Business Manager – CNO Office

Job overview

Are you an experienced, highly organised and proactive business manager with a strong background in governance, performance, assurance and corporate support? We are seeking a motivated and professional individual to join the Chief Nursing Officer Office as Business Manager, supporting the delivery of key priorities across the Chief Nurse Division.

This is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of the nursing, midwifery and allied health professional leadership team, providing senior operational and corporate management support to the Chief Nursing Officer, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer and wider NMAHP Senior Leadership Team. The role will support the effective coordination of divisional activity across quality, workforce, performance, assurance, commissioning and strategic priorities.

Please note that this vacancy may close early if a sufficient number of applications are received. We encourage interested candidates to apply promptly to avoid disappointment.

Please Note: This role is PENDING AFC SALARY BANDING APPROVAL; therefore, salary cannot be fully confirmed until the Banding is approved.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will provide senior operational, governance, and corporate management support to the Chief Nurse Division. They will ensure the effective coordination of divisional activity across quality, workforce, performance, assurance, and commissioning priorities, acting as a key interface between the Chief Nurse Division and Trust-wide corporate functions.

The role is non-clinical and operates at a strategic and corporate level, enabling the Chief Nursing Officer and NMAHP Senior Leadership Team to deliver high-quality, safe, and effective services in line with Trust objectives, regulatory requirements, and national policy.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Managing business support.

Developing and implementing a content management system to ensure information is properly managed.

• Accurate reporting to the CNO & NMAHP SLT, Board and Executive Committee.
• Managing a risk and issues tracking mechanism and the resolution and escalation processes.

Planning & Organising

• Manage the team’s business support function, including developing and managing the team’s business plan, progress and reporting risk and issue management.
• Liaise with appropriate functions within the ‘Business Management and Support Job Family’ and key stakeholders of the business.
• Manage all corporate business returns, including planning and workforce returns.
• Take a lead in the coordination of training & development and recruitment activity across the team.
• To manage the incoming mail and outgoing correspondence, ensuring appropriate distribution and follow up action as required.
• Manage the regular cycle of reporting to the team, Board and Executive committee

Corporate & Strategic Support

Act as a senior operational lead supporting the CNO and wider NMAHP Senior Leadership Team (SLT) in the delivery of corporate and strategic objectives.

Translate Trust and national NMAHP priorities into divisional action plans, ensuring delivery against agreed milestones

Coordinate divisional input into corporate strategies, business plans, and annual operating plans.

Coordinate divisional input into corporate strategies, business plans, and annual reports.

Performance & Assurance

Develop and implement a content management system to ensure information is properly managed and best practice is shared across the team, directorate and the wider NHS organisation.

Devise and provide improvements to current management information, analysing, reporting and suggesting procedures to enhance decision making processes.

Contribute to performance improvement, taking a lead for identified areas.

• Pro-actively identify business improvement needs and opportunities, by complex audits or surveys, and prioritise improvement activities across the directorate.

Lead on performance management, reporting, and assurance processes for the Chief Nurse Division.

Prepare high-quality reports for Trust committees (e.g. Quality Committee, Workforce Committee, Board-level assurance groups)

Monitor risks, ensure mitigation actions are tracked, and maintain divisional risk registers and governance reporting cycles

Support CQC, NHSE/ICB, and internal audit processes related to NMAHP and the delivery safe effective quality care.

Quality & Governance

Provide operational oversight of quality, safety, and patient experience governance structures within the Chief Nurse Division.

Coordinate incident themes, complaints insights, and learning reviews in collaboration with clinical leads, the Patient Safety Team & Fundamentals of Care Academy

Support implementation and monitoring of quality improvement programmes and evidence-based NMAHP initiatives

• Ensure timely and accurate information analysis and reporting to management on agreed areas of work.
• Work with members of the team to investigate the causes of any variance from plan and proactively contribute to the implementation of solutions.
• Management of a risk and issues tracking mechanism and the resolution and escalation processes.
• Using autonomous judgement and initiative, where there may be conflicting views, to respond to communications on complex issues and draft nonstandard responses that may include the analysis of technical information.
• Maintain constructive relationships with a broad range of stakeholders.
• Provide relevant and timely specialist advice and guidance on own portfolio.
• Maintain strong links with divisions using tact, negotiation and influencing skills to facilitate the development of effective networks / working groups / projects and the delivery of their key objectives.
• Using influencing, persuasion and negotiating skills, supporting the CNO and SLT to update and manage directorate wide forums such as senior leadership team meetings and working groups on specific topics.
• Produce material for and present complex presentations which are engaging, influential and effective in delivering key messages, the content of which may include highly complex technical, contentious or very sensitive information

Leadership & Partnership Working

Act as a key point of contact between the Chief Nurse Division and corporate services including Finance, HR, Quality, and Strategy & Divisions

Deputise for senior managers as required on corporate working groups and programmes

Provide professional leadership to administrative and operational staff within the division

Develop policies and procedures in own work function with an impact on the wider organisation, as required.

Contribute to the development of an integrated approach to service management.

Contribute to the strategic planning of team activities, identifying interdependencies, and potential impacts on wider organisation, resource requirements and building in contingency and adjustments as necessary.

Contribute to short-, medium- and long-term business plans.

Communications and Key Working Relationships

• Ensure clear, timely, and professional communication on behalf of the Chief Nurse Division.
• Describe Develop effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders including ICBs, partner organisations, and regulators.

Responsibility for Finance

Support budgetary planning and financial control in collaboration with finance colleagues

Contribute to the development of business cases, service developments, and investment proposals linked to NMAHP priorities

Monitor and report on cost improvement and efficiency programmes relevant to NMAHP services.

Oversight and management of all aspects of the team budgets.

Provide regular reporting on the targeting of resources and monitor their implementation from a value for money perspective.

Provide oversight and monitoring of all aspects of team budgets.

Ensure activity expenditure is monitored accordingly. Manage team resources to ensure service continuity. People Management

Take a lead in the coordination of training, development and recruitment activity across the team.

Manage staff, undertaking Performance Development Reviews, and managing any employee relations issues. Research and Development

Contribute to the development of key performance indicators.

Delegate aspects of research and development activities, collating information, analysing and reporting findings. Policy and Service.

Responsibility For Human Resources

Line management of designated corporate or operational staff

Responsibility for setting objectives, conducting appraisals, and supporting staff development

Promote a culture of inclusion, accountability, and continuous improvement

Support the Chief Nurse Division in NMAHP workforce planning, establishment control, and productivity monitoring

Work closely with HR, education, and workforce teams on recruitment, retention, and development initiatives

Oversee coordination of appraisal, mandatory training, and professional compliance reporting for NMAHP services.

Responsibility for Health & Safety

Compliance with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 – the post holder is required to fulfil a proactive role towards the management of risk in all their actions. This entails the risk assessment of all situations, the taking of appropriate actions and reporting of all incidents, near misses and hazards, and a statutory duty of care for their own personal safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions.