Business Support Manager Job Pack

Thinking of applying?

Dear prospective candidate,

I’m Lisa Kiew and I’m really pleased that you are exploring this new role with us at Maudsley Charity. We support people and organisations providing care and treatment to transform the lives of those living with mental illness, and right now, we’re needed more than ever.

I have led our Finance and Operations team for the last three years during which time the Charity has gone through enormous development. We’re now approaching a new strategic plan period and have an exciting future ahead of us – as a Finance and Operations team, and as a Charity as a whole.

We have committed £48m into mental illness over the next five years and this spend comes from our endowment. We have moved to become a more strategic funder; are gearing up to become a fundraising organisation so we can invest more to meet demand; and are establishing ourselves as a thought-leader in the mental health community. We have established solid foundations in our systems, policies and procedures, which we aspire to continuously improve in order to effectively and efficiently underpin the Charity’s delivery of impact.

We work closely with our linked NHS Foundation Trust South London & Maudsley, Kings College London and a wide range of organisations across South London and beyond to make a difference to those experiencing mental illness and to improve their chances of recovery.

This role replaces our current Business Support Manager who, having been a key part of the team over the last few years, moves to a new opportunity.

We have been growing the team considerably in the last year and you can see our organisation chart in this pack. This role is pivotal in ensuring we remain an effective team supported by inclusive culture, processes and practices which are in line with our values.

We punch above our weight and for a small organisation we are involved in a lot of complex activities – not only the array of projects we fund, but we operate a building in the heart of a mental health campus for events and learning where our office is also based, and are responsible for an endowment made up of financial and property investments. It’s the income over time from this endowment that allows us to fund such fantastic work in mental health.

As a small and agile team, we work closely with key suppliers to resource a number of our corporate support functions. The wider team, suppliers and external stakeholders will look to you to help them to work at their best. We are committed to excellence, setting ambitious goals for ourselves. This role is crucial to our team delivering those goals.

You don’t need to be an expert on mental health or the NHS to do this job well. You will be supported to learn about our work, our stakeholders, staff and Trustees needs from the role.

We are still developing our ways of working, and working on growing a positive and inclusive culture that will build a strong organisation for the future. So aside from the role itself, you can also play a part in growing an organisation that can make a big difference in the lived of people who experience mental illness.

Thank you for your interest. Best wishes, Lisa.

Is this role right for me?

You don’t need to answer yes to all of these, but if some of them resonate with you, this could be the right role for you.

• This isn’t an early career role. You’re already a skilled and competent Business Support Manager and you’re confident in your ability, but you’re looking for a new challenge, a place you’ll feel valued, or a change of industry.
• You’re experienced so you’ll know what to expect from a typical Business Support role. There’s lots to learn about the interesting and complex environment we work in and who the key stakeholders are, but you’re used to working with people at all levels, both internally and externally so this won’t phase you.
• You’re used to thinking on your feet, juggling tasks and work effectively and flexibly with others.
• Regardless of whether you have worked in the Charity sector before, you’re confident about providing governance support, delivering HR best practice, and ensuring operational management and delivery of corporate services.
• You’re productive and efficient, used to working with a variety of IT systems and platforms and most likely have your own tried and tested ways of working smarter not harder. You will spot where and how to improve ways of working and proactively pursue opportunities to make changes with others.
• You can see the impact you’ve made on the organisations you’ve worked with in the past. You’re excited about finding new opportunities to make a difference.
• You know what great leadership looks like – either through learning from those who are great at it, or those who aren’t, or through your own development. All of our team demonstrate leadership qualities, whether they manage people or not, and they put them in action in different ways: leading a project, using their initiative, knowing when to ask for support.

How committed to supporting development are you?

Very. Your development journey with us will be part formal, part informal. Your development needs will change over time but whatever they are, we’ll work on them together as you’ll need to be as invested as we are in what you want to achieve. You may want to build on further technical skills; your knowledge of mental illnesses or the NHS; business planning or reforecasting; innovation skills….

You’ll have a small number of personal objectives, and at least one of them will be focused on career development if that’s important to you. You’ll discover what you’re great at through hands-on experience, formal training, and through learning from mistakes and failures – we all do, and you’re only human.

We will set personal objectives with you and how you’re going to achieve them throughout your induction and after that on an annual basis. We’ll have one-to-ones that focus on your development, not just the tasks you’re working on.

What’s in the contract?

The small print that’s pretty big

What’s the job title?

Business Support Manager

What will I earn?

£40,000 pa

Where would I work?

UK based. Split 50% between home and our office at Denmark Hill, London

Who do I report to?

Director of Finance and Operations

Who reports to me?

No direct reports

What are the hours?

37.5 hours per week

Is there flexibility?

Yes. Flexible working requests welcome. However, the role is full-time and would need to cover 5 days.

