# Programme Manager - Independent Maternity Review and Bramber > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/programme-manager-independent-maternity-review-and-bramber/78b2118a-45d1-4a1c-afbe-9a913b44b7f5 - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/programme-manager-independent-maternity-review-and-bramber/78b2118a-45d1-4a1c-afbe-9a913b44b7f5.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust - **Location:** University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, Lyndhurst Road, Worthing Hospital, BN11 2DH, United Kingdom - **Workplace type:** onsite - **Profession:** Manager and corporate - **Grade:** Band 8 - **Salary:** £57528.00 to £64750.00 - **Contract type:** Fixed-Term - **Employment type:** Full-time, Job share, Flexible working, Home or remote working - **Closing date:** 2026-08-25T23:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-08-11T14:00:55.051Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9279-26-1022 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/8218860?FromJobsNHS=1&ShowJobAdvert= - **Employer website:** https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job summary UHSussex is the subject of an important Independent Maternity Review (IMR), commissioned by the Department of Health on behalf of the Secretary of State. This is due to commencein October 2026 and is expected to last at least 3 years. The review will examine approximately 1,000 cases of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths, neonatal harm due to severe brain injury and severe maternal harm dating back to at least 2018. The purpose is to understand what happened, reach conclusions on the care provided, provide answers for families andidentifylearning for the organisation and wider NHS. The review is, by its' very nature, extremely sensitive and politically charged. The impact is expected to be significant for the families at the heart of the review, current and paststaffand the wider organisation. In parallel, the Trust is the subject of an active police investigation - Operation Bramber. The programme of workrequiredto ensure the Trust can meet the needs of families, the IMR team, Sussex Police,staffand other bodies is complex and diverse. It will span quality and corporate governance, information management, information governance, analytics, communications, wellbeing, recruitment, training,inclusionand professional standards. Working effectively with teams across Women and Children's services and critical corporate teams will be essential toidentify,manage and complete actions required for readiness and to run it smoothly day to day. ### Main duties of the job The programme manager will provide expert leadership in developing and overseeing the countdown to readiness plan and day to day management of the delivery plan once the review is live. They will ensure a single version of the truth is in in place capturing all theweek on weekactionsrequiredto enable the Trust to be ready on time,identifyingcritical interdependencies and ensuring the sequencing of tasks is effectively managed. They will proactivelyidentifyrisks, work to resolve those they can and escalate others to the Quality Director and Director of Regulatory Affairs. Once the IMR is live, their focus will move to programme management of the operational activitiesrequiredto service the review and any Police investigations, working across clinical and corporate services to embed attention to detail, robust audit trails,paceand proactive problem solving. They will also support core governance activities - routine reporting,riskand issue management for internal and external audiences. This is a real opportunity to be involved inatrulyconsequential piece of work.You will be part of anew team and a new programme,able to shape how we respond using your professionalexpertiseand experience.Applicants should bea qualified Programme managerwith experience of working on large, complex, time-critical programmesin the NHS. ### About us UHSussex is the subject of an important Independent Maternity Review (IMR), commissioned by the Department of Health on behalf of the Secretary of State. This is due tocommencein October 2026 and is expected to last at least 3 years. The review will examine approximately 1,000 cases of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, maternal deaths, neonatal harm due to severe brain injury and severe maternal harm dating back to at least 2018. The purpose isto understand what happened, reach conclusions on the care provided, provide answers for families andidentifylearning for the organisation and wider NHS. The review is, by its' very nature, extremely sensitive and politically charged. The impact is expected to be significant for the families at the heart of the review, current and paststaffand the wider organisation. In parallel, the Trust is the subject of an active police investigation - Operation Bramber. The programme of workrequiredto ensure the Trust can meet the needs of families, the IMR team, Sussex Police,staffand other bodies is complex and diverse. It willspan quality and corporate governance, information management, information governance, analytics, communications, wellbeing,recruitment, training,inclusionand professional standards. Working effectively with teams across Women and Children's services and critical corporate teams toidentify,manageand complete all the actions required for readiness and to run it smoothly day to day. ### Details - Date posted: 14 August 2026 - Pay scheme: Agenda for change - Band: Band 8a - Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year per annum - Contract: Fixed term - Duration: 3 years - Working pattern: Full-time, Job share, Flexible working, Home or remote working - Reference number: 279-8218860-AUG26 - Job locations: University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, Lyndhurst Road, Worthing Hospital, BN11 2DH, United Kingdom ### Job responsibilities This role is eligible for visa sponsorship under the UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route however sponsorship can only be provided where applicants meet the specific requirements set by UKVI, including the relevant skill and salary thresholds (£25000), and any role-specific criteria. The programme manager will provide expertleadership in developing and overseeing thecountdown to readinessplanandday to day managementof the delivery planonce the review is live. They will ensure a singleversion of the truthis in in place capturing all theweek on weekactionsrequiredto enable the Trustto be ready on time,identifyingcritical interdependencies and ensuring the sequencing of tasks is effectively managed. They willproactivelyidentifyrisks,work to resolve those they can and escalate others to the Quality Director and Director of Regulatory Affairs. Once the IMR is live,their focus will move toprogramme management of the operational activitiesrequiredto service the review and any Police investigations, working across clinical and corporate services to embed attention to detail,robust audittrails,paceand proactive problem solving.They will also supportcore governance activities routine reporting,riskand issue managementfor internal and external audiences. As the IMR and investigations are evolvingentities, this will require flexibilityin when and how to respond. Given the nature of the work,high standardsof professionalism, discretion,sensitivityandcommitment to preserving confidentiality ofhighly sensitiveinformation are critical. Key Working Relationships Internal Director of Regulatory Affairs, Quality Managers IMR Team, Administrative staff in the IMR team, Women and Childrens Clinical and Quality IMR Support Team, Chief Nursing Officer and other Executive Directors, Women Children and Clinical Support Divisional Leadership Quad, WCCSS Divisional Quality and Safety Lead ; WCCSS Divisional Quality and Safety Director ; Heads of Midwiferyand Neonatal Nursing, Clinical Directors and Clinical Leads forPerinatal Services, Head of Legal, Head of Communications, Director of Integrated Governanceand team, Trust Secretary, Digital andIG leads,Business Intelligence Teams ; Divisional Leadership Team Surgical Division, CD and clinical leads.. External IMRTeam;SussexPolice;NHSEngland ;Surrey and Sussex ICB, Maternity and NeonatalVoices Partnership. Main Duties and Responsibilities Leadership - Own the production,managementand maintenance of the countdown plan to readiness and the operational delivery plans, ensuring that these are fit for purpose and evolve to meet changing needs. - Take responsibility for ensuring that the clinical and corporate teamswithin the scope of the programmeactively inform the countdown and delivery plansandowndelivery oftheir contributions. - Own the risk and issues registers, ensuring that thesecomply withTrust standardsand have robust assurance measures as well mitigations describedand liaise with the Chief Corporate Affairs Officers team to ensure risks arelogged on Divisional or Corporate registers asappropriate. - Lead embeddingbestpracticeprogramme management techniquesto ensure rigorous management of all critical activitiesand regular gateway reviews. - Act as champion for evidence-based assuranceiechallenge colleagues to provide objective evidence that tasks have been completed and are having the necessary impact. Team Management - Contribute to recruitment andinduction ofnew members of staff to the team,includingensuring staff understand how to usesystems used to record, track and log evidence of completion of tasks. - Train the IMR and Bramber Business Manager tomaintainand manage the countdown and delivery plans, risks and issues register to ensure resilience during times of sickness or annual leave. - Prioritiseownworkloadflexibly and using sound judgement, to ensure that risks to delivery are minimised - Work with the Quality Director toensure there is adrum beatofdaily,weeklyand monthly tasks, withallocatedresponsible individualswhichare followed through and closed offand hold people to account for theircontribution - Work with the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Director to develop the network of contacts in theIMR team,Divisions and Corporate functions needed tobuild and iterate thereadiness anddeliveryplansand deliver the actionswithin agreedtimeframes. ProgrammeManagement - Build a suite of programme documents for the IMR with input from subject matter experts a countdown plan, a delivery plan for when the review is live, interdependencies maps, stakeholder and engagement plan, risks and issues log and benefits mapping using recognised programme management techniques. - Work with the IMR and key corporate team to ensure there is a robust set of policies and SOPs used to run theIMR and police investigationsand respond to the diverse range of enquiries and requests. These mustensure compliance with Trust policies, information governance& Caldicott principles. Ensurerobust processes are in place to review and update these before they are beyond their due date. - Work with the business managerto ensure thatrobust document management systems are in place to record all contacts with