South London Partnership (SLP) is a small and dynamic, close-knit team, working across the 5 boroughs of Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Sutton, plus Wandsworth for health and care. The SLP team focuses on areas where collaboration leads to increased influence, increased powers and funding and better delivery of the services our residents need.  SLP is hosted by Richmond Council.

About the Role

With the start of the new South West London Integrated Care System in July the six local authorities are looking for a policy lead to support them in maximising their engagement and influence in the ICS so it delivers real benefits for local residents and communities.   The Policy Lead will work closely with Local Authority Leaders, Chief Executives and Directors and ICS Leaders to provide briefing, papers and advice and coordinate action on key areas of ICS and health business.  They will work with a wide range of partners across local government and the ICS to support local authorities’ full and effective involvement in the ICS.

About you

You will be a strategic thinker with strong skills in summarising and critically analysing a wide range of complex information to draw out the main issues and implications for local government and develop and present options.  This will be coupled with excellent verbal and written communication skills and a good understanding of the health and care policy environment, in particular the ambitions of Integrated Care Systems, health and care integration and the challenges facing both local government and the NHS more generally.

You will have excellent relationship skills which you will use to build and maintain strong relationships with a wide range of partners including senior politicians, chief executives and clinicians.  You will be committed to ensuring local government plays a strong role in shaping the SWL ICS, so it improves the health and wellbeing of South West London’s residents and communities and reduces inequalities.

Your main responsibilities will include:

• Supporting and coordinating effective local authority system level working as part of the SWL Integrated Care System (ICS) by providing strategic advice and briefing to Council Leaders and Senior Officers.
• Provide briefing and advice to the Local Authority Leader and Chief Executive representatives on the Integrated Care Board so they are well prepared for meetings, taking forward actions
• Ensuring Leaders, Chief Executives and Directors from across all six local authorities are fully briefed and engaged in the business of the ICS with their views and issues collated and fed into the relevant boards and groups
• Supporting the local authority ICP co-chair in their joint chairing of the ICP and the LA executive leads in their system representation roles working closely with LA and ICS NHS partners
• Analysing issues, developing options and recommendations related to health and the ICS and presenting these to elected members and senior officers
• Ensuring and coordinating local authority engagement in the development of ICS strategies and plans

Contact for queries or informal discussion about the role: Sam Mason, Samantha.Mason@southlondonpartnership.co.uk or 07957 297981.

Benefits

We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working and other arrangements. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore. We also offer a generous holiday allowance of 39 paid days (pro rata) including bank holidays and a wide range of learning and development opportunities.

In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of staff benefits such as membership of the Local Government pension scheme, childcare vouchers, new technology scheme, interest-free loans on annual travel cards, discounts with many leisure activities, restaurants, shops and other establishments.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 11:59pm on Sunday 25th September 2022
• Shortlisting date/s: week commencing 26th September 2022
• Interview date/s: week commencing 10th October 2022

Useful Information: The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once enough applications have been received. We strongly advise you to complete your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Please note that the advertised dates for interviews may change due to the current Covid-19 situation. If they do, we will let you know as soon as possible. Your health and wellbeing are our top priority. Should you become unwell due to Covid-19 during the recruitment process we would very much appreciate receiving an update from you as soon as possible.

Equality Statement

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer.

Important information

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Applications should be in form of a short CV detailing employment and education history, skills and experience and a supporting statement of no more than 1500 words setting out how you meet the job profile and person specification.