Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Service Manager to operationally lead the new Kent and Medway Assertive Outreach Service.

Initially leading the establishment of the Assertive Outreach Service, you will be responsible for the overall management of this county-wide service, working closely with colleagues in all other relevant teams, ensuring excellent clinical, operational and financial outcomes.

There is a need for you to work collaboratively with other providers enabling seamless patient pathways and service user engagement as the Assertive Outreach Service will interface closely with other services.

You will need to be proficient in the use of data and analysis to support better outcomes for patients and will actively coordinate initiatives to ensure improvement plans are developed and implemented.

You will be supported to know who the internal and external stakeholders are and when to use them effectively in promoting and securing the services' reputation.

You will identify opportunities for service improvement and growth seeking support from the General Manager to maximise these. They will also deputise for the General Manager in all aspects of the service as required.

Main duties of the job
Working closely with the Professional Heads, Service Director and General Manager to provide demonstrable assurance that the quality of the clinical services including patient safety, patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes meet the required high standards.

This will include investigations into serious incidents, complaints and staffing issues, appraisal, supervision and training of staff and compliance with mandatory reporting.

Service Managers work closely with the Team Managers or equivalent (direct reports) and other professionals to ensure care pathways are effective with regular reviews to enable strategic and operational plans to be delivered.

The post holder must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Service Managers are responsible for ensuring good patient flow management utilising a combination of demand and capacity information, length of stay data caseload management and adherence to agreed clinical pathways. In addition, Service Mangers systematically make certain that clinical governance arrangements are imbedded within services and are working to full effect.

About us
We are Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway and are rated 'Good' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Our teams support children, young people and adults with a wide range of mental health needs. We also provide specialist services, including all-age eating disorder services and neurodevelopmental assessments for children and young people, such as autism and ADHD.

Because we work across the whole county and across hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the people we serve.

Our vision is simple: we are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It's why we're passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. Everything we do is guided by our values: caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's working well together.

Details
Date posted: 07 August 2026
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year
per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 380-NK272-A
Job locations: Priority House, Hermitage Lane, Maidstone, ME16 9PH, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities
Working with the Clinical and Service Leadership to recruit, motivate and train the workforce. To be able to demonstrate that staff have the appropriate skills and training to deliver high quality care. To appoint staff with the appropriate competencies. To be visible and available and to manage the performance of services to ensure excellent clinical outcomes and good levels of engagement.

Please refer to the attached job description for the full details on the responsibilities and person specification.

We are serious about diversity and inclusion, and we are working hard to build this into our DNA. We warmly welcome applications for any of our roles from people from diverse backgrounds, and we are proactively encouraging applications from under-represented communities for our more senior roles, like this one.

Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential

• Recognised Professional Qualification in Social Work (DipSW/CQSW), Mental Health Nursing (RMN), Psychology or any allied medical profession. First Degree.
• Evidence of continuing professional development to Master's level or equivalent.

Desirable

• MSc. Management course

Experience
Essential

• Senior Management Experience in running large multidisciplinary teams with significant clinical and business delivery targets.
• Experience of managing budgets and resources effectively.
• Experience of leading and managing change to deliver organisational goals.
• Experience of individual and team Performance Management and Appraisals

Desirable

• Project Management Qualification

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• Effective communications and interpersonal skills and proven ability to develop and manage key relationships at all levels.
• Leadership skills especially the ability to lead and manage change through influence without direct management
• Able to analyse complex issues/problems, gather relevant information and exercise sound judgement in reaching the most appropriate conclusions.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

We are an equal opportunities employer.