Benefits

The Maudsley Charity team have embraced hybrid working. We all come together at least monthly for team meetings, with other check-ins and meetings held virtually or in person. On average, team members spend 50% of their working week located in our multi-award-winning home, the Ortus building.

Situated a few minutes walk from Denmark Hill station, South London, the Ortus building is close to the Maudsley Hospital and Kings College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, both centres of world-class excellence in the field of mental health and wellbeing. The building is open to the public, hosting exhibitions, events and conferences, as well as being available for room hire.

We offer a friendly, values-led working culture, with the following benefits for our staff:

• Hybrid working, 2-3 days spent with the team in our building each week and 2-3 days at home/offsite working. It’s important to us to come together often, whether that’s to collaborate, be social, or get a change of scenery.
• 25 days’ annual leave, with a further one day after 3 years’ service and a further one day after 5 years’ service. Plus, additional non-working office closure days over the Christmas period.
• Pension scheme with up to 6% employer contribution, subject to a minimum 3% employee contribution.
• Enhanced occupational maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave pay.
• A cycle-to-work scheme.
• Interest-free season ticket loans after probation.
• Group Life Assurance – providing employees with a tax-free lump sum of four times your basic salary in the event of your death, for your dependants.
• Group Income Protection Scheme – protecting you if you are sick long-term, by paying 75% of your basic salary with a deferred period of 13 weeks.
• Comprehensive package of online and face-to- face training for staff.
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) – supporting staff to stay well.
• 20% discount on all food and drinks at the ORTUS café.
• Opportunity to work with diverse colleagues at the Charity and with our partners.
• Opportunities to work collaboratively across the organisation to build a culture where we can all thrive, including joining working groups like our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion group and our Ways of Working group.

What impact will I help to make?

We support patients and carers, clinical care teams and scientists who are working towards improving mental health. We fund ideas, big and small, that drive improvement and support people who experience mental illness.

Why we’re here

When someone becomes ill, the effect on them, their friends and family can be life-changing.

It can happen to any of us. The consequences of mental ill health are far-reaching – affecting employment, relationships, finances and even life expectancy.

The Maudsley Charity exists to fund the people and projects striving to improve care, support recovery and prevent mental illness.

How we work

We work with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London (IoPPN). Together we drive direct improvements in prevention, clinical care and treatment.

This unique partnership enables us to fund innovative projects and research which change lives across London, the UK and the world, building the proof and expertise which will allow us all to live in better mental health.

The organisations work together to combine basic and translational health research, clinical care and education to create world-leading improvements in healthcare.

At the heart of South London and Maudsley is the Maudsley Hospital, on Denmark Hill, but the Trust spans a number of sites across South London. We work with the Trust to fund a range of work to support patients and staff, to help to improve the experiences of people in hospital and in the community, and those working at the Trust to make a difference.

We also work with a wide range of voluntary organisations and partners who share our values and commitment to improving mental health.

We’re committed to the mental health of those who live locally, but we believe that the work that we fund can have impact at a national and international level.

Our primary areas of operation are the boroughs where South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health and substance misuse (drug and alcohol) services:  Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark.

What do our people enjoy about working here?

Who are the team I’d be joining?

Finance and Operations team

We’re a friendly team of four, collaborating across a diverse range of specialisms. We value the ways we differ in our life and professional experiences, and we believe in learning and continuous improvement. Integrity and accountability are core to us, and we are committed to excellence.

Our priorities this year are:

• Enabling Team Maudsley to be successful – We are taking stock of our foundations to ensure we have acted on the lessons we have learnt in the last few years. This will include reviewing our HR processes, staff support and benefits, and learning & development opportunities.
• Supporting Maudsley Charity to successfully fundraise and deliver programmes – We are working closely with other teams as they develop how they work so that their activity is effectively underpinned by financial processes, contracts, data agreements and processes, financial analysis and reporting.
• Ensuring our infrastructure is future ready, open to opportunity while managing risks – We are working with our IT support provider and a cybersecurity firm to review our set-ups and policies. We will review our core services and infrastructure as we move towards our new strategic plan period.
• Making the most difference with our assets and resources – We are reviewing our control environment, having onboarded new auditors. We are looking at how our operating assets can give us better value, including being more environmentally sustainable.

The wider team

The wider team has grown from a handful of staff in 2018 to 20.

With a growing team comes lots of change, and one of the ways we’re managing that is to invest in developing relationships internally, and to listen to colleagues on how we can work better together as new people come on board. We have a Ways of Working group that continuously reviews, recommends and implements ideas to have the greatest impact.

DEI runs through our values and work, and we are all responsible for it. Our DEI working group ensures we have dedicated space to set objectives and hold ourselves to account.

You can be part of this organisational development and have an impact further than your own role – you’ll be able to help us shape how we work as an organisation as a whole.

