Patient Opinion

Job Description

  1. Job Details

Job Title:Business Development Officer

(12 months fixed term contract: ASAP – 31 May 2013; a probationary period of 3 months applies)

Responsible to: Miriam Rivas-Aguilar, Chief Operating Officer

Location:PO HQ Sheffield with extensive travel around Midlands and East regions

Salary: Salary bracket: £28,401 - £30,122

Benefits: 24 days holiday plus statutory Bank Holidays, travel and mobile phone allowance

Job purpose:

This post is initially available on a one year fixed-term contract. The focus of the post during this period will be on developing and supporting the use of Patient Opinion by a wide range of NHS organisations across the Midlands and East of England (NHS Midlands & East), in support of the region’s Patient Revolution programme.

Initially we will expect the successful candidate to focus on understanding the service that Patient Opinion provides, and on meeting the needs of NHS users who wish to use online feedback. The postholder will support NHS organisations in practical ways to get maximum use and value from Patient Opinion.

Over time, we will expect the postholder to focus increasingly on a strategic approach to developing Patient Opinion's future subscriber base across NHS Midlands & East and more broadly.

This post may be extended beyond the initial contract, subject to performance, the needs of Patient Opinion and available resources.

You will have a proven track record in a business developments/sales function –you will need to have the ability to research and analyse potential leads, convey messages in a clear and friendly manner, listen carefully to what your customers need and feedback to the team to enable us to improve the services we deliver. Some exposure to a marketing environment would be preferable.

You will extremely personable and credible, an excellent communicator and have a natural ability to build relationships.

  1. Dimensions
  • Customer support: dealing with queries, helping with editorial responses
  • Training:, organisation, delivery and follow up of regional sessions
  • Networking: connecting with and linking across subscriber staff, third sector organisations staff and NHS organisations
  • Customer intelligence: assessing customer satisfaction and future needs and feeding this back into product and service development
  • Related admin and support duties including moderation skills
  1. Knowledge, skills and experience (brief overview)
  • Degree or above
  • Relevant experience in a business development or sales role or in NHS service development
  • Excellent administration and organisational skills
  • Excellent presentational skills
  • Excellent networking skills
  • Flexible and self-motivating
  • Leadership skills
  • Ability to ensure high quality work delivered under pressure
  • Ability to take initiative and seize opportunities appropriately
  • Valid driving licence and own car
  1. Stories and responses

Working with the Patient Opinion team, you will have primary responsibility for:

  • Ensuring that all NHS organisations in the NHS Midlands and East region have a subscription on Patient Opinion
  • Helping NHS contacts use the platform, respond to stories and use these for service improvements
  • Supporting and training participating organisations on how to generate stories, how to respond to them and making service improvements, via WebEx, Skype, telephone and email
  • You will also be part of Patient Opinion’s in-house team of moderators and can expect to moderate some stories each day
  • Coordinate and run 3 regional events: East of England, West Midlands and East Midlands
  1. Sales
  2. Working with the PO team you will have primary responsibility for planning and securing subscriptions from 31st March 2013 from across NHS M&E when funding for this post ceases. These will primarily be to NHS organisations but will also include private providers, local authorities and third sector organisations.
  3. You will also provide sales skills and expertise to the rest of the PO team as and when needed.
  1. Networking across Midlands and East

Ensure

  • All NHS related organisations in Midlands and East know about and, where appropriate use, Patient Opinion
  • Understand the evolving needs of Digital Strategy partners and ensuring Patient Opinion is an appropriate part of their solutions.
  • Use contacts, email and newsletters to spread awareness of Patient Opinion and its successes and the learning from them, to engage participant organisations.
  • Keep Patient Opinion’s CRM database up to date
  1. Marketing across Midlands and East

Ensure

  • Patient Opinion reaches new audiences by opportunistically using media stories locally and wherever possible developing relationships with local journalists and broadcasters.
  • In conjunction with PO team, work with Digital Services to systematically maximise the profile of Patient Opinion

To apply:please send a CV and covering letter to Miriam Rivas-Aguilar, Chief Operating Officer by email to: or by post to: Patient Opinion, Units 6/7, SCEDU, 53 Mowbray Street, Sheffield S3 8EN

CVs should include full employment history (including voluntary work), qualifications and details of two references. We will only contact references if we offer you employment.

Interviews will be held in Sheffield – time and date to be advised on successful application.

Closing date: Monday 25 June 2012

Start date: ASAP

Please note that CVs received without a covering letter will not be considered.

NHS Midlands and East – Business Development Officer