Transformation/Implementation Manager

Job overview

The post holder will be responsible for supporting the Trust’s Strategy & Transformation Team at South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. The team works with operational and clinical leaders to design, deliver and embed transformational change that improves quality, safety, experience, outcomes and value. It supports delivery across all directorates and corporate functions, translating strategic priorities into practical, measurable improvements.

The post holder will help ensure delivery and implementation across these key functions:

• Delivery of strategic and transformation workstreams
• Service redesign and pathway development internally and externally with partners
• Stakeholder engagement across neighbourhoods
• Change management activities to embed new ways of working
• Benefits realisation, performance insight, KPI and quality assurance procedures

Consequently, the post holder will work dynamically to lead, manage and deliver strategic and transformation projects, producing high quality outputs that result in improved quality and performance, benefits delivery and ultimately service user outcomes and experience. This will involve strong stakeholder engagement, programme and project management, analytical capability and change management skills to ensure sustainable adoption.

Please note the following:

This is an externally funded role until 31 March 2027, hosted by South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

Main duties of the job

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The main duties and responsibilities of the post holder will be to provide management and leadership across the following delivery areas:

• Creating cross-organisational collaboration to design, deliver and embed transformational change.
• Convening stakeholders to identify shared challenges and undertake root-cause analysis across strategic and transformation agendas.
• Defining and benchmarking quantitative and qualitative measures for decision-making, benefits realisation and monitoring impact.
• Using, presenting and gaining agreement on highly complex, sensitive or contentious information with diverse stakeholder groups and professions.
• Co-producing a clear and compelling case for change involving service users, carers, communities and key internal and external stakeholders.
• Developing options appraisals for strategic and transformation opportunities, analysing complex situations and comparing a range of options to inform recommendations and next steps.
• Navigating challenging conversations between stakeholders and identifying key areas of convergence and compromise.
• Establishing appropriate governance structures, reporting and controls to support delivery across the strategy and transformation portfolio and sustain improvements.
• Responding effectively to unforeseen challenges that threaten strategic priorities or project milestones.
• Proposing and supporting policy, pathway and operating model changes with service leads and working groups, recognising wider impacts across functions and directorates.
• Creating psychological safety to ensure that stakeholders feel empowered to raise concerns about operational and clinical challenges.
• Ensuring effective, sensitive and transparent mechanisms for translating service user feedback and experience of communities into service improvement ideas, bringing together key stakeholders to problem solve effectively
• Plan and organise broad range of complex activities to ensure implementation
• Formulates and adjust plans and strategies and implements new ways of working
• Problem-solving to translate organisational strategic objectives, national and local priorities into service delivery.
• Monitoring and managing the capacity of key stakeholders to ensure that projects are delivered to time, and capacity risks are escalated in a timely manner.
• Navigating new and emerging challenges to develop tailored, measured, and timely responses.
• Ensuring strategic and transformational initiatives are delivered effectively and to time, using structured delivery tools alongside influencing, facilitation and relationship management to overcome resistance to change and support adoption.
• Holding specialist knowledge of service delivery and transformation to support directorates to deliver and sustain change.
• Undertake evaluation and evidence reviews to inform strategic and transformation design and ensure continued clinical effectiveness
• Supporting delivery of strategy and transformation projects (e.g., plans, trackers, workshops and programme meetings)
• Monitoring for large delivery projects, risk management
• Stakeholder engagement, including senior internal and external stakeholders from system partners to clinical and operational staff to service users and carers
• Supporting continual development of delivery and the effective implementation of initiatives to improve care outcomes
• Monitoring and reporting performance, benefits and KPIs through dashboards and insight packs
• Implementing and improving project and resource management approaches, including use of project management software and tools
• Supporting business case development and delegated budget/resource planning for strategy and transformation initiatives, including benefits and cost impact assessment
• Supporting service development, and optimisation initiatives
• Research into mental health best practice and benchmarking to support service design and development
• Liaison with wider SLaM Corporate Functions, where appropriate
• Supporting change adoption activities (e.g., training plans, communications, readiness assessments) to embed new ways of working
• Proposing policies or service changes, impact beyond own area, developing and implementing business policies which impact across multiple sites and services

Please be aware that we expect to receive a high number of applications for this role. Please do not apply unless you have relevant experience as set out above, and in the job description and person specification. Your application will not be considered unless your supporting statement is explicitly tailored to this role and you have relevant work experience. To help us identify suitable candidates, please use the following structure in your supporting statement if you wish to apply:

A. Brief statement about why you are interested in this role

B. A short explanation with specific examples of how you meet these criteria:

• Experience of leading delivery of complex projects or workstreams, including implementation of service or pathway change
• Experience working with and influencing senior stakeholders in complex environments, including managing challenge and competing priorities
• Highly developed specialist knowledge and experience working in mental health
• Stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, including managing resistance and supporting adoption of new ways of working
• Ability to plan, organise and monitor complex programmes of work, including use of structured project management and governance processes

C. Anything else you would like to add to demonstrate how you meet other criteria in the person specification.