Programme Manager: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

The Patient Safety and Care Improvement Team has an exciting opportunity for a Band 8a Programme Manager to support the delivery of nationally commissioned patient safety and improvement programmes across Health Innovation North West Coast. The Programme Manager will lead and coordinate a portfolio of work aligned to the National Patient Safety Improvement Programme, translating national and regional priorities into clear delivery plans. The post holder will ensure that milestones, benefits, risks, issues, governance arrangements and reporting requirements are effectively managed across the North West Coast footprint. The post holder will be confident managing a rolling programme of work, responding flexibly to changes in scope, priorities and timescales while maintaining high standards of delivery. They will use programme and project management approaches, Quality Improvement methods, data and insight to support delivery, monitor progress and inform decision-making. Much of the work will be delivered collaboratively with and through NHS partners, clinical networks, Integrated Care Systems and wider stakeholders. The role therefore requires strong relationship management, facilitation, communication and influencing skills, alongside the ability to work across organisational boundaries, manage complexity and support improvement in patient safety outcomes.

Main duties of the job

Lead and coordinate the delivery of nationally commissioned patient safety improvement programmes across the North West Coast, ensuring projects are planned, governed and delivered to agreed quality, timescale and resource requirements. Responsible for developing and maintaining project plans, managing risks, issues and dependencies, and ensuring effective stakeholder engagement, governance and reporting arrangements. Mobilise and influence partners across health and care systems to support delivery, adoption and sustainability of improvement initiatives.

Provide programme leadership across complex networks and partnerships, fostering collaboration between NHS organisations, Integrated Care Systems, Health Innovation Networks and other stakeholders. Build and maintain strong professional relationships, acting as a trusted and credible partner who can facilitate discussion, manage conflict and reconcile differing perspectives where required.

Support the implementation of national policy and patient safety priorities through improvement activity, applying programme management, improvement science and change methodologies to drive measurable improvements in quality and patient outcomes. Promote the sharing and adoption of best practice, encourage innovation and continuous quality improvement, and ensure effective communication across diverse stakeholder groups.

Person Specification

Qualifications and education

Essential

• Educated to Masters level or appropriate professional qualification or equivalent in a relevant discipline and experience in health related arena.
• Evidence of continuous personal professional development.
• Experience of working at a senior or sub senior level in a complex organisation
• MSP or Project management qualification or equivalent

Desirable

• Improvement and measurement methodologies qualification
• Post Graduate qualification in appropriate discipline
• Change Agent, QSIR, AIP, Silver QI, Q member
• Clinical or NHS professional

Work Related Circumstances

Essential

• Ability to comply with the travel requirements of the post and undertake work-related journeys within the NWC area (regularly), nationally (occasionally) and internationally (occasionally if in the interests of the NWC Patient Safety Collaborative).
• Must be able to work outside traditional office hours on occasions and work flexibly.

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge and experience of patient safety, improvement and innovation, coaching, effectiveness/related field – e.g. research, audit, evidence-based practice, quality improvement.
• Knowledge of, and experience in using, a range of change / improvement / programme & project models.
• Experience of successfully engaging with multi-disciplinary and / or multi-agency teams to achieve successful outcomes.
• Knowledge and experience of governance and assurance in an NHS setting either directly or by working in partnership with the NHS.
• Evidence of policy and strategy development.

Desirable

• Knowledge and experience of implementing major changes to working methods and evaluating its effectiveness.
• Knowledge and experience of delivering complex messages to diverse audiences.
• Understanding of theory and best practice principles for managing projects and programmes.
• Understanding of theory and practice and its application in health and care organisations.
• Formal coaching qualification.
• Evidence of using coaching skills.

Experience

Essential

• Substantial experience of working at a senior level in quality improvement, integrated governance, patient safety, innovation or clinical profession.
• Significant experience of managing and delivering complex projects to completion and timescales (e.g. planning, developing, resourcing, monitoring, reporting).
• Evidence of working collaboratively and influencing people from a wide range of professional backgrounds (including clinicians and patients) and being effective across organisational boundaries.
• Experience of writing, presenting reports, managing feedback, and questions at senior management committees.
• Experience of working with clinicians in supporting evidence based practice.

Desirable

• Evidence of experience within an NHS environment
• Evidence of an understanding of national and local NHS policy.
• Experience of leading on safety change processes relating to safety development /improvement
• Experience of working in or with commissioning, ICBs, social care, industry and/or public health.
• Evidence of working with community and voluntary groups and excluded sections of the community

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Effective leadership, organisational and people management skills
• Excellent organisational, time management and prioritisation skills
• Extensive project management skills
• Ability to analyse, rationalise and organise complex information
• Excellent interpersonal, teambuilding and communication skills (both written and verbal).
• Excellent communication skills with an ability to present complex information to a variety of audiences and promote discussion and agreement
• Ability to negotiate positive outcomes involving a number of different parties and senior colleagues, managing conflict and challenge across a range of diverse situations
• Ability to work in a matrix manner and to work flexibly
• Ability to plan and organise a large workload to meet both internal and external deadlines
• Accuracy and attention to detail whilst maintaining flexibility within the workload
• Ability to develop and maintain effective working partnerships with professional groups and senior managers within the organisation and in other agencies
• Programme Management skills

Values and Behaviours

Essential

• Demonstrable commitment to promoting high standards to consistently improve patient outcomes
• Consistently puts patients and public at the heart of decision making
• Works across boundaries, looks for collective success, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others
• Uses evidence to make improvements, seeks out innovation
• Values diversity and difference, operates with integrity and openness
• Actively develops themselves and others
• Self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness
• Demonstrable commitment to partnership working with a range of external organisation

Closing Date: 24 August 2026