Southampton System Lead

Job overview

This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. If it is identified that you require sponsorship to undertake this role your application may be withdrawn

Lead change, strengthen partnerships and improve outcomes across Southampton.

Take a visible leadership role in Southampton’s drug and alcohol service, working with Inclusion and the Society of St James to improve support for people affected by drug and alcohol use.

You will be Inclusion's Senior Operational Lead, develop services and strengthen partnerships across the local system. You will oversee alcohol pathways, hospital liaison, health and wellbeing, and harm reduction, supporting safe, responsive and evidence-based care.

Key responsibilities:

• Shape Southampton’s drug and alcohol services.
• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary workforce.
• Build partnerships across health, social care, criminal justice, housing and the voluntary sector.
• Drive quality improvement and better outcomes.
• Develop accessible, integrated pathways.
• Support local training and workforce development.
• Provide expert advice on treatment and recovery.

We are seeking an experienced, compassionate leader with strong operational management skills who can work across organisations, translate strategy into frontline improvements and challenge stigma.

Main duties of the job

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for Southampton’s integrated drug and alcohol service and act as Inclusion’s principal partnership lead with the Society of St James.
• Oversee key service areas, integrated pathways and partnership working across health, social care, criminal justice, housing and the voluntary sector.
• Lead and develop staff, including recruitment, supervision, training, workforce planning and cover.
• Work with clinical and operational leads to ensure safe, coordinated and evidence-based service delivery.
• Lead governance, audit, quality improvement, risk management and develop, deliver and coordinate training for service and system improvement.
• Monitor performance, contractual targets, clinical standards, case-record quality and the locality budget.
• Promote service-user and carer involvement and provide specialist substance-use advice or interventions where required.
• Prepare and present performance information, implement policy and promote an inclusive, values-based culture.
• Deputise for the Service Manager as required.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Southampton System Lead works with the SSJ Service Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership for the city’s integrated drug and alcohol service, acting as Inclusion’s principal lead within the partnership with the Society of St James who are the lead provider. The role oversees key service areas and pathways, including alcohol treatment, hospital liaison, health and wellbeing, and harm reduction, ensuring services are safe, coordinated, accessible and evidence based. Responsibilities include leading and developing staff; managing recruitment, supervision, training and workforce cover; and working with clinical and operational leads to maintain effective service delivery. The postholder will strengthen relationships across health, social care, criminal justice, housing, commissioners and the voluntary sector, developing integrated pathways that improve access and recovery outcomes. They will lead clinical governance, audit, quality improvement, safeguarding, risk, while monitoring contractual performance, clinical standards, case-record quality and the locality budget. The role also promotes meaningful service-user and carer involvement, provides specialist substance-use advice or interventions where required, prepares and presents complex performance information, implements relevant policy, promotes an inclusive and anti-discriminatory culture, and deputises for the Service Manager when required.

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.