Job Description

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we have developed a highly successful Employment Services model--encompassing Payroll, Pensions, and HR Administration. Today, we proudly deliver services to approximately 90% of NHS organisations across the Cheshire and Merseyside region. Our department processes over 100,000 payslips each month, covering both monthly and weekly payrolls.



The primary purpose of this role is to manage the delivery of Employment Services to our clients by ensuring the delivery of a professional, efficient and accurate service, as well as to support the department.



Accountable to the Head of Service Delivery, you will be assigned a portfolio of clients who you will be responsible for overseeing daily Operations for, ensuring each stage of the Employment Services process is properly processed, that staff are paid correctly and appropriate information is communicated to pension providers, HMRC and other statutory bodies.



This is a fast paced demanding role and you will hit the ground running. You will be educated to degree level or have equivalent level of experience. You will be a member of the CIPP or evidence continuous professional development to support CIPP registration. With thorough knowledge of Employment Services, you will have experience of effectively working with the required Payroll IT systems.



This post may be offered under Annex 21 AfC Terms & Conditions, subject to experience, competency and suitability.



The Operations Manager will work with the Assistant Director of Employment Services and the Head of Service Delivery to manage the relationship of Employment Services with its current and potential clients. You will be able to identify needs and requirements to promote service solutions and achieve mutual satisfaction in relation to any issues.



The post will oversee operations for all clients, ensuring each stage of the process is properly actioned, that staff are paid correctly, correct payments are made and appropriate information is communicated to pension providers, HMRC and other statutory and pension scheme bodies.



As well as client relationship management, in general, you will oversee the operational functioning of Employment Services.



The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change



Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.



We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our Services:

Acute Care



Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.



Primary Care



Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.



Community Services



Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.



Specialist Regional Services



We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018

Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)

National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme



Communication and Relationships



Develop an excellent client (key decision makers) / service relationship; managing client and service expectations within the framework of a Service Level Agreement and agreed key performance indicators (KPIs).

Acts as an advocate for the service; be the key point of contact with the client, other stakeholders and develop any opportunities for potential new clients.

Discuss complex queries with staff, clients; including reasons for delays in payment and other sensitive issues; discuss relevant issues with clients, which may be contentious, provide advice on complex legislative and corporate issues to managers; negotiates with clients over cost, service issues, as required.

Production and delivery of reports, presentations etc.

Ensure service engagement strategy fully implemented both with the teams responsible for and with clients/stakeholders.



Knowledge, Training and Development



Knowledge of commissioning/tendering procedures in own specific area, acquired through experience and training.

Thorough knowledge of Employment Services including pensions processes and systems.

Ensure statutory, regulatory, and mandatory updates take place across the team you are responsible for and the client as appropriate/necessary

Develop and maintain a comprehensive knowledge of complex HMRC Regulations (e.g., tax, national insurance, statutory sick/maternity pay, tax credits, student loans, statutory paternity/adoption leave, court orders), NHS Pension Scheme Regulations and client employee terms and condition to ensure:

Correct assessment, calculation, and application in relation to employee records and payments.

Compliance with statutory requirements.

Ensure individual and team objectives are aligned with service objectives through the MWL's appraisal scheme.



Analysis and Judgement



Works with the Assistant Director of Employment Services to determine services to tender for, taking account of funding and human resources.

Have a thorough understanding of the performance of each client account, including performance against the Service Level Agreement, any associated key performance indicators and be able to analyse the impact they will have on the client / service, including identifying effectiveness and efficiencies.

Interpretation of data and analysis of information to inform client/ service.

Ensure the performance report is produced every month for the clients, with a summary report once a year. Produce analysis of KPIs, impact and action information on a client-by-client basis.

Update the Assistant Director of Employment Services.

Comparison and contrasting of information in relation to previous information

Through the Team Leaders ensure legal and customer deadlines/ priorities are met.

Reduce error rate for the Team you are responsible for and reduce through the service issue log system.

Benchmarking against competitor services.

Ensure monthly performance reports are made available for the clients and support the Head of Service Delivery at Client Board meetings as appropriate.

Work closely with the Head of Service Delivery to utilise intelligence from the service query log system and client /stakeholder evaluation to inform /improve the client /service relationship.

Thorough understanding of complex data and statistics for monthly and annual returns.



Planning and Organising



Undertakes strategic planning to ensure Service meets requirements with the Assistant Director of Employment Services and the Head of Service Delivery.

Understand the short and long-term challenges of the Service.

Plans to ensure weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual timetables are met, including all returns being completed within the relevant timescales and legal requirements and visits from auditors are fully accommodated within the Services diary/schedule.

