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Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity for the right person to bring their knowledge and expertise to support UHL and the wider system to continuously improve.
The post holder will lead the programme of multiple, complex, and interconnected projects and service redesign across our sites. You will take the lead role in planning, supporting, facilitating, and monitoring the performance and progress of this programme. You will manage a specific portfolio of projects, monitoring interdependencies and resources to ensure efficient delivery of the programme. You will be responsible for working closely with CMG triumvirates, Corporate Medical and Nursing, Capital Project Managers, Workforce and Finance Leads, and Strategy colleagues to ensure timely delivery of projects.
You will be an enthusiast for delivering improvement, with the vision to see how healthcare will be delivered in new and different ways in coming years, and the expertise to ensure efficiency opportunities can be realised as soon as possible.
You should be committed to improving and strengthening an inclusive culture within UHL, where colleagues can speak up and be involved in shared decision making, because this delivers safe care. As such, the ability to evidence inclusion, fairness and highly visible leadership are essential for this role.
Main duties of the job
As Improvement programme manager for Length of Stay and UEC Business Intelligence, responsibility for leading the delivery of the Improvement priorities related to the programme; engaging with workstream leads to deliver key objectives of the programme; and ensuring interdependencies between workstreams are clear and articulated; leading engagement with the clinical teams.
Supporting the Director of Emergency Care, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Associate Director of Operations to ensure a robust scope and design brief is created for each project in the programme, supporting any process that is necessary.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Interpreting national guidelines on behalf of UHL; developing short-, medium- and long-term strategic programme plans, including: service and performance improvement plans; complex and multifaceted business cases and business plans; individual project plans and stage plans that reflect national & local guidelines.
Supervising and analysing process mapping, benefits analysis and workload and performance audits within the programme to input into the business case process. A clear project plan, with clear and realistic expectations in terms of deliverables and the benefits.
Managing project and programme links and connectivity; ensuring that no work is either overlooked from the programme, or duplicated; ensuring the management of total programme-related risks, particularly those associated with interdependencies and links between projects; ensuring that risks and dependencies are managed to a successful outcome and that the impact of any change is related back to its impact upon the operational area of implementation, the programme and each individual project - this will require robust management of exceptions, slippage, issues of priority, risk and resource allocation.
Managing and monitoring the programme’s overall progress and use of resources. Ensuring that outputs and benefits defined within the project scope and objectives are delivered on time, within budget and to the required standard of quality. Ensuring that any adverse project or programme changes and their impact are reported through the project governance and that corrective action is taken where necessary. Escalating any issues that cannot be resolved at programme level.
Please see job description for further details
Person specification
Skills
Essential
- Principles, methods, techniques and tools for effective benefits management
- principles, methods, techniques and tools for effective communication strategies
- principles, methods, techniques and tools for effective project management
- cross functional & interdisciplinary awareness
- methods & techniques for assessing risk
- techniques associated with planning & control i.e., work breakdown structures, critical path analysis
- Communicates effectively in writing, including formal report writing, Full Business Case
Experience
Essential
- Experience at Senior Level in Complex NHS environment
- Demonstrable success in communicating complex concepts to a wide and varied audience
- Proven success in delivering service transformation
- Project management experience
- Methods and techniques for reporting of progress against plan
- Managing multiple large projects
- Budget management, (budgets £500k - £1m)
- Experience of procurement and contract management large, complex team management
Communication
Essential
- Communicating effectively verbally, including presentation skills in a group setting, or one to one briefing
- Excellent interpersonal skills in areas such as facilitation and negotiation
- Negotiation techniques
- Change management theory
- Problem solving capabilities of a high order as this role will have to deal with multiple project resource allocations and contentious influencing issues.
- Ability to engage, build and maintain excellent relationships with third party service providers
- Demonstrated ability to work well with others and be respected as a leader
Training & Qualifications
Essential
- Qualifications & experience equivalent to master’s degree level
- Qualified Prince 2 Practitioner / Prince 2 Agile and Managing Successful Programmes or equivalent experience of project delivery
- Can evidence an on-going self-led programme of Continuous Professional Development Business intelligence qualification or equivalent experience
Desirable
- In depth knowledge of NHS project delivery or change programmes acquired through experience, formal study & self-study
Analytical and Judgement skills
Essential
- Strategic planning principles, methods, techniques and tools for effective change management
Planning and organisation skills
Essential
- Confident in their abilities, can work under pressure to tight deadlines
- Understanding of the political climate of the enterprise, and how to respond to political challenges appropriately and in a manner that protects the trust’s strategy and agenda.
- The ability to concentrate in a busy environment, decision making and facilitation skills of the highest orde
Desirable
- Experience of organisational development and planning
- Understanding of NHS IM&T and other NHS national Policy and its impact on acute trusts
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Improvement Progamme Manager with University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in Leicester, Midlands, England. It is listed as a Manager and corporate role. The advertised salary is £66,582 - £77,368 per annum. The contract type is Fixed term: 12 months (none). The application deadline is 06 Aug 2026.
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