System Lead (Southampton)

Lead change, strengthen partnerships and improve recovery outcomes across Southampton.

Take a visible leadership role in Southampton’s drug and alcohol service, working with Inclusion and the Society of St James to improve support for people affected by substance use.

You will provide operational leadership, develop services and strengthen partnerships across the local system. You will oversee alcohol pathways, hospital liaison, health and wellbeing, and harm reduction, supporting safe, responsive and evidence-based care.

Key responsibilities:

• Shape Southampton’s drug and alcohol services.

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary workforce.

• Build partnerships across health, social care, criminal justice, housing and the voluntary sector.

• Drive quality improvement and better outcomes.

• Develop accessible, integrated pathways.

• Support local training and workforce development.

• Provide expert advice on treatment and recovery.

We are seeking an experienced, compassionate leader with strong operational management skills who can work across organisations, translate strategy into frontline improvements and challenge stigma.

Main duties of the job

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for Southampton’s integrated drug and alcohol service and act as Inclusion’s principal partnership lead with the Society of St James.

• Oversee key service areas, integrated pathways and partnership working across health, social care, criminal justice, housing and the voluntary sector.

• Lead and develop staff, including recruitment, supervision, training, workforce planning and cover.

• Work with clinical and operational leads to ensure safe, coordinated and evidence-based service delivery.

• Lead governance, audit, quality improvement, safeguarding, risk management, serious incident and mortality review processes.

• Monitor performance, contractual targets, clinical standards, case-record quality and the locality budget.

• Promote service-user and carer involvement and provide specialist substance-use advice or interventions where required.

• Prepare and present performance information, implement policy and promote an inclusive, values-based culture.

• Deputise for the Service Manager as required.