Practice Manager jobs

Role purpose

To lead the effective day-to-day management of the practice, ensuring that staff are well supported, expectations are clear, and operational systems deliver a safe, responsive and efficient service for patients.

The Practice Manager will take ownership of people management, HR processes and operational performance. They will resolve issues proactively, develop capable team leaders and ensure that agreed actions are delivered, escalating significant concerns to the partners with clear recommendations.

1. People management and leadership

· Provide visible, approachable and consistent leadership across the practice.

· Establish clear responsibilities, reporting arrangements and standards of performance for each team.

· Directly manage non-clinical team leaders and agreed staff groups, holding regular one-to-one meetings and reviewing progress against objectives.

· Support team leaders to manage their own teams effectively, including workload allocation, feedback, attendance and performance.

· Ensure all staff receive appropriate induction, probation reviews, appraisal and development planning.

· Address poor performance, inappropriate behaviour and interpersonal conflict promptly, fairly and constructively.

· Promote a respectful and inclusive working environment in which staff feel able to raise concerns.

· Identify training needs, support staff development and arrange cross-training to reduce dependence on individual employees.

· Maintain effective communication between partners, clinical staff and administrative teams.

· Monitor staff morale, retention and workload pressures, taking practical action where concerns arise.

2. Human resources and workforce management

· Manage recruitment from identifying staffing requirements and preparing job descriptions through to selection, pre-employment checks and induction.

· Maintain accurate, confidential employment records, contracts, job descriptions and HR policies.

· Coordinate annual leave, sickness absence and other leave arrangements to maintain appropriate service cover.

· Monitor absence patterns, conduct return-to-work meetings and manage attendance concerns in accordance with practice policies.

· Coordinate occupational health referrals and agreed workplace adjustments where appropriate.

· Manage probation, capability, disciplinary and grievance processes within delegated authority, obtaining specialist HR advice when needed.

· Ensure sensitive employment matters are documented appropriately and escalated to the partners at the correct stage.

· Maintain oversight of mandatory training and relevant employment checks, working with clinical leads on professional registration requirements.

· Provide accurate staffing information for payroll, including authorised changes to hours, pay, leave and overtime.

· Review workforce requirements and recommend changes to staffing levels, roles and skill mix.

· Manage staff departures, exit interviews and handovers, using feedback to improve retention and working arrangements.

3. Operational management

· Take responsibility for the smooth running of the practice each day, anticipating problems and coordinating timely solutions.

· Oversee reception, care navigation, administration, secretarial and other non-clinical functions.

· Ensure staffing rotas and cover arrangements match service requirements, including during absence and periods of increased demand.

· Work with clinical leads to coordinate appointment templates, clinic capacity and administrative support.

· Monitor telephone access, online patient requests and administrative workflows, identifying delays and arranging corrective action.

· Maintain oversight of referral processing, correspondence, document handling, registrations and recall administration.

· Ensure outstanding work is visible, allocated and completed within agreed timescales, with urgent concerns escalated appropriately.

· Develop and maintain clear standard operating procedures so that work is completed consistently and safely.

· Coordinate the administrative delivery of long-term condition reviews, screening and other planned care programmes with clinical leads.

· Maintain business continuity arrangements for staff shortages, IT disruption, premises problems and other service interruptions.

· Oversee premises, equipment, supplies and contractor arrangements, ensuring issues are addressed promptly.

4. Performance and service improvement

· Maintain a concise operational dashboard covering staffing, absence, training, patient access, administrative backlogs and complaints.

· Identify the causes of recurring problems and implement improvements with clear owners and deadlines.

· Review processes to reduce avoidable duplication, delays and unnecessary administrative work.

· Coordinate the introduction of new systems and technology, including staff training and review of their impact.

· Track actions agreed at practice meetings and ensure they are completed.

· Provide regular reports to the partners, highlighting risks, progress and decisions required.

5. Patient experience, quality and governance

· Coordinate complaints handling, ensuring concerns are acknowledged, investigated and responded to appropriately, with clinical input where required.

· Use patient feedback and complaints to identify improvements in service delivery.

· Subject to the required CQC registration and approval, act as the CQC Registered Manager for the relevant regulated activity or activities at the practice.

· In that capacity, oversee the day-to-day management of the regulated activity and support compliance with CQC registration conditions and applicable regulations. Maintain the required records, policies and evidence; coordinate CQC inspections and information requests; and ensure required notifications are made within the relevant timescales.

· Escalate promptly to the partners any concern that could affect patient safety, regulatory compliance or the practice’s ability to meet its registration requirements.

· Act as the practice’s Caldicott Guardian, as appointed by the partners, providing senior advice on the confidential use and sharing of patient information and promoting the Caldicott Principles.

· Advise on complex or sensitive information-sharing decisions, including relevant complaints, information governance documentation and data incidents; refer matters to the Data Protection Officer or specialist advisers where appropriate.

· Maintain operational risk and incident records and ensure agreed learning is implemented.

· Support compliance with confidentiality, information governance, health and safety, safeguarding and equality requirements within the role.

· Ensure staff understand how to report incidents and escalate patient safety concerns.

6. Financial and partnership support

· Manage delegated operational expenditure and staffing costs within agreed budgets.

· Review overtime, temporary staffing and supplier costs, recommending efficiencies that maintain service quality.

· Coordinate with bookkeeping, payroll and finance colleagues to provide accurate operational information.

· Support administrative processes for contractual reporting, claims and service delivery monitoring.

· Liaise with the PCN, ICB, suppliers and external advisers as required in collaboration with the partners.

· Translate partnership decisions into practical delivery plans whilst collaborating and communicating this with the partners.

7. Authority and accountability

· The Practice Manager is expected to work closely with the partners to make routine staffing and operational decisions within agreed policies, budgets and delegated authority.

· Significant employment decisions, contractual changes, expenditure outside delegated limits and material service risks must be referred to the partners. Clinical decisions and professional clinical supervision remain the responsibility of the relevant clinicians and clinical leads.

· Where appointed as CQC Registered Manager, the postholder must be given the authority, information, time and resources needed to carry out the role. The postholder must raise promptly with the partners any matter that may affect the practice’s CQC registration or regulatory compliance. The partnership remains accountable for its responsibilities as the registered provider, alongside the Registered Manager’s responsibilities.

· The Caldicott Guardian provides advice and leadership on confidentiality and information sharing. The postholder should refer matters requiring data protection advice or decisions outside their delegated authority to the partners, Data Protection Officer or relevant specialist adviser.

Pay: £50,000.00-£60,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Free parking
• On-site parking
• Sick pay

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Peterborough PE1 3BF: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Work Location: In person