Band 8a Service Manager 

The post holder will provide senior operational leadership across designated clinical services, ensuring the delivery of safe, high-quality and efficient services. Working in close partnership with the General Manager, they will support the achievement of performance, workforce, activity, quality and financial objectives, contributing to the effective management of services in line with national and local standards.

Location: Croydon

Job Type: Temporary 

Duration of booking: Expected to last 3 months with possible extension

Proposed start date: ASAP

Pay Rates: Up to £33.60 per hour PAYE inclusive of holiday pa

Hours / Working Days: 37.5 hours per week / Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm 

Sector: Healthcare 

Based: Office / Hospital 

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 

Operational Management 

• Provide senior operational leadership across designated services, ensuring safe, effective and patient-centred delivery through appropriate staffing, optimal capacity utilisation and compliance with national access standards. 
• Maintain a flexible and adaptive operational approach, providing senior cross-cover and support across services as required to ensure continuity of care, operational resilience and timely, informed decision-making. 
• Interpret and triangulate complex operational, performance and strategic information to identify risks, variation and opportunities for improvement, developing and implementing recovery actions and improvement plans that support patient access, safety and experience. 
• Develop, implement and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), pathways, escalation processes and service policies, ensuring consistency, compliance and responsiveness to changing operational pressures while maintaining a clear focus on patient outcomes. 
• Provide visible senior operational leadership within clinical areas during periods of operational pressure, working alongside clinical and site teams to support patient flow, escalation, continuity of services and safe, timely care. 
• Apply senior operational judgement in dynamic and pressured environments, where information may be incomplete or rapidly changing, balancing patient safety, quality, access and performance. 
• Oversee the provision of Outpatient and Inpatient capacity solutions, including Appointment Slot Issues (ASIs) in Outpatients, reviewing the relevant reports to identify trends and provide long term resolutions through demand and capacity modelling 

Performance and Quality 

• Provide senior operational leadership for the delivery of performance standards, including RTT, cancer, diagnostics and patient flow metrics, ensuring early identification, escalation and management of risks that may impact patient safety, access or experience. 
• Monitor and triangulate performance against local and national KPIs, overseeing the development and delivery of recovery plans and improvement actions where performance falls below agreed standards. 
• Ensure robust governance and assurance arrangements are in place, supporting compliance with safeguarding, infection control, health and safety and clinical quality standards, and providing operational oversight to maintain safe and effective patient care. 
• Lead or contribute to serious incident investigations, complaints responses (including complaints received from public or staff members) and quality improvement workstreams, ensuring learning is identified, embedded into operational practice and shared across services to improve outcomes for patients. 

Experience

• Degree or equivalent experience 
• Management or leadership qualification 
• Strong understanding of healthcare operational, performance and quality frameworks 
• Knowledge of governance, risk, and incident management 
• Understanding of HR processes, workforce models and rota management 
• Significant operational management experience in the healthcare 
• Leading teams and delivering against KPIs 
• Management budgets and resources 
• Leading service improvement projects 
• Handling complaints, incidents, and complex operational issues