Band E - Older Persons Service Manager in Portsmouth

To provide strategic and operational leadership across older persons services, including the commissioned Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) service and the Remind dementia support service. The post holder will ensure safe, high‑quality, person‑centred delivery, effective workforce planning through Team Leaders, strong commissioner and stakeholder relationships, robust performance and outcomes reporting, and continuous improvement aligned to contractual requirements, organisational standards and best practice in older persons and dementia‑informed care. The post holder is employed by Solent Mind and works on behalf of Hampshire Mind CIC to strengthen system relationships and position the partnership for future opportunities in services that benefit older people more generally.

Key Responsibilities

• Service leadership and operational accountability: Hold overall operational accountability for CST and Remind, ensuring services deliver to specification, SOPs, quality standards and agreed outcomes. Provide visible leadership across the patch with a mobile presence across venues and hubs to support consistent standards, staff confidence and relationship‑building. Oversee capacity planning and service modelling across both services, ensuring equitable access, efficient utilisation, continuity and resilience. Ensure effective oversight of referral pathways and participant flow, including suitability, reasonable adjustments and communications standards with participants and carers. Ensure venue strategy and arrangements support dementia‑friendly, safe and accessible delivery across multiple locations.
• Commissioner, partner and stakeholder relationships: Act as the senior operational lead for commissioner and stakeholder relationships, maintaining proactive, transparent and solution‑focused communications. Represent Hampshire Mind CIC / Solent Mind at contract review and partnership meetings, strengthening pathways and resolving system barriers. Attend key older persons and dementia forums and locality meetings across Hampshire, ensuring intelligence from the system informs service improvement and future positioning. Ensure clear information‑sharing arrangements and escalation routes are in place with partners. Lead service‑user and carer involvement approaches, ensuring meaningful co‑production and feedback loops inform service improvement.
• People management, supervision and workforce development: Line‑manage two CST Team Leaders and the Remind Team Leader, setting clear objectives and ensuring robust supervision, reflective practice and wellbeing arrangements. Oversee recruitment, onboarding and safer recruitment compliance for older persons services, working with People & Culture and Team Leaders to maintain staffing levels and capability. Ensure staff and volunteers receive role‑appropriate dementia‑informed training, including evidence‑based interventions such as CST and ongoing competency support. Promote an inclusive, psychologically safe culture aligned to organisational values, supporting retention, progression and high standards of professional practice.
• Quality, safeguarding, risk management and governance: Provide leadership oversight of safeguarding across both services, ensuring staff confidence, consistent recording and timely escalation in line with policy. Oversee incident, complaint and near‑miss management, ensuring timely review, learning and implementation of improvements. Embed dynamic risk management in group and community delivery, with clear thresholds for pausing or adjusting participation. Maintain oversight of information governance and safe information‑sharing practices, ensuring confidentiality and GDPR compliance. Lead and assure quality processes such as audits, observed practice frameworks, data quality checks and service‑user/carer experience reviews. Oversee performance management across CST and Remind, ensuring accurate data capture, KPI monitoring and outcomes reporting. Work with Team Leaders to identify trends and implement time‑bound improvement actions when required. Prepare and contribute to commissioner/funder reports and contract review meetings, providing clear narrative on impact, learning and improvements. Manage delegated budgets and resources, ensuring value for money, timely monitoring of spend and procurement related to venues and materials.
• Service development, mobilisation and growth (older persons services): Work with Hampshire Mind CIC partners and across 3 local Minds to identify and shape opportunities that benefit older people across Hampshire. Contribute to bids, proposals and service design of older people's services by providing operational insight, pathway knowledge, capacity modelling and implementation planning. Lead or support mobilisation of any new older person's services that are awarded, including staffing plans, training, venue readiness, SOPs, risk assessments, referral pathways, data/reporting set‑up and stakeholder communications. Provide ongoing operational management for any subsequent older person's services, ensuring safe delivery, contract compliance, performance reporting and continuous improvement.
• Health, safety and information governance: Work within organisational policies for health and safety, lone working and emergency procedures; ensure safe practice across community venues. Ensure confidentiality and appropriate information sharing in line with GDPR and organisational information governance requirements. Promote safe working practices and ensure timely reporting and mitigation of hazards and incidents.

Other Responsibilities

The post holder may be required to undertake other duties appropriate to the role, in line with service needs and organisational priorities. Maintain up‑to‑date knowledge of dementia pathways, best practice and evidence‑based interventions relevant to older persons services. Participate in management supervision with the Head of Service and contribute to organisational quality/governance forums as required.

Essential Requirements

• Commitment to Solent Mind's values.
• Commitment to Solent Mind's Equal Opportunities and Diversity and Inclusion policies.
• Willingness to undergo a relevant DBS check if required.
• Minimum of Level 4 qualification or equivalent, or capability and willingness to work towards.
• Substantial experience of managing older persons and/or dementia‑related services in community, health or social care settings.
• Proven ability to lead and manage through others (e.g., Team Leaders), including supervision, performance support and staff wellbeing.
• Strong operational management skills across multiple sites/locations, including planning, risk management and problem‑solving in a fast‑moving environment.
• Demonstrable experience of commissioner/stakeholder relationship management, including presenting performance and managing service improvement conversations.
• Strong understanding of safeguarding adults, mental capacity and information governance, and ability to embed safe practice at service level.
• Experience of performance management using data/outcomes and producing reports for internal governance and external stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and influencing skills, including the ability to handle sensitive situations with empathy and professionalism.
• Strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, with experience of improving accessibility and cultural responsiveness.
• Competence in using IT systems and service management tools (e.g., CRM, spreadsheets, dashboards).
• Willingness and ability to travel across Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth as required.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience of managing commissioned services, contract compliance and contract review processes.
• Experience of structured, evidence‑based group interventions (e.g., CST) and/or accredited CST training.
• Budget management responsibility and experience of managing resources for value and impact.
• Qualification in leadership/management, health/social care, psychology or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Knowledge of older persons and dementia pathways, best practice and relevant evidence‑based interventions.