PROPOSED POSITION OUTLINE
TITLE: National Manager Independent Living
REPORTS TO: Chief Executive
LOCATION: This is a national role, however requiring regular
time in Auckland
ORGANISATION CHART:
This is one of four national manager service roles that share accountability for developing and
implementing an integrated service model and developing strategies that ensure clients enjoy a
highly valuable, relevant, and seamless service experience, irrelevant of which part of the
organization they connect with.
This role oversees multiple specialist disciplines providing rehabilitative services that enable
independent living for clients, including; ADL, O&M, Assessors, Counselling, Children, Deaf
Blind, Pacific Island, Guide Dogs, Quality/Clinical Governance, Environmental Awareness:
Chief Executive
Service Delivery
Group
National Manager
Customer Service
and Advice
Adaptive Daily
Living,
Orientation &
Mobility,
Assessors
National Manager
Independent Living
Guide Dog
Services
National Manager
Employment and
Accessibility
Specialist Services:
Counselling,
Children, Deafblind,
Pacific Island,
Environmental
Awareness
National Manager
Community and
Life Enrichment
Clinical
Governance
PURPOSE
This role is responsible for a large service area, providing rehabilitative services that enable
independent living for clients. The role must maintain a balance between efficient operational
delivery of quality services, with a change focus; introducing process and practice changes that
will ensure the organization is equipped to meet changing client demands. Whilst ensuring high
standards of service is important (both in terms of meeting client expectations and needs, but
also to fulfil the requirements of Ministry of Health contracts), the change management focus is
also critical for the future effectiveness and relevancy of the service area. The role will
collaborate closely with other leadership team members to implement changes in the service
model that will result in greater speed of service, slicker processes that make it easy for internal
staff and volunteers to do their work, and adaptation of services to meet different client needs.
September 2016
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ACCOUNTABILITIES OVERVIEW
1. Effective team and people leadership
a. Provides empowering leadership that develops a client-focused workforce and
positive and open organisational culture that places the “client at the centre of
everything we do”.
b. Role models Blind Foundation values, and drives a culture of high performance,
client focus, and commitment to great service.
c. Aligns team with other service areas, and ensures open collaboration is practiced
at all levels.
2. Planning, organising, budgeting
a. Contributes to the organisations strategic and business planning process, and
ensures alignment between organisation goals and those of the Independent
Living service
b. Oversees budget and resource decisions within the service, ensuring effective
practices are in place that results in a culture of sensible and prudent spending at
all levels.
3. Performance
a. Ensures effective client satisfaction measures are in place, for improved
transparency and visibility of how the organisation is meeting client needs and
expectations.
b. Promotes effective performance practices, and holds leaders accountable for
ensuring all people have clear goals, undertake regular performance catch-ups,
are coached and receive feedback, and are fairly recognised for their contribution.
c. Deploys measures and tools that enable clear focused attention on the “critical
few” measures of performance and effectiveness.
4. Service and operational delivery:
a. Ensures the continued provision of Independent Living services that clients value
and need, through an effective service model integrated with other service areas.
Service areas include:
i. Needs assessors
ii. Adaptive daily living/orientation and mobility services
iii. Counselling
iv. Childrens services
v. Pacific Island services
vi. Deafblind services
vii. Guide dog services
5. Contractual and regulatory compliance
a. Accountable for the health and safety of all staff, and aligns to Blind Foundation
safety processes.
b. Fulfils the obligations and requirements for all government funding contracts, and
develops efficient systems for monitoring and reporting for this.
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c. Meets all legislative requirements, and aligns to organisational processes for
privacy, employment, finance, or other relevant regulatory areas.
d. Works with other service national managers (or delegated people) on any client
related policies that lead to improved outcomes or service for clients, and ensures
practices in the service align to policies as required.
6. Relationship management with Ministry of Health and funding providers
a. Works closely with the CE, CFO and others on an effective relationship
management framework for MoH, and effectively manages relationships within
that.
7. Continuous improvement that minimises waste, and improves customer experience,
reduces unnecessary bureaucracy.
a. Works closely with other service national managers on deploying an effective
client feedback system, and ensures all complaints and feedback are acted on,
and improvements implemented.
b. Implements a system of ongoing improvement, working with the transformation
team, that streamlines processes, reduces bureaucracy, and improves service
experience.
c. Identify aggressive waiting time targets, and introduce appropriate process and
workforce improvement steps to achieve significant improvements that will ensure
