Services Lead

The Services Lead will lead on the operational delivery of a portfolio of mental health and wellbeing services, including commissioned and in‑house mental wellbeing services as are delivered by Derbyshire Mind at any moment in time, and to oversee the recruitment, line management and support of service staff, project leads, volunteers and student placement roles. The Services Lead will also ensure that services are delivered efficiently, effectively and to a high standard, co‑produced with service users, including people who are expert by experience.

Main duties of the job

• Oversee the day‑to‑day delivery of Derbyshire Mind's mental health and wellbeing services, ensuring efficient systems and processes are in place to meet KPIs and service objectives.
• Manage staff and volunteers, allocate caseloads, oversee triage and audits, and monitor waiting lists.
• Manage service risks, maintain databases, monitor data accuracy, manage budgets, and ensure compliance with health and safety policies.
• Engage service users through co‑production strategies, foster relationships with stakeholders, and promote services to diverse communities.
• Address safeguarding concerns, prepare service reports for funders and commissioners, attend meetings, and contribute to the development of service resources and marketing materials.

About us

Derbyshire Mind is your local independent mental health charity within the national Mind network. Our focus is on improving mental health and wellbeing for people across Derby and Derbyshire. We provide a range of community mental wellbeing services designed to support local people with mental health problems as well as the wider population.

Job responsibilities

• Take responsibility for the day‑to‑day operational delivery of Derbyshire Mind's mental health and wellbeing services, ensuring appropriate systems and processes are in place to deliver services effectively and efficiently.
• Line manage and support direct reports, and oversee the recruitment, induction and support of the full services staff team.
• Oversee the recruitment, induction and support of Derbyshire Mind's volunteers.
• Oversee allocation of staff caseloads, triage of referrals, case note audits and monitoring of waiting lists.
• Employ co‑production strategies to engage, learn from, and deliver upon insights and recommendations from service users and local people with lived experience.
• Assess, manage and mitigate day‑to‑day service‑related risks, in line with Derbyshire Mind policies and procedures, escalating more serious risks as appropriate.
• Take lead responsibility for service databases, ensuring that systems are maintained, staff are appropriately trained and the accuracy of data is monitored.
• Manage and monitor service budgets, as appropriate, on a day‑to‑day basis, in line with Derbyshire Mind's financial policies and procedures.
• Oversee facilities and maintenance for service sites, including utilities, leases etc.
• Take responsibility for health and safety, including risk assessments, at service sites in line with Derbyshire Mind Health and Safety policies and procedures.
• Support staff and volunteers to manage any safeguarding concerns, in line with Derbyshire Mind safeguarding policies and procedures.
• Establish and maintain excellent working relationships with staff in wider stakeholder agencies such as NHS, Local Authorities, Emergency Departments, Primary Care, EMAS, and other mental health and wellbeing services.
• Produce service data and reports for senior managers, funders and commissioners.
• Attend service‑related meetings, including contract meetings, meetings with commissioners, external partners and any other meetings as deemed necessary from time to time.
• Monitor and manage service performance to ensure that KPIs and service objectives are met.
• Design and develop service resources, guidelines and marketing materials.
• Promote and raise awareness of Derbyshire Mind's mental health and wellbeing services, particularly targeting people who may not usually access our services.
• Engage with people, organisations and groups from different backgrounds and communities in Derby and Derbyshire, to ensure that our services are as accessible as possible to all.

Supervision, training, meetings, and support

• Undertake training as required or considered appropriate for the role.
• Actively participate in regular supervision sessions and team meetings.
• Participate in Individual Performance Review and Personal Development plans, and to undertake training and development as identified within these discussions and as indicated by the requirements of the post.

General

• To always maintain a professional and confidential approach to work.
• Work in line with Derbyshire Mind policies, procedures, codes and guidance, including in relation to health and safety, confidentiality, safeguarding, data protection and equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Actively promote the aims and principles of Derbyshire Mind and take part in any Derbyshire Mind activities as required.
• Maintain the confidentiality of any information gained during employment with Derbyshire Mind.
• The post holder will be required to travel to various locations, including service sites, across Derbyshire, as an essential requirement of the role.

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties. It may also be subject to joint review from time to time between the post holder and Derbyshire Mind.

Person Specification

Personal Characteristics

• Empathetic and supportive
• Reliable and flexible, with a can‑do attitude
• Emotionally resilient and able to manage own mental health and wellbeing
• Strong commitment to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion

Experience

• Proven experience of leading a team, and/or strong experience of managing people including performance management.
• Experience of managing services or projects within mental health or similar sector.
• Experience of the supervision and development of staff and volunteers
• Experience of managing risk
• Experience of report writing and data collection, analysis, and presentation
• Experience of partnership working in service delivery in a leadership role
• Experience of managing a budget, ensuring it is on track, following financial procedures
• Experience of working with databases
• Experience of working within the voluntary sector
• Experience of co‑producing services and work with people with lived experience

Ability to Work Flexibly

• Car driver and access to vehicle with the ability to travel independently to meet the needs of the role.
• Willingness and ability to work flexibly in terms of working hours, days, and working location.

Skills, Abilities & Knowledge

• Excellent project management and organisational skills
• Excellent planning, administrative and IT skills, including proficient in the use of Microsoft Office programmes.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to deal effectively and calmly with challenging situations and to take appropriate action to manage risk
• Knowledge of safeguarding processes and procedures
• Knowledge of health and safety processes and procedures
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries
• Knowledge and understanding of relevant statutory authorities including NHS and social care.
• Knowledge and understanding of mental health issues, mental health crisis, mental health services and the needs of people living with mental health problems.

Qualifications

• Level 3 in Health and Social Care or equivalent qualification or experience

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.