How we communicate

Making sure we communicate well across the organisation is important to us so each Monday, the whole team meets virtually to share priorities for the week ahead; our Finance & Operations team meets fortnightly to discuss common areas of work, share priorities and have some informal time together; we update everyone fortnightly with what our Senior Leadership Team are discussing and what each team are working on in more depth and to celebrate achievements; we meet monthly in person to share updates, discuss priorities, and hear from those we’re funding or supporting.

We also have a number of informal project or work area groups that meet on varying cycles or as and when.

What are some of the projects we are working on?

The next couple of years are important for us all as a team. There’s a host of challenging and exciting projects that are Charity-wide or driven by our Finance & Ops or Fundraising & Communications teams that will lay foundations for future success and deliver impact for the whole charity and those we support.

• Demonstrating our DEI commitments through and how we work
• Developing our next organisational strategy
• Entering into partnership with the NHS to build new homes
• Brand review & audience definition
• Opening of Pears Maudsley Centre for Children & Young People
• Building awareness and engagement of the Charity across South London & Maudsley NHS Trust
• Cyber security
• Reviewing our investment principles and strategy
• Ensuring our IT systems and support is future-ready

What’s the job description?

This isn’t an exhaustive list of responsibilities, but the key activities the role will work on.

We know that the role and the person in it will evolve and develop, and with whatever support you need, you’ll be part of making that happen.

Role purpose

The Business Support Manager is responsible for the operational delivery of governance, HR and business support functions to ensure the Charity operates effectively, efficiently, and inclusively in line with our values and culture.

Accountabilities

Governance

• Provide secretariat support and manage the Board processes
• Contribute to consistent best practice across the Charity, supporting colleagues in their secretariat roles to Committees, and providing advice and guidance to Directors, the Chair and Trustees as required
• Co-ordinate annual operational planning cycle with the budgeting cycle and the individual appraisal and objective setting process, highlighting progress, risks and issues to Directors as needed, supporting colleagues to ensure relevant and timely planning
• Ensure the ongoing maintenance of the Risk Register, with input from Directors and supporting colleagues, in order to ensure relevant and timely reporting to the Board

Human Resources

• Ensure Maudsley Charity attracts, selects, develops, and retains an effective team supported by inclusive culture, processes and practices which are in line with our values
• Ensure Maudsley Charity complies with regulatory requirements and employment best practice
• Chair and support the internal Ways of Working (WoW) group to identify and deliver agreed improvements which contribute to a well- supported and effective team
• Develop and deliver staff well-being initiatives and a training and development pro-gramme which ensures staff are appropriately skilled and well supported in their roles

Business Operations

• Be accountable for the operational management and delivery of corporate services functions; including ensuring effective contract management
• Be accountable for the smooth running of charity facilities and office space
• Ensure an appropriate office environment, facilities and safe systems of work
• Ensure business continuity and incident response plans are in place, communicated and tested
• Facilitate good procurement practices; ensure good value is obtained; contracts and a contracts register are in place; and that purchasing is carried out in line with Maudsley Charity’s values

General responsibilities as part of the Maudsley Charity team

• To build, manage and maintain strong team relationships and maximise communication within the team.
• To represent the Charity in a professional and positive manner.
• To provide outstanding customer service.
• To maintain a good working knowledge of Maudsley Charity strategic goals & objectives.
• To share ideas and make suggestions to improve the organisation.
• To follow all Maudsley policies and procedures, especially those regarding equal opportunities & diversity, dignity & respect and health & safety.
• To undertake any other duties, in keeping in the role, which reasonably be required in furtherance of the objectives of Maudsley Charity.

Be confident about what you can bring to this role. We value your potential as much as your transferable skills and what you have already achieved. We want to create an awesome team, and we know we can only do that if it includes people who bring different experiences and backgrounds. That’s why we want to hear from the widest pool of candidates.

We’d value hearing from you if you meet the criteria below. Remember many people will still apply if they don’t meet all of it, so if you can see yourself in this role and would like to join our team – please do apply.

Person specification

Experience

• Experience of taking minutes of Board or Trustee meetings involving complex and detailed discussion
• Experience of supporting committees and sub committees
• Experience of writing or collating material into papers
• Experience of developing and/or maintaining governance policies and practice
• Experience of managing business operations, including contract management in relation to third party providers/ contractors
• Experience of HR administration and processes
• Experience of office facilities management

Knowledge

• Understanding the principles of effective HR administration and business support
• Understanding of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion principles and a commitment to apply them in your work and as an organisation.

Skills

• Exceptional organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise and complete a range of tasks simultaneously
• Strong IT skills, with competence in Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, use of databases to process information and electronic communications.
• Self-starter with a proactive approach to addressing challenges and the ability to work flexibly as part of a team.
• Attention to detail with good standards of spelling and grammar.
• Good communications skills – able to communicate clearly and respectfully to a wide range of stakeholders.