we meet client expectations for timely service.
8. Contributes to the development and implementation of an integrated service model and
strategy (with other service heads, GM Marketing, Chief Digital and Information Officer
and Transformation Team).
a. Develops a service framework aligned to all services, which ensures clients enjoy
a seamless, efficient, and human centred experience that meets their needs now
and into the future.
b. Provides strong input to integrated database/client management system that
supports seamless service goals, meets reporting requirements, and streamlines
administration for service staff.
c. Develops a workforce model that maximises the capacity potential for service
delivery, and which is responsive to changing service demands, demographic
changes, and better meets client needs.
9. Development of a client centred quality/standards framework that enables service
adaptations and innovations to develop over time
a. Deploys a standards/outcomes framework that translates to services that most
effectively meets client needs, and which balances best practice perspectives with
innovative developments underpinned by user centred methodologies.
10. Contributes to development of new services, and expansion into broader client base
(with Transformation Team, GM Marketing, others).
a. Works closely with transformation team people and other national managers on
the development of new service offerings that take services beyond our traditional
client base, and which meets the needs of the broader blind and low vision market
in NZ.
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DIMENSIONS OF THE POSITION
Headcount: Approx 100 FTE’s in total.
Financial: Approx $11M operating budget, including approx $6M funded government income.
IMPACT AND INFLUENCE
The National Manager Independent Living has a major impact on multiple levels:
 Independent living services are recognised as core services which the Blind Foundation
provides, and as such the majority of the Blind Foundations 12,000 clients will have
experienced services through this service arm and been highly influenced by the quality
of them.
 The role has a direct influence on the productivity and effectiveness of almost ½ the Blind
Foundation workforce, and as such has significant scale and impact from a workforce
perspective.
 The role will influence the development of a new practice and workforce model with the
support of the transformation team, which future proofs the organisation should
legislation change in the future to individualised funding.
 The role shares accountability for the broader integrated service model, with the 3 other
service heads, and will influence service development process with the GM Marketing
and Transformation team.
 The role has major change challenges, as there are major legacy and historical
influences which will take significant time and effort to work through and influence
change around.
 The delivery of quality services will remain a high priority, even as changes are worked
through in the service model. The expectations of clients, and the Ministry of Health
(whose standards must be met), means that reputational risk is significant if the right
balance is not achieved in this process.
 Reputational risk must also be effectively managed in the context of Guide Dog Services,
through which approximately $6M of donor income is generated (Indirect impact. Direct
impact is owned by the fundraising team).
 The role will also be accountable for ensuring links with industry professionals (eye
specialists, educators) and groups are maintained and nurtured, which delivers benefits
around current thinking and practices, as well as reputation and awareness.
CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS
Key Competencies (Experience, Skills and Knowledge), and Qualifications

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Experience in significant operational leadership roles within health/disability services
setting, managing significant headcount and budgets
Specialist experience and understanding of rehabilitation models and disciplines
Experienced leader, that gets the best out of people through an enabling approach, and
maintaining high standards and expectations of performance
Demonstrated ability to lead strategic change and influence others in responding to
change within a service environment.
Demonstrated experience and understanding of quality/continuous improvement
frameworks and outcomes
Strategic and conceptual thinking ability that can be applied to developing new
frameworks, models, and strategies
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Key Personal Attributes

Aligned to the Blind Foundation values; Optimistic, Connecting, Aspirational,
Empowering

Strong collaborative style, team player, and promotes cross team working outside of own
function

Good communicator, listener, influencer, relationship builder

Results focused; delivers outcomes and able to implement projects and initiatives
through to completion

Highly pro-active and shows initiative; takes accountability for identifying and then acting
on improvement opportunities, responsive to needs of customers and people

Strategic leadership; connects people to the long term vision and goals, adapts and
aligns resources to strategic priorities, and supports colleagues who are accountable for
delivering different parts of the strategic plan

Demonstrates empathy, candour, altruism (aligned to the Blind Foundation cause and
clients)
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