the IMR team,communications, supportingdocumentsand evidence of completion, using Nottingham University Hospitals systems as a basis for - Ensure there is a clear forward look available for the programme of actions due in the next week,monthand quarter to inform team meetings, huddles, the expert panel and reporting internally and to DHSC-NHSE. Work with teams toanticipateand mitigate risks and issues. - Track completion of tasks in the programme planrobustlyand provide check and challengeon the evidence used todeemsomething complete and effective,to ensure the programmeoperatesrobust assurance. - Flex to providesupport to other members of the team during periods of pressure, including the programme team in perinatal services. - Participate in learning and reflection activities toevaluate and improve the teams response to the IMRand Operation Bramber, includingfacilitatingformal gateway reviews. - Participate in joint learning with members of the team from Leeds Teaching Hospitals and sharing of good practice. - Work with members of the Team and the Perinatal Services to ensure there is an audit trail of evidence actions have been closed and benefits have been realised. Reportingand Resource Management - Develop the mechanisms to extract compliance against Key Performance Indicators agreed with the Police and IMR teams and carry out analysis to understand anycauses of non-compliance to feed into continuous improvement of the Teams processes. - Capture the data and soft intelligence sources necessary todemonstratewhether the benefitsand mitigations set out for theprogrammeare being realized. - Produce the routine reports for the Operational Oversight Group, ExecutiveManagement Committee, Board and DHSC-NHSE Learning and Improvement Group. - Report against budget,identifyingareas of variance and working with team leaders to takeappropriate action. - Support development ofrobust business cases for any increase in budget, in line with Standing Financial Instructions and Trust policies. ## Person Specification ### Education **Essential** - Educated toMaster'slevel or demonstrable equivalent career path experience - Evidence of on-going further personal and professional development - Programme management qualification eg MSP **Desirable** - Understanding of information governance requirements and Caldicott principles - Quality improvement techniques ### Experience **Essential** - Previous experience of working as a programme manager on a large complex programme with multiple inter-related streams of work - Previous experience of working in a hospital / health care environment at middle management level - Line and performance management of junior administrative staff - Setting up team ways of working including weekly routines, standard operating procedures, meeting terms of reference etc - Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team including clinicians, managers and corporate staff **Desirable** - Experience of supporting programmes which relate to regulatory requirements eg CQC - Experience of working with teams in Women and Children's Services ### Freedom to Act **Essential** - Ability to make autonomous decisions on complex issues, often under pressure - Knows own limitations and when to ask for help from other experts ### Communication Skills **Essential** - Able to give clear written and verbal instructions and check understanding - Commitment to handling sensitive and confidential information with the greatest of care - Able to respond calmly and compassionately to people who may be frustrated or in distress - Active listening skills - Confidence and ability to challenge colleaguesand ask questions to clarify understanding - Clear on the threshold for evidence needed for true assurance ### Analytical & Judgment skills **Essential** - Able to appreciate the potential ramifications of the review for families, staff and the Trust and factor this into judgements. - Able to manipulate large, complex spreadsheets and databases and extract data eg through Excel functions - Able to proactively identify risks and issues, problem solve or escalate as appropriate using sound judgement - Able to respond appropriately to requests for sensitive or confidential information and hold the line where necessary ### Equality Diversity & Inclusion **Essential** - Evidence of having undertaken own development to improve understanding of equalities issues - Evidence of having championed diversity in previous roles (as appropriate to role). ### Equality Inclusion and Diversity **Essential** - Evidence of championing diversity and inclusion inpreviousroles - Awareness of unconscious bias as a general and personal issue **Desirable** - Understanding of the equalities issues in perinatal care - Unconscious bias /EDI trained ### Planning & Organisational Skills **Essential** - Detail orientated - Highly organised and able to respond flexibly as needs require Completer-finisher - Tenacious - Able to set out clear schedules of daily weekly and monthly tasks - Forward thinking and proactive ### People Management and Development **Essential** - Able to translate broad programme plans into workstreams and week on week tasks and outputs and hold people to account for delivery - Able to coach people in new ways of working and identify training and experiential ways to develop their skills and confidence - Models Trust values and behaviours as set out in the Behavioural Compass - Able to build positive relationships with staff from diverse backgrounds working in multiple functions ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.