Divisional Governance Manager

Job overview

The Divisional Governance Manager is a senior leadership role within the Governance team, providing expert compliance and assurance across all aspects of clinical governance, quality, and patient safety.

The post holder will act as a key adviser to the Divisional Triumvirate, ensuring that robust governance frameworks are embedded into operational practice and that the division consistently meets statutory, regulatory, and organisational requirements.

The role requires advanced analytical capability, strong leadership presence, and the ability to influence senior clinical and managerial colleagues. The post holder will work across both Northampton General Hospital and Kettering General Hospital sites to ensure a consistent and effective governance approach across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group.

Main duties of the job

- Provide strategic leadership and expert advice on all aspects of divisional clinical governance, quality improvement, and patient safety

- Support and report into Divisional Governance meetings, ensuring effective oversight, risk escalation, and assurance

- Lead the production and presentation of high-quality governance and assurance reports for senior leaders, Trust committees, and external bodies

- Analyse complex governance, quality, and safety data to identify emerging risks, trends, and improvement opportunities

- Oversee divisional compliance with CQC and other regulatory requirements, including monitoring and assurance of improvement plans

- Coordinate Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) learning responses and support safety actions

- Support services to maintain effective risk registers and embed risk management within operational practice

- Undertake horizon scanning of local, national, and regulatory intelligence to inform governance priorities

- Lead and support preparation for and support external assurance visits, inspections, and reviewsLine manage governance facilitators and support their development

- Deputise for the Head of Clinical Effectiveness as required and provide cross cover where required

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Divisional Governance Manager is responsible for the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of governance frameworks that support high-quality, safe patient care across the division.

The post holder will suppport Divisional Governance meetings being effective, well-documented, and focused on improving quality and safety, with clear escalation of risks and issues through Trust governance structures. They will oversee the production of governance reports, providing assurance to senior leadership and the Trust Board on quality, safety, and compliance.

Using advanced analytical skills, the role involves interpreting highly complex and sensitive information from multiple sources, including incident data, audits, patient safety reviews, regulatory reports, and performance metrics. The post holder will support the identification emerging risks and trends, benchmark performance, and translate insights into practical improvement actions.

The role includes responsibility for coordinating learning responses from patient safety incidents in line with PSIRF, supporting reviews for moderate and above incidents, and supporting learning and safety actions are delivered and evidenced within agreed timescales. The post holder will work closely with services to ensure learning is embedded and sustained.

The Divisional Governance Manager will coordinate horizon scanning activities to identify national, regional, and regulatory developments that may impact quality or safety.

The post holder will play a central role in supporting regulatory compliance, including monitoring CQC improvement plans, producing regular assurance reports (including monthly reports to external review groups), and coordinating evidence for external inspections and assurance visits.

Line management responsibility includes providing leadership and development support to governance facilitators.