Job Title: Stroke Services Manager

Location: Rathmines and Hybrid

Report to: Head of Community Services

Job Status: Specific Purpose Contract (approx. 9 months)

The Irish Heart Foundation is a community of people who fight to protect the cardiovascular health of everyone in Ireland. Together we are working to eliminate preventable death and disability from heart disease and stroke, and to support and care for those living with these life-changing conditions.
Digital transformation will be a critical enabler of a successful delivery of the new IHF Strategy. We are committed to putting the user at the centre of all that we do and to develop a culture of innovation, experimentation and iterative learning.

The IHF has ambition to create a ‘Heart & Stroke’ family and is committed to exploring best practices both inside and outside the sector. We intend to be pioneering in our efforts to ensure we stay relevant, can deliver at scale and offer the best experience to all that use our services,

We work to achieve this by:

• Caring for and speaking out for people in the community living with heart conditions and stroke, and their families.
• Innovating and leading in health promotion and prevention to change health behaviours and reduce cardiovascular risk.
• Building a nation of lifesavers through CPR training.
• Campaigning and advocating for policies that support people to live healthier lives.
• Information provision.

Our team currently is over 100 employees and up to 100 volunteers working towards the Foundation’s vision of a future where no hearts are broken by preventable heart disease.

The Role

We need an experienced Manager with excellent interpersonal, operational and leadership skills, to lead our stroke services team. This role will deliver on our strategic vison to provide vital and high-quality stroke support services so people can live full and healthy lives in their communities.

Key Responsibilities

• Management of the Stroke patient support service and a team of approx. 8-10 employees
• Operational implementation of the new Stroke Service plan from January 2023. This includes working with management and the team on the completion of an ongoing service and systems review, and the introduction of agreed service changes and new systems (including a patient management database).
• Ensure the delivery of high-quality patient support for people affected by stroke through the development and implementation of best practice policies and procedures in patient services.
• Manage the team of Support Coordinators and associated administration staff.
• Work with the Head of Community Support Services and the patient support management team to strategically drive service development and improvement in line with the patient support strategy 2023-2025
• Manage the day-to-day planning and operations of the Stroke Service for e.g. capacity planning, rostering of staff and courses and ensuring the smooth running of the short- and long-term interventions.
• Provide staff with guidance and advice in order to allow them to work as effectively as possible.
• Provide reports in line with IHF Management requirement and the reporting needs of service funders. This includes the collation of monthly reports, reports required by funding bodies and impact reports on service delivery.
• Working with the Head of Community Services to implement systems to monitor and measure the effectiveness of service delivery and impact
• Work closely with Head of Community Services, The IHF Communication team and the IHF patient support team to increase awareness of IHF Stroke support services among all stakeholders
• Monitor the performance of the Stroke Connect Service (SCS), including the Life After Stoke Facebook group, and review and update supports and service delivery as required.
• Working closely with the YSSN Manager, Monitor SCS capacity and caseloads, ensuring pathways are in place to ensure a seamless transition for our members through and beyond Stroke Connect and into other supports for example, the YSSN, (The Young Stroke Survivor Network) online exercise programmes and short-term interventions
• Work with the Head of Community Support Services and Patient support management team on service risk management and mitigation plans ensuring
• that all services comply with relevant regulation, care standards and legal responsibilities
• Ensure that the necessary training, policies and procedures are in place for all staff and volunteers working in Stroke Services. Monitor, review and update as required.
• Working closely with the National Volunteer Manager-
• Ensure a sustainable volunteer network in the stroke services to support members and staff
• Monitor volunteer capacity, ensuring staff have the volunteers they need to run their groups and sessions, and ensure that these volunteers are sufficiently supported in turn.
• Working closely with the Head of community services and The Information Manager, input into the development of content resources (print and digital) and work closely with the communications /website team to develop these resources, delegating ownership of content development as needed.
• Support Management and the IHF Fundraising team in efforts to secure funding for the Stroke Service.
• Working with the IHF Communications team, devise a social media and promotional plan to increase awareness of and engagement in the Stroke Services
• Facilitate member and volunteer involvement in efforts to improve services for all stroke survivors with Life after stoke, particularly in supporting the development of the IHF’ s patient advocacy capability and sourcing of patient champions.
• Ensure the recruitment of any new coordinators/staff is carried out efficiently and fairly.
• On-boarding and induction of new employees (liaise with IT and HR to ensure all new recruits are brought on board properly – have all the equipment needed to carry out their roles).
• Carry out probation and annual performance reviews for all eligible employees and engage with performance management process – ensuring that all employees in the reporting line are treated fairly and consistently.
• Ensure service consistency across the board, ensuring each site/strand of service is performing to a similar high standard (this will require visits to the team and to in-person groups on a structured basis).
• Provide clear KPIs and performance expectations for staff and put in place performance improvement plans where necessary.

Skills and Experience Required

• Minimum third level qualification in a relevant discipline (e.g. Social Care, Healthcare or a related field) is essential
• Strong leadership skills with a minimum of 3 years’ experience managing a team is essential
• A strong commitment to improving services and supports to people post stroke
• Strategic planning and change management experience is desirable
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with experience of working across teams and building relationships internally and externally
• A flexible and collaborative approach
• Proven experience of operational planning and delivery of; risk mitigation processes and service quality improvement
• Experience of calculating costs for service implementation and budgetary monitoring and resource planning is essential
• Excellent organisational, IT and multi-tasking skills.
• Understanding and experience of working with clients living with a disability or a chronic long-term health conditions is essential
• An understanding and experience of demonstrating and measuring impact and a commitment to a culture of innovation is essential
• Awareness and understanding of good data practices and knowledge of harnessing data and service user insights/research to inform service delivery
• Experience of digital service delivery and CRM databases is essential

The above is a guide to the nature of the work required. It is not exhaustive. Job descriptions are reviewed on a regular basis in line with business needs.

Benefits of working with Irish Heart Foundation:

Flexible working with our hybrid working model, our team enjoy more flexibility working from home and our Head office location in Rathmines (2 days per week office based) or more if you prefer!

We provide benefits to help you protect your health and financial security; and give you peace of mind.

• Pension scheme with employer contributions, from day 1 of service
• Life assurance of 4 times base salary with immediate effect
• Income continuance/disability benefit, at no cost to you from day 1 of service
• Paid Maternity leave
• Company sick pay
• Generous annual leave policy including additional company days
• Bike to Work Scheme, Travel Saver Tickets, Excellent public transport links
• Employee assistance Programme
• A wonderful office we are proud of with excellent working, kitchen and changing facilities
• Events organised by social club and Health and Well-being Committee
• CPR Training for all employees
• Ongoing Training and Development initiatives to help you grow your career with us

Details of Role and Application process

This is a full-time role Monday to Friday to cover a Maternity leave due to end approx. May 2025, 4 weeks notice will be given for the end of the contract.

To apply please provide an up-to-date curriculum vitae and cover letter outlining how you suit the post by email to Klara O’Malley, HR Manager.
Email: hr@irishheart.ie

The closing date for this position is 2nd August 2024

The Irish Heart Foundation is an equal opportunities employer.

The Irish Heart Foundation has a strict no smoking policy.