Group Manager Contracts & Assurance

The Methodist Church in Britain; Leicester; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

Local Government Pension Scheme

Flexible working and hybrid working

Training and development opportunities

Discounts on city buses and trains

Job summary

Leicester City Council is seeking a Group Manager to lead the Health & Partnerships portfolio, covering Adult Social Care, Transport Brokerage and Direct Payment Support oversight. The role focuses on quality assurance, regulatory compliance across taxi and home care providers, risk management and provider relationships, with hybrid working requiring one office day a week on a set Mon–Fri pattern.

Candidates will bring substantial care-service management experience and a grounding in regulation

Qualifications

• Experienced manager with a strong track record of leading and delivering care services.
• Grounding in regulation and contract standards.
• Ability to use data to identify risks and drive improvements.

Responsibilities

• Lead and oversee a portfolio of services to ensure timely, high-quality support.
• Supervise direct reports, set priorities and support performance.
• Maintain oversight of quality assurance activity.
• Analyse performance and quality monitoring data to identify trends, risks and areas for improvement.
• Support senior management in assessing and managing risk.
• Respond to complex concerns about commissioned services and provider performance.
• Build and maintain relationships with providers and partners.
• Chair provider forums and contract meetings.
• Represent the service at internal and external stakeholder meetings.
• Provide contractual oversight of the Direct Payment Support Service.
• Review policies and procedures.

Skills

Quality monitoring

Regulatory knowledge

Data analysis

Communication

Influencing skills

Report writing

Job description

This Group Manager post leads the Health & Partnerships portfolio at Leicester City Council, covering Adult Social Care, Transport Brokerage and oversight of the Direct Payment Support Service. The post centres on quality assurance and compliance across taxi and home care providers, alongside risk management and provider relationships. Hybrid working requires at least one office day a week, on a set Monday to Friday pattern with occasional out-of-hours work. Candidates need substantial care-service management experience and a grounding in regulation and contract standards.

What the job involves

• Lead and oversee a portfolio of services so that teams deliver timely, high-quality support
• Supervise direct reports, set priorities and support their performance
• Maintain oversight of quality assurance activity
• Analyse performance and quality monitoring data to identify trends, risks and areas for improvement
• Support the senior management team in assessing and managing risk
• Respond to complex concerns about commissioned services and provider performance
• Build and maintain relationships with providers and partners
• Chair provider forums, contract concern meetings and contract management meetings
• Represent the service at internal and external stakeholder meetings
• Manage quality assurance and compliance arrangements across taxi and home care providers
• Provide contractual oversight of the Direct Payment Support Service
• Review policies and procedures

Experience

• Experienced manager with a strong track record of leading and delivering care services

Skills & knowledge

• Thorough understanding of quality monitoring, regulatory requirements and contractual standards
• Using performance and quality data to identify risk and drive service improvement
• Excellent communication and influencing skills
• Delivering difficult messages professionally to providers on non-compliance
• Highly analytical, interpreting complex data and producing clear reports
• Presenting information to a range of audiences

Other

• Organised and resilient, working accurately under pressure
• Sound decision-making and balancing competing priorities
• Responding positively to changing demands

What’s offered

• Generous annual leave
• Membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Option of flexible working and hybrid working arrangements
• Training and development opportunities
• Choice of flexible benefits, including discounts on city buses and trains