Removing bias from the hiring process

We’re serious about wanting to build a diverse team. We’ve increased the time and budget we’ve spent on recruitment to ensure we place more adverts in more places to reach more people, and we’ve looked at each stage of the recruitment process to remove biases. We’ll value you and what you’ll bring to the role, and we’ll do all we can so it’s effortless to be yourself at work.

We know that saying that is not enough. Here’s what we’ve done to invite and support different people and perspectives through the process.

Before you apply

Join our ‘Ask Us Anything’ webinar on Thursday 29th June at 12:30 -13:30. Email: emma.stone@harrishill.co.uk at Harris Hill for joining instructions.

You won’t see or hear other candidates, and you’ll be anonymous, so we don’t undermine our blind recruitment process. You really can ask us anything – about the role, the process, our work, culture, team, flexible working policy…. Or just listen to what others ask.

Your application

This is a blind recruitment process and non-graduates are welcome.

We are committed to offering interviews to candidates who meet the role requirements and have lived experience of mental illness or a disability.

Once you’ve expressed your interest to Harris Hill, you will be sent three questions to answer to apply for the role. Your identity will be completely anonymous to the panel who will score them independently. We will only see your CV if you get shortlisted.

Submit your answers in written format or in a voice memo. We’ll type up any recordings to maintain anonymity.

The interview

We’ll ask you if you have any needs for the interview and put any reasonable adjustments in place.

We’ll pay for your travel expenses within the UK if you need us to.

We’ll give you the interview questions before each round. We want you to perform to your best, and we know that this can help some to do that.

The interview will be face to face at our office in Denmark Hill, South London.

Wear what you want to the interview – we want to find out about your skills, experience and values, so come as you are, so you’re you and comfortable.

We’ll ask values- and skills-based questions in the interview. This is to ensure we focus decisions about your potential performance.

You’ll be shortlisted and interviewed by a diverse panel. This is because we want panel members who will bring challenge, and professional and lived experience to our decision. You can see the dates and panel members for this role in this pack.

Panel members will complete an unconscious bias test before each interview and briefed about scoring answers consistently. We’ll only share scores and discuss candidates as a panel when all candidates have been seen to remove any influence panel members might have over each other.

Dates for your diary and about our interview panel

Ask Us Anything session

What

A quick run-down of the role, the team, the organisation and our culture and the recruitment process. Then over to you for any questions. You’ll be totally anonymous

When

Thu 29 June at 12.30-13.30 How: Register by emailing emma.stone@harrishill.co.uk

Closing date for applications

5pm Monday 3 July

Interviews – When/Where

Date: Monday 24 July & Tuesday 25 July

Times: 1.30pm – 5pm

Location: Our office by Denmark Hill station

Our interview panel

Rebecca Gray, Chief Executive, Maudsley Charity

Particularly interested in communications, organisational change and how quality and impact can be understood and improved. See Rebecca Gray’s profile on LinkedIn.

Lisa Kiew, Director of Finance & Operations

Particularly interested in our charity making the greatest difference in the world it can with what resources it has and doing that in a way which is inclusive and equitable. See Lisa Kiew’s profile on LinkedIn.

Our interview panel will include one other person (to be confirmed).

 

Our values

Passion and Purpose

We are passionate about improving mental health and motivated by our ability to make a difference for those most impacted by mental illness.

Integrity

We will act with integrity. We will be objective and consistent in how we allocate funding and support. We will counter direct and indirect discrimination.

Knowledge

We value diversity of experience, expertise, and perspective. We will build into our organisation, and every aspect of our work, a range of voices, including those of people who experience mental illness.

Improvement

We care about maintaining high standards and improvement. We will be open about where we could do better, learn from our successes and failures and expect those we work with to do the same.

Appreciation

We value relationships and show appreciation for support we get in whatever form that takes. We know that we influence change through the expertise and commitment of others.

The Maudsley Charity Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commitments

The Charity will:

• Highlight that discrimination or unequal treatment on the grounds of mental health or other protected characteristics can undermine mental wellbeing and work to address inequalities and discrimination.
• Create a zero-tolerance working environment in respect of discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation, collectively called unacceptable behaviour so that everyone can work without fear of the unacceptable behaviours. A Dignity & Respect policy is in place to support this and address issues.
• Implement a Recruitment Policy to ensure that all appointments are made in accordance with the objectives of this policy.
• Monitor recruitment, service provision and grant-giving and take positive action based upon such information.
• Provide training and development opportunities that enable equality of opportunity and which promote an awareness of diversity and inclusion.
• Ensure that Maudsley Charity premises and resources are made as accessible as possible to staff, users and all those who visit us, under the Disability Discrimination Act.
• Make reasonable adjustments for disabled people wherever possible.

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