Service Manager - Community & Partnerships

Job Description

This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work required of the post to indicate the level of responsibility. It is not a comprehensive or exhaustive list, and the line

manager may vary duties from time to time which do not change the general character of the job, or the level of responsibility entailed.

Post Details

Job Title Service Manager – Community and Partnerships

Service Community and Partnerships

Team Chief Executive Office

Location Hybrid Working/ On-Site at Hub Libraries 3 days a week

Reports to Head of Community and Partnerships

Worker Style

Hybrid – Remote working with attendance at Council offices as and when

required

Community – Work is based in the community, libraries and at Council offices, with less frequent time at home

Responsible for Area Leads, Grade 9 and 3 FTE

Grade 11

Contract Type Permanent

Main Accountabilities

1. To manage the Borough’s statutory library service to meet the local communities needs.

2. Lead, manage, motivate and develop staff in the delivery of community and partnerships corporate and service priorities.

3. Manage and control budget and resources related of the service areas within direct management of the post.

4. Ensuring Health and Safety systems and process are in place to maintain a safe environment for staff, volunteers, and residents using the service.

5. Support in development of the service to ensure it remains financially sustainable whilst adapting to the changing needs of the communities.

6. Ensure appropriate data on the service is collected to understand the services

performance and guide its future management.

7.

Services are delivered to reduce inequalities and support identified needs of residents whilst promoting that libraries are a safe, welcoming and inclusive place for all residents.

8.

Support development and enhancement of internal partnerships with the other Council departments to support the Council’s wider objectives whilst enhancing offer to residents

9. Support development partnerships with local community organisations to support the Council’s wider objectives whilst enhancing offer to residents.

10.

Lead and role model the benefits of effective partnership working with Senior Officers, to ensure a consistent approach and better collaborative working – leading to improved partner experience.

11.

Support on the development and analysis of the right data and insight to shape targeted action support positive outcomes in the community and reduces inequalities.

12.

Ensure inequalities in our communities are identified and addressed – promoting inclusion, health and wellbeing by collaborative partnership working.

13. Deliver value for money and ensure that financial constraints are met whilst

also delivering a good quality service.

14. Support others managers across wider team and wider council as appropriate to the post role.

15.

Provide leadership and development of the community and partnerships, Libraries and Community Centre teams, growing a well-motivated, high performing service that drives culture of continuous improvement.

16. Responsibility and accountability for service budgets

Person Specification Essential Desirable

Education/Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in a community engagement and partnership role.

• Evidence of continuous professional development.

• Member of a relevant professional body

Experience

• Dynamic personality with the ability to build trusted stakeholder relationships and support networks in a political context such as Local Government, voluntary sector and NHS as required.

• Experience of designing and delivering presentations to groups of senior stakeholders.

• Significant experience in working with a Community development /community support setting.

• Experience of managing and prioritising resources and budget management.

• Leading and managing remote teams.

• Experience of successfully operating in and delivering priorities in a partnership environment.

• Significant experience in leading the delivery of wide scale projects and programmes.

• Proven effective leadership experience in a fast paced, front facing environment.

• Proven experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment.

Skills/Knowledge

• Ability to lead and manage successfully in an agile environment with shifting priorities.

• An experienced leader in Community Engagement strategies and building effective partnerships. Leading to positive outcomes.

• Demonstrates the importance of driving a customer centric culture, focusing on resident and partner experience.

• Ability to work effectively within a political environment and build relationships with political stakeholders.

• Able to influence and negotiate with senior colleagues and build relationships with political stakeholders.

• Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to a broad range of senior stakeholders.

• Knowledge and experience of delivering frontline services.

• Demonstrated capability to plan over the short, medium and long- ter, and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.

• Demonstrated capabilities to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales.

• Commercial expertise

• Media experience

• Asset management

• Demonstrated capabilities to manage direct reports and to manage staff across a programme of work where you do not have direct staff control.

Purpose Details

Service Purpose The service aim is to improve the health, wellbeing and experience of

residents and the communities within which they live. The service supports

delivery of key strategic objectives such as the Health and Wellbeing Strategy,

the Customer Communities and Partnership Programme, Tackling Poverty

Strategy and wider Public Health approaches.

Working with our partners and communities is critical to the way we work so

that everyone can access opportunities, and nobody gets left behind. The team

works closely with colleagues across the organisation, including Town and

Parish Councils, and with external partners such as health, voluntary sector,

businesses, and residents of the Borough. A core group of community assets

such as libraries and community Centre’s facilitate the delivery of support

across the borough.

The Community and Partnerships team is central to driving the councils’ corporate approach around developing stronger and effective partnerships to deliver the best outcomes for our communities.

Role Purpose A key corporate priority is to grow strong, sustainable, and resilient

partnerships so we can deliver the right outcomes to our communities and

achieve aspirations within the community vision.

Central to this is working with partners across the voluntary sector to drive

community enablement. This role will lead on the operational management of,

and daily delivery of community engagement and Libraries services, ensuring

connection with the rest of the organization and demonstrably delivering on

key strategic priorities, as such strong project management and experience

within engagement with a wide variety of stake holders is essential.

The role will work to improve relationships, build on existing strengths whilst

promoting innovation. It will also drive collaborative working and co

production of plans and activities to respond to identified needs, and to

achieve strategic outcomes through its operational services.

The post holder will take direction from and support the Head of Community

and Partnerships to ensure activity promotes innovation, collaboration and

meets all statutory duties and will have direct line management

responsibilities.

They will be expected to lead, support, and implement programmes across the organisation and influence a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.

Corporate Parenting You will champion the principles of corporate parenting by embedding its ethos in all aspects of service delivery, ensuring decisions and actions consistently reflect the responsibility to act as a corporate parent to children in care and care leavers, and actively contribute to shaping and implementing the wider corporate parenting strategy.

Supervision and Relationships

Supervision Received Line Managed by Head of Community and Partnerships

Supervision Given Direct reports from three Libraries and Community Area Leads.

Direct +/or matrix oversight, leadership, line management of senior officers for libraries and community-based offer, Community Engagement, Stock and Outreach Staff, Volunteers

Contacts Working relationships extensive within WBC and across partnerships most notably with voluntary and community sector but also Towns and Parish Councils, health and statutory partners, businesses and elected members.

Resources/Budget Management

Up to 3 direct reports. Supporting responsibility for service budgets of approx: • People - £1.3m • Non-people - £218k • Income - £100k Asset management – Libraries and Community Centres

Special Requirements

Healthcare or Hospital Work N

Working with Children (under 18) N

Working with Elderly/Vulnerable Adults N

Work Environment Details

Hybrid working, working out of main library hubs and community centres.

Role Involvement Details

Working with Children N

Working with Vulnerable Adults N

Both of the Above N

Providing Care/Supervision for Children N

Providing Care/Supervision for Vulnerable Adults N

Both of the Above N

None of the Above Y

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Details

DBS Requirement

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