspectorate meets its responsibilities as defined by the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and other relevant legislation, to inspect and improve the quality of care and social work services in Scotland in a collaborative way.
Work with the Chief Executive and Executive Directors and senior managers to support significant cultural change; consolidate excellence in the Care Inspectorate’s activities and continue to invest in our competent, confident workforce in a way that puts collaboration at the core of our work. This job description is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, and we recognise that jobs change and evolve over time.
Principal working contacts
• Executive Director of Assurance and Improvement
• Chief Inspectors
• Executive Team
• Service Managers
• Senior Managers
• Team Managers
• Strategic Inspectors
• Regulated Care Inspectors
• Care Inspectorate colleagues
• Scottish Government Officials
• Chief social work officers and their teams
• Chief officers of health and social care partnerships
• NHS, Police Scotland,
• Other Scrutiny Bodies
• External Stakeholders, including people who use social care, social work, and justice services
Key accountabilities
Strategic Management
• Support the Chief Inspectors to develop, deliver, monitor, and review the strategic inspection practices, processes, and procedures to deliver robust, intelligence-led, outcome-focussed scrutiny and assurance and other activities which support continuous improvement in care and social work services.
• Oversee and manage the strategic scrutiny and assurance activity for the Care Inspectorate and contribute to its direction, ensuring that all legislative requirements are met.
• In conjunction with the Chief Inspectors, we support the planning of strategic inspections and ensure effective performance reporting on all scrutiny, assurance, and improvement activity.
• Support the Chief Inspectors to formulate objectives, strategies, action plans and targets for all strategic inspection activity and ensure that these are achieved.
• Support the Chief Inspectors to build the diverse strands of strategic and regulated care service scrutiny and assurance activity into a cohesive, integrated, and productive approach, aligned to the achievement of the Care Inspectorate’s corporate aims and objectives, focusing on consolidating excellence in all aspects of the Care Inspectorate’s work.
• Lead on developing, implementing, and monitoring an integrated approach to quality assurance, self-evaluation, best value, and consolidating excellence in inspection.
• Oversee the understanding and use of intelligence to inform risk assessment, the planning of scrutiny activity carried out by the Care Inspectorate and other bodies and the provision of advice to Scottish Ministers and Scottish Government policy colleagues. Co-ordinate formal and informal consultations.
• Lead, direct, and develop the work of Link Inspectors and expert groups/communities of interest.
• Support the Executive Director (Assurance and Improvement) to develop, implement and monitor an integrated approach to performance management.
• Lead on recruitment, training, development, and support of staff in strategic scrutiny teams to support their continuous professional development and increase staff confidence and competence.
Operational management
• Day to day responsibility for the efficient and effective operational delivery of strategic inspection..
• Work with colleagues to implement the Care Inspectorate’s duties in respect of quality assurance work as required.
• Support the Chief Inspectors to develop innovative approaches to support the continuous improvement of the Care Inspectorate’s scrutiny and assurance work, including the development of quality systems, designed around creative problem-solving and bringing new thinking, delivery mechanisms and solutions to the Care Inspectorate.
• Ensure operational activities are delivered efficiently and adhere to the principles of best value.
• Prepare and present reports to the Executive Group and Committees of the Care Inspectorate that are both timely, and informed.
• Deputies for Chief Inspectors and undertake such other duties as may be required by the Chief Executive or Executive Directors.
People Management
• Guide, support and direct staff involved in strategic scrutiny and inspection activity and ensure that their work is carried out in an effective, efficient, and consistent manner and meets the standards, targets, and requirements of the Care Inspectorate.
• Support, develop, mentor and coach direct reports through regular supervision, performance development reviews and personal development plans to help build a competent and confident workforce where individuals are developed and supported to reach their potential. Promote consistent, high quality practice amongst staff, encouraging them to give their best and continually strive to improve performance and consolidate excellence. Manage the performance and monitor standards and consistency of practice of staff delivering inspection activity.
• Manage the recruitment and development of direct reports, and the implementation of HR policies, within the function, ensuring that Care Inspectorate objectives are translated into meaningful and realistic personal objectives for staff and team plans.
• Promote the health, safety, and welfare of employees, with responsibility for ensuring that Care Inspectorate health and safety policies, procedures and practice, and legislative requirements, are followed across all areas of service delivery.
• Be alert to the needs of staff from scrutiny and delivery partners working within inspection teams or other Care Inspectorate-led activities and communicate effectively with respective colleagues in partner organisations so that these needs are met, to ensure consistent high quality inspection activity.
• Promote diversity and equality of opportunity, ensuring that these principles are upheld across all areas of service delivery.
Relationship management
• Ensure productive and smooth working arrangements and protocols between staff delivering strategic inspection activity.
• Build and maintain constructive working relationships with scrutiny partners, working collaboratively and effectively to ensure sustained high quality in the design, delivery, and review of strategic inspection activity.
• In conjunction with the Chief Inspectors, help to facilitate and deliver business and cultural changes within the Care Inspectorate.
• In conjunction with the Chief Inspectors, they help promote customer focus internally and externally, supporting staff to work collaboratively with colleagues across the Care Inspectorate, as well as with people who use services and their carers, the Partnership Forum, scrutiny partners, service providers, government, health, and other bodies.
• Develop effective working relationships with senior managers and colleagues in other Directorates to ensure effective collaborative work and strong customer focus.
• Promote the principles of partnership working throughout the organisation and in all working practices in accordance with the Care Inspectorate’s Partnership Agreement.
• Develop and maintain productive and effective working relationships with a range of appropriate external stakeholders and relevant key policy contacts within national bodies, Scottish Government, local authorities, integrated joint boards and health boards, together with relevant, designated regulatory and quality assurance bodies and other statutory agencies with responsibilities for service delivery and commissioning. Use these relationships to continually improve service delivery, strengthen collaborative working, and promote the work of the Care Inspectorate.
• Provide leadership, contribute to, and promote, the continuous development of the Care Inspectorate, managing change effectively and creatively.
• Support the deployment of appropriate mechanisms to consult with all relevant stakeholders concerned in the delivery of inspection of care, ensuring we fulfill our duty of user focus and that this informs continuous improvement in our work.
• Support, promote and encourage public care, care user and carer participation in, and consultation about, the work of the Care Inspectorate.
Other duties
This post requires significant travel and will involve overnight stays and unsocial hours.
This job description is a broad picture of the post at the date of preparation. It is not an exhaustive list of all possible duties, and it is recognised that jobs change and evolve over time. Consequently, the post holder will be required to carry out any other duties to the equivalent level that are necessary to fulfil the purpose of the job, and to respond positively to changing business needs.