Plan and prioritise key areas of work, identifying any areas of risk with the Assistant Director of Employment Services.

Ensure Risk Log maintained within the Team.

Leads on projects for the Service, as determined by the Assistant Director of Employment Services.



Physical Skills and Effort



Standard keyboard/use of computer packages.



Patients/Clients/Customers



Manage an existing, defined Client account portfolio of high, medium, and low-level categories of complexity.

As well as supporting the Assistant Director of Employment Services at the Client Board meetings, holding regular review meetings with the Clients (decision makers).

Cover a wide Client base to create comprehensive coverage.

Resolve any Client issues and escalate when necessary. Feeding back all suggestions for improvement to the Assistant Director of Employment Services.

Provide specialist advice to managers and staff in respect of operational issues affecting pay, expenses, terms, and conditions and to deal with complex queries - ensuring a timely resolution, escalating when necessary.

Ensure quality assurance is incorporated in all processes and compliance is checked through the compliance audit programme.

Ensure the teams you are responsible for maintains an issue log and use this to inform the learning programme for the Team.

Line manages teams; setting and maintaining performance targets, which are aligned to the service objectives.

Investigations lead on complaints about the service, providing feedback to complainants and implementing any necessary change(s) to improve the Service.



Policy and Service Delivery



Strong contributor to key business objectives of the Service and support the Assistant Director of Employment Services and the Head of Service Delivery with the management of Clients.

Play a key role in winning new business and have an overall understanding of the budget implications of their actions. Understand and realise commercial opportunities.

Understand their part in the Service Value Stream and apply any changes in conjunction with the Head of Service Delivery.

Suggests changes to Employment Services policies and procedures within the Service in line with best practice and legislative changes.

Responsible for ensuring staff are working to Standard Operating Procedures through the compliance audit process.



Financial Responsibility



Authorised signatory for signing off BACS.

Approves pay-overs to Finance, such as NEST contributions and third-party deductions.

To act as authorised signatory for payments for all Clients of the Service via the respective Finance systems.

Develops and monitors budgets with regard to the Service and provide advice as required.

Have an in-depth understanding of the Service catalogue of services and associated costs and maximises profitability and quality for each Client account.

Proficient in the formal tendering process with a thorough understanding of Standing Financial Instructions.

Produce comprehensive monthly reports on overpayments/ underpayments for Clients.

Manages any additional service requests and variances, ensuring profit margins are maintained.



Leadership and Training



Some training responsibilities in relation to the Service within the scope of the Service Level Agreement.

Manages the delivery of teaching and development programmes to improve the performance of the Service for both the Client / Service.

Support the Assistant Director of Employment Services and the Team Leaders with the day-to-day management, including recruitment (or assisting with recruitment) appraisal, discipline, training, and delegation.

Make presentations to Clients and/ or staff at all levels.

Leads and manages designated teams, including performance management, feedback, coaching, training, and counselling.



Professional Responsibilities



Maintain professional registration to CIPP/CIPD

Adhere to the relevant Code of Practice of the professional body.

Adhere to all HMRC statutory regulations.

Adhere to Standing Financial Instructions

Record Keeping, Information Technology and Governance

Responsible for information systems relevant to the Client relationship e.g., portal for Client information, marketing materials and keeping it up to date.

Participate in the Service compliance audit programme, ensuring teams are fully compliant with the processes.

Create and maintain accurate records and documents (paper/electronic) in line with documentation/confidentiality guides.

Financial Instructions and in accordance with agreed policies and procedures.

Proficient in the Microsoft suite of software.

Responsible for ensuring that all changes to legislation and terms and conditions are actioned in a timely manner.

Ensure all statutory returns are made.

Ensure legislative requirements are met in relation to any alternative locations with alternative tax and NI are met.

Maintain active action register capturing all audit and control assurance actions.

Work to the NHS' document management framework.



Research and Development



Develop, implement, and participate in surveys and audits relevant to the Service and report on findings/actions within the Client performance report.



Decision Making and Autonomy



Lead specialist for the Client / Service relationship/ partnership and Teams.



Physical Skills and Effort



Light physical effort.



Mental Effort



Concentration required for negotiations, meetings, checking documents and analysing statistics, interruptions to deal with Client issues.



Emotional Effort



May be exposed to emotional situations e.g., Client/ staff issues.

Maintains a calm professional approach at all times.



Working Conditions



Regular and prolonged VDU use.



Office conditions.



Some off-site working, which will require travel.

Occasional risk of challenging behaviour from clients.