NHS Central East ICB
Job summary
Can you bring calm, clarity and connection when health services are under pressure?
As a Senior Manager in Central East’s System Coordination Centre (SCC), you will help turn a complex, changing operational picture into coordinated action that supports safe patient care.
Working with Trusts across Central East, you will bring partners together to understand pressures, tackle barriers to patient flow and agree practical responses. From ambulance handover delays to hospital capacity and discharge challenges, your work will connect individual services with the wider system response.
We are looking for someone who combines sound operational judgement with excellent relationship skills. You will be able to interpret information, ask the right questions and influence action while remaining calm and solution-focused.
Alongside managing today’s pressures, you will help us anticipate tomorrow’s challenges using data, learning and forecasting to strengthen preparedness and improve how the SCC works.
This role is home-based with occasional travel to ICB offices and hospitals across the Central East area. Two posts are available with different shift patterns, working across the 8am – 6pm seven day a week service operating times.
Main duties of the job
You will combine daily operational leadership with work to improve system resilience:
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Build the operational picture: bring together real-time information on capacity, demand and patient flow, identifying risks and where coordinated support is needed.
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Turn discussion into action: lead operational calls and conversations, agree clear actions with partners and follow through on delivery.
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Coordinate responses to pressure: support escalation, surge and incident responses, ensuring risks reach the right decision-makers promptly.
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Connect services and people: work with hospital, ambulance, community, mental health and wider partners to address barriers and support safe patient flow.
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Look ahead: contribute to winter and surge planning, using trends and forecasting to identify opportunities for earlier intervention.
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Provide clear assurance: produce accurate situation reports and briefings for senior leaders and NHS England.
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Improve how we work: develop SCC processes, digital tools and use of data, while providing supportive leadership to colleagues and sharing learning across the system.
Person Specification
Educated to degree level or equivalent experience in a relevant field.
Essential
- Degree, equivalent qualification or ten years experience within health and care systems
Desirable
- Qualifications in operations, control and command, EPRR, UEC or related disciplines
Experience in senior management within a complex organisation, ideally in health or public services.
Essential
- Extensive experience at B7 or equivalent
Desirable
- Operational experience at B7 or equivalent in a UEC health services role
Strong relationship-building and partnership-working skills across organisational boundaries.
Essential
- Experience in public sector and /or cross-sector environments
Desirable
- Experience of working with acute NHS and non-NHS partners
Excellent communication and influencing skills, able to present complex information clearly.
Essential
- Very effective written and verbal communication skills
Desirable
- Ability to influence without hierarchy
Analytical ability to interpret complex data and use insights to inform decisions.
Essential
- Can spot trends and patterns in data, highlighting concerns, leading to action
Desirable
- Computer literate with an understanding of UEC data flows
Ability to work operationally, at pace, remaining calm under pressure.
Essential
- Can handle multiple incoming demands, prioritising effectively and completing actions in a timely manner
Desirable
- Is able to communicate cheerfully and politely when under pressure
Ability to work effectively in a team
Essential
- Demonstrates through a specific example, teamwork under pressure including clear communication and support for colleagues.
Desirable
- Demonstrates through a specific example, bringing reams from different organisations together to resolve an operational challenge.
Closing Date: 1 November 2026
To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.