Service Improvement & Business Unit Manager

Bristol-City-Council; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 71,000 - 79,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Flexitime

Local Government Pension Scheme

Generous annual leave

Job summary

Bristol City Council is seeking a Service Improvement & Business Unit Manager to lead the new Business Management Unit within Adult Social Care. You will drive performance, governance and improvement, partnering with directors to shape reliable information for decision-making.

The role requires senior leadership experience, strong people management, and a track record in delivering transformation projects in a politically led environment.

Qualifications

• Experience leading service improvement and business management functions.
• Proven ability to deliver change, transformation and improvement projects.
• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Ability to use performance, financial and BI data to drive decisions.
• Ability to build relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Organised, proactive and committed to delivering excellent services.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Business Management Unit and Service Improvement Team.
• Establish and lead a central Adult Social Care business management and improvement hub.
• Work with directors and senior leaders to provide clear, reliable information for decision-making.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams in a complex, politically led organisation.
• Collaborate with services to understand challenges and redesign processes to embed continuous improvement.
• Embed data-informed decision-making across the service.

Skills

Leadership

Change management

People management

Data-driven decisions

Stakeholder engagement

Organisational skills

Job description

The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required for this job have also been included.

Job details

Job reference VAC009014 Date posted 27/10/2026 Application closing date 10/11/2026 Location City Hall College Green City Centre Bristol BS1 5TR Salary TP1: £70,919 - £78,556 Package Blank Contractual hours 37 Basis Full time Job category/type Social Care Attachments Job Description.pdf Person Specification.pdf

Service Improvement & Business Unit Manager

Full Time, Permanent

Join our new Adult Social Care Service Improvement & Business Management Unit

This is an exciting opportunity to join a newly developed Business Management Unit at the heart of Adult Social Care in Bristol.

We are building a multidisciplinary team that will bring together service improvement, business intelligence, performance, governance and change expertise, helping Adult Social Care understand how services are performing, identify where improvement is needed and turn insight into action.

Our ambition is to create a permanent improvement function focused on improving how Adult Social Care operates, alongside a business management function providing business intelligence, governance coordination, strategic support and oversight.

At the centre of the new arrangements will be the Business Management Unit Manager, responsible for leading the Business Management Unit and Service Improvement Team and working alongside Adult Social Care directors and senior leaders.

We are looking for people who are curious, collaborative and motivated by improving services and outcomes for Bristol residents.

About the Role

This is the senior leadership role for the new function, leading both the Business Management Unit and Service Improvement Team.

You will establish and lead a central Adult Social Care business management and improvement hub, bringing together performance, business intelligence, governance, risk, assurance and improvement. You will work closely with directors and senior leaders, ensuring they have clear and reliable information to support decision-making and delivery.

You’ll need substantial experience of leadership across service improvement, business management, governance and business intelligence, together with the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and work effectively in a complex, politically led organisation.

What we’re looking for someone who:

• Has experience leading service improvement and business management functions.
• Can successfully deliver change, transformation and improvement projects.
• Has strong leadership and people management skills.
• Is confident using performance, financial and business intelligence data to drive decisions.
• Can build effective relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Is organised, proactive and committed to delivering excellent services.

What you’ll be part of

This isn’t just about filling individual posts. We’re creating a team that can connect evidence, insight and improvement.

The new unit is intended to provide a central Adult Social Care business management and improvement hub and a reliable source of performance and improvement information, while supporting service planning, dashboards, governance, risk, assurance and complex improvement programmes.

The Service Improvement function will complement this by working directly with services to understand challenges, redesign processes, embed continuous improvement and strengthen data-informed decision-making.

That means you’ll be joining a team where different professional skills are expected to work together rather than operate in isolation.

This is an opportunity to help shape a new function from the beginning.

You’ll be working at the centre of Adult Social Care, alongside colleagues from operational services, commissioning and other professional and corporate functions, helping to create stronger links between intelligence, planning, governance and improvement.

If you enjoy asking good questions, making sense of difficult problems, bringing people together and turning evidence into practical improvement, we’d like to hear from you.

Why Bristol City Council?

At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high-profile organisation. For the majority of our roles hybrid working arrangements are available, giving teams the opportunity to work in a way that suits them, balancing service need and individual choice - mixing both home and office working.

Join us and you’ll receive an excellent rewards package including flexible working and flexitime, membership of the Local Government Pension scheme, and a generous annual leave allowance. In addition, you’ll be working in a supportive environment where you’ll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future.

Bristol City Council are not offering sponsorship for this role.

We’re a Disability Confident employer which means we value recruiting and retaining disabled people. Any job applicants who consider themselves to be disabled and meet the essential criteria in the Person Specification are guaranteed an interview. We’ll make reasonable adjustments throughout the interview process and provide continued workplace support throughout your career.

Bristol City Council strives to have a workforce that reflects the communities it serves, we are therefore committed to ensuring diversity in our hiring process. We welcome, develop and promote people from all sections of the community. Appointments will be made on merit.

Thepersonal information section (including your name) you’ll complete as part of the application form will not be visible to hiring managers, but is used confidentially to make sure that everyone is treated fairly.