Vacancy -- Head of Partnerships and Integration

Working for the Civil Service

The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

Vacancy Details

Health and Social Services Group
Partnership and Integration
Grade 6 - £67,100 - £76,990
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Permanent
Pan Wales
'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.
TBC

Purpose of Post:

This post is central to the delivery of A Healthier Wales – Our Plan for Health and Social Care which places the integration of services as key to better well-being outcomes for people. It is a senior post in the Social Services and Integration Directorate where the post holder will work directly with Ministers and frequently with external stakeholders at a senior level.

The post holder will play a leading role in developing and implementing policy in regard to:

  • health and social care integration and social services delivery;
  • Integrated health and care commissioning practice including oversight of the National Commissioning Board;
  • implementation of Part 9 and Part 2 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014;
  • programme management of the Integrated Care Fund; and
  • implementing relevant sections of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care Act.

The post holder will lead and engage with a wide range of national and regional leadership arrangements. They will develop and manage effective relationships with key leadership organisations e.g. Regional Partnership Boards, National Commissioning Board, Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru, Welsh Local Government Association, Health Boards and Trusts, the WCCIS Leadership Board, and the WCVA.

The role will therefore include:

  • the provision of Ministerial advice;
  • liaison and influence with internal, cross government stakeholders as well as external stakeholders and partners;
  • representation of the Welsh Government;
  • management of relevant grant programmes;
  • the collation and analysis of evidence and monitoring and evaluation of delivery.

 

Key tasks:

Programme leadership

  • Managing the Integrated Care Fund programme ensuring value for money, demonstrable impact and responding to audit recommendations.

Leadership and Management

  • Providing cross government leadership on health and social care integration and service commissioning, including providing policy direction to Regional Partnership Boards and partners;
  • Providing leadership for the National Commissioning Board as an Executive group member;
  • Providing leadership and management for the branch, developing relevant operational and performance management plans and monitoring and taking responsibility for the delivery of agreed objectives.

Project leadership

  • Leading on the development and implementation of legislation e.g. codes of practice, and statutory guidance;
  • Provide project management for the development and implementation of relevant strategy work, including joint working with other Directorates, risk management and communications strategies.

Policy

  • Playing a leading role on policy development in relation to health and social care integration and regional working, market development and re-balancing, social value sector development, integrated health and care commissioning.
  • Ensuring high quality advice and briefing for Ministers - collecting, analysing and presenting relevant information in a way that supports decisions.
  • Maintaining a current understanding of the key strategic issues facing health and social services in Wales through liaison and networking with stakeholders.

Advisory, Consultancy & research

  • Initiating & directing effective use of research and evaluation in policy development when needed;
  • Planning and delivering strong relationships with stakeholders (both internal and external) making creative use of communication options and working across and beyond traditional boundaries.

Administration of Regulations

  • Providing leadership, scrutiny and challenge to RPBs on delivery of:

-       part 9 of the Social Services and Well-being Act including pooled funds, joint commissioning and stakeholder engagement;

-       Part 2 of the social services and Well-being act in relation to Population Needs Assessments and Planning; and

-       Sections 53 – 60 of RISCA to ensure market stability reports are established.

Finance

  • Managing the £89m Integrated Care Fund and any additional associated funds channeled through Regional Partnership Boards;
  • Ensuring appropriate budget management controls and reporting processes are in place for branch budgets.

Development opportunities:

The post is a high profile position and offers opportunity to develop a wide range of internal and external working relationships across health, social care and other public services.  There is significant contact with Ministers, senior Welsh Government staff and external partners.

This post is central to the delivery of A Healthier Wales – Our Plan for Health and Social Care and the post holder will have significant opportunity to directly influence and shape health and social care integration.  The post holder will also have the opportunity to further develop their skills in the areas of programme and project management and obtain a good overview of Welsh Government policy and delivery in an area of considerable importance.

Closing Date:

01/02/2021, 16:00

Eligibility

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

Equality and Diversity

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

Disability Confident

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Welsh Language Requirements

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Desirable
Can read some routine work-related material with support e.g. dictionary
Can hold a basic conversation in Welsh
Can understand basic conversations about everyday topics
Can write simple work-related correspondence

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

Competencies / Job Specific Criteria

Competencies

Seeing the Big Picture

  • Identify implications of Departmental and political priorities and strategy on own area to ensure plans and activities reflect these.

Collaborating and Partnering

  •  Actively build and maintain a network of colleagues and contacts to achieve progress on objectives and shared interests.

Leading and communicating

  • Clarify strategies and plans, communicate purpose and direction with clarity and enthusiasm.

Delivering at Pace

  • Get the best out of people by giving enthusiastic and encouraging messages about priorities, objectives and expectations.

Job Specific Criteria 

  1. Current knowledge of the social care sector and legislation and policy relevant to health and social care in Wales, with the proven ability to translate this into cogent policy advice for senior leaders.
  2. Significant experience of providing leadership and developing and implementing policy within a multi-agency, partnership environment.
  3. A track record of successful programme management, including ensuring high standards of governance and appropriate budget management processes.

Assessment Process

Applications will be sifted, successful candidates will then be invited to an interview where they will be asked to do a presentation and respond to any questions.  Candidates will then be invited to answer a series of questions relating to the competencies required for the role and its job specific tasks.

Other Information

  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
  • For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.
Matt Jenkins matt.jenkins@gov.wales

How to apply

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have an impairment which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to an impairment in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Grievance and Complaints

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.

This vacancy is closed to applications.