Job summary
The Senior Improvement Manager will work directly alongside the Financial Improvement Director to drive the operational delivery of this programme. This is a hands-on improvement role: the postholder will be embedded in services, working with care group and clinical leaders to identify efficiency opportunities, build practical plans, and see them through to delivery
Main duties of the job
- Operational Improvement Delivery
- Workforce and Pay Efficiency
- Elective Productivity and Outpatient Efficiency
- Drugs Expenditure
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Reporting and Progress
About us
Diversity makes us interesting... Inclusion is what will make us outstanding.
Inequality exists and the journey to eliminate it is not easy. Every step we take will be a purposeful step forward to deliver a truly inclusive culture where all our people are enabled to deliver outstanding care, where background is no barrier, and where everyone can be their authentic self and we truly represent our patient community.
We are committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics. Reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled applicants where possible. All applicants who have a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the post can opt for a guaranteed interview.
If you need additional help with your application please get in touch by calling the recruitment team on 0118 322 6997 or 0118 322 5342.
Our primary method of communication will be via email. However, if you would prefer to be contacted through a different method, please inform the recruitment team.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Operational Improvement Delivery
The core of the role is working directly in services to identify and deliver operational improvements. The postholder will:
Take direct ownership of a defined portfolio of improvement areas primarily workforce efficiency, elective productivity and operational flow
Embed within care groups to understand what is driving cost pressures and inefficiency not just from data, but from direct engagement with the people running services
Build credible, practical improvement plans with named owners and realistic timelines grounded in what the service can actually deliver, not just theoretical benchmarks
Apply NHS benchmarking tools (GIRFT, Model Health System) to identify where performance lags peers and make the case for change with clinical and operational leaders
Challenge variation across care groups why one area performs significantly differently from another, and what needs to change
Track improvement through to confirmed financial delivery not just activity completed, but benefit landing in the position
Workforce and Pay Efficiency
Workforce costs are the Trust's largest area of expenditure and the primary lever for financial improvement. The postholder will:
Work with care group directors to understand the root causes of pay overspend agency dependency, establishment overshoot, rostering inefficiency, vacancy management
Drive practical improvements in e-rostering compliance: understanding why roster publication is late, why internal fill rates are low in certain areas, and working with ward and divisional management to address this
Support development of the Trust's internal bank as an alternative to agency working on the supply and process barriers that make bank less accessible than it should be
Work with the Chief People Officer on annual leave management preventing the late-year surge that forces expensive agency cover
Support the medical job plan review working with the Medical Director to identify where clinical time allocation does not reflect current service needs
Elective Productivity and Outpatient Efficiency
Improving how the Trust manages elective and outpatient activity is central to both financial improvement and waiting list recovery. The postholder will:
Work with the COO and care group directors to improve theatre utilisation addressing late starts, under-booked sessions, cancelled lists and inefficient session scheduling
Lead improvement work on length of stay in priority specialties using benchmarking data to identify outliers and working with clinical teams to implement discharge improvement
Support outpatient redesign including patient-initiated follow-up, advice and guidance, and new-to-follow-up ratio reduction working with clinical leads to redesign pathways practically
Work on same-day emergency care pathway improvement helping services meet national standards and reduce unnecessary overnight admissions
Identify and address the causes of high DNA rates in priority specialties working with operational teams on reminder processes, overbooking protocols and scheduling practices
Drugs Expenditure
The Trust has a significant drugs overspend, particularly in Networked Care specialties. The postholder will:
Support the Chief Pharmacist in understanding what is driving drugs expenditure the split between demand-driven cost and controllable prescribing practice
Facilitate engagement between pharmacy, clinical leads and operational teams to translate agreed changes into confirmed savings
Help maintain momentum on formulary compliance and therapeutic substitution ensuring that clinical agreements translate into sustained changes in practice
Stakeholder Engagement
Improvement at this scale cannot be driven from the centre. The postholder will:
Build effective working relationships with care group directors, general managers, clinical leads and consultants earning credibility through practical knowledge and genuine helpfulness
Be visible in clinical and operational areas not a presence only in meetings and on email
Communicate clearly and honestly with senior leaders able to have a difficult conversation about underperformance constructively and without avoiding the point
Help clinical teams see improvement as a quality issue as well as a financial one avoidable bed days, preventable complications and inefficient pathways matter to patients as well as to the bottom line
Reporting and Progress
The postholder will support the Financial Improvement Director in maintaining a clear, honest picture of progress across the programme:
Maintain a practical view of delivery status across their portfolio knowing where things are on track and where they are not, before it appears in a formal report
Surface problems and risks early with a proposed mitigation, not just an update
Contribute operational insight to programme reporting providing the context behind the numbers
Work with finance colleagues to ensure that operational improvements are landing in the financial position, not just in activity data
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- Senior operational or general management experience in an NHS acute trust
- Hands-on experience leading service improvement or efficiency work in a clinical environment
- Experience of NHS benchmarking tools -- GIRFT, Model Health System or NHS Benchmarking
- A track record of working effectively with clinical and operational teams to deliver change
- Practical experience of workforce management -- agency, bank, rostering and establishment controls
- Ability to communicate performance data clearly to senior stakeholders
Desirable
- oExperience of elective recovery or productivity improvement -- RTT management, theatre optimisation, outpatient redesign
- oFamiliarity with SAFER bundle, same-day emergency care, patient-initiated follow-up or discharge-to-assess pathways
Skills and Behaviour
Essential
- Operational credibility
- Delivery focus
- Honest, direct communicationInfluencing without authority
- Influencing without authority
- Pace and resilience
- Analytical confidence
Desirable
- oKnowledge of e-rostering systems and the compliance levers available to operational managers
- oExperience working in a Trust under financial pressure or in recovery -- understanding the pace and urgency required
- oExposure to drugs expenditure management or pharmacy-led efficiency work
- oExperience working alongside finance colleagues on savings identification and benefits confirmation
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Royal Berkshire Hospital
Reading
RG1 5AN
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.royalberkshire.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
This listing was aggregated from publicly-available sources. The employer holds an A-rated sponsor licence at the time of this listing, but sponsorship of this specific role is not guaranteed — the employer's offer and UK Visas and Immigration are the final authority. Details may have changed since our last update — verify with the employer via the Apply link.