Service Manager

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced and motivated Service Manager to join the Directorate of Critical Care, Theatres and Anaesthetics.

This is a key operational leadership role responsible for supporting the safe, effective and efficient delivery of anaesthetic and critical care services. Working closely with clinical, nursing and operational colleagues, the postholder will provide visible day to day leadership, ensuring that services are responsive to patient demand, deliver high quality care and meet key performance objectives.

The successful candidate will have a strong understanding of acute hospital operations and experience of working in complex healthcare environments. They will be an effective relationship builder, manage service pressures and drive continuous improvement.

Experience of workforce planning and medical rota management would be advantageous, alongside knowledge of contracting and managing outsourced activity to support service capacity and performance.

We are seeking an individual with excellent people management and leadership skills, who can support and develop teams, oversee performance and workforce management, and lead service improvement initiatives. The role requires a proactive and collaborative leader who can balance operational delivery with longer term strategic development, ensuring anaesthetic and critical care services remain safe, sustainable and patient focused.

Main duties of the job

The Service Manager provides operational leadership for Anaesthetics and Critical Care services, working closely with the Clinical Director, senior nurses, consultants and multidisciplinary teams to ensure the delivery of safe, effective and patient-centred care.

The post holder will monitor performance against key targets, identify opportunities to improve productivity and efficiency, and support the delivery of high quality care. A key focus is maximising service capacity and utilisation, working collaboratively with clinical and operational teams to improve patient flow and overall service effectiveness.

The Service Manager will support workforce planning, recruitment and medical rota management to maintain safe staffing levels and service resilience. They will ensure strong governance arrangements are in place, overseeing incidents, complaints, risks, audits and quality improvement actions to promote a culture of learning and accountability.

The role provides visible leadership, supporting staff engagement, development and wellbeing while fostering positive working relationships across teams. The post holder will also develop effective partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, including oversight of outsourced activity where required, ensuring services remain sustainable, responsive and capable of meeting patient needs.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Service management

Be responsible for the day to day operational management of anaesthetics and critical care services across both Trust sites, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality patient care.

Work collaboratively with the Clinical Director, Lead Nurse, senior nursing teams and multidisciplinary colleagues to support service delivery, address operational challenges and deliver agreed objectives.

Work as part of the anaesthetics and critical care triumvirate to support the strategic and operational development of services.

Lead the operational management of service capacity, patient flow and workforce deployment to ensure services remain responsive to demand.

Support the management of medical workforce requirements, including rota oversight, leave planning and service cover arrangements.

Work closely with theatres, pre-operative assessment and scheduling teams to optimise patient flow, maximise theatre utilisation and support the delivery of elective and emergency activity.

Develop and maintain effective working relationships with consultants, matrons, senior nurses and key stakeholders across the Trust and external organisations as required.

Act as a key link between clinical and operational teams, ensuring effective communication, collaborative working and timely resolution of service issues.

Performance and service delivery

Lead on the monitoring and delivery of key operational, quality and financial performance targets.

Ensure theatre and anaesthetic capacity is utilised effectively, supporting improvements in theatre productivity, efficiency and elective performance.

Analyse service performance data, identify areas of concern and implement recovery plans where required.

Produce and present regular performance reports to divisional, directorate and Trust meetings.

Support business planning processes and contribute to the development of service strategies and improvement programmes.

Governance, quality and risk

Lead on the investigation and management of complaints, incidents and risks, ensuring timely actions and learning are embedded within services.

Ensure compliance with Trust policies, governance frameworks and national standards.

Maintain oversight of departmental risk registers and support the implementation of risk mitigation plans.

Support clinical governance processes, audits and quality improvement initiatives to improve patient outcomes and experience.

People management

Provide visible and effective leadership to administrative and operational teams.

Undertake recruitment, appraisal, performance management, attendance management and staff development responsibilities in line with Trust policies.

Promote a positive and inclusive culture that supports staff wellbeing, engagement and continuous development.

Support workforce planning activities to ensure services have the appropriate staffing and skills to meet current and future demands.

Service improvement and transformation

Lead and support service improvement projects that enhance quality, patient experience, operational efficiency and productivity.

Identify opportunities to improve pathways, processes and ways of working across anaesthetics and critical care services.

Work with clinical colleagues to develop and implement innovative solutions to operational challenges.

Support the management of outsourced activity and external provider relationships where required to maximise capacity and performance.

Financial management

Support the delivery of budgetary and financial objectives across the service.

Monitor expenditure, identify financial pressures and support the development of cost improvement and efficiency plans.

Ensure resources are utilised effectively and in accordance with Trust financial policies and procedures.

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.