Programme Manager

Programme Manager – Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex

We are recruiting a Programme Manager to join our dynamic Patient Safety Collaborative team, focusing on the ABC Workstream within the Patient Safety Improvement Programme.

Benefits: Include flexible working and 33 days annual leave per annum + UK Bank Holidays (see career site for full details).

Contract: 12 months fixed-term contract basis or NHS secondment, at AfC Band 8a.

Base: KSS AHSNs (trading as Health Innovation KSS) primary place of business is The Beehive, Gatwick/Crawley, West Sussex.

Location: Hybrid work. The successful candidate is expected to be based in, or able to attend meetings in the Kent, Surrey, Sussex geography.

Reports to: Associate Director – Patient Safety.

Responsibilities include leading programmes commissioned under the NHS Improvement Specification contract and the Support Network implementation plan, with delivery focus through to March 2026.

• Deliver a programme of work commissioned by NHS England within the NHS Improvement Specification contract and Support Network implementation plan.
• Report progress to the Patient Safety Lead / Associate Director Patient Safety on a regular basis.
• Support Clinical Leads with management and delivery of projects within Patient Safety Improvement programmes across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
• Identify opportunities across programmes to improve efficiency and progress.
• Lead the ABC Programme as the main point of contact.
• Support the delivery of a national programme; plan and deliver QI and spread projects using a range of improvement and project management techniques.
• Undertake diagnostics, support small tests of change (PDSA cycles), and help teams use measurement for improvement.
• Deliver regular virtual and periodic face-to-face events to support programmes through improvement cycles (e.g., Breakthrough Series).
• Contribute to monthly informal and quarterly formal assurance reports; collaborate with the Associate Director, Lead, Programme Manager and Programme Co-ordinator.
• Support communication strategies to cascade case studies and good practice across media channels and Futures Platform.
• Participate in regular national workstream lead calls to stay aligned with national changes to the commission.
• Identify and promote new innovations and technologies aligned to local needs with the Innovation Network KSS team.
• Build strong relationships with clinicians across KSS to spread changes and improvements where appropriate.
• Support building improvement capacity and capability across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
• Oversee programme budgets where appropriate, including processing expenditure and liaising with management teams.
• Work with the Innovation and Industry team to support other Innovation Network programmes aligned to the ABC programme.

• Background in senior management roles and strategic work with senior clinical leadership teams.
• Interest in creating a Culture of Improvement within clinical environments.
• Clinical experience or significant interaction with clinicians and health & social care systems.
• Passionate about solving problems with a strong drive to deliver outcomes.
• Experience identifying opportunities, delivering improvements, and implementing QI project/programme management methodologies.
• Ability to manage expectations, influence, and facilitate delivery of high-quality service; able to solicit and act on stakeholder feedback.
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) for reporting programme status and recommendations to stakeholders and team members.

Health Innovation KSS is a social enterprise, a not-for-profit company whose surpluses are reinvested into the healthcare innovation network. We work with industry, higher education, and health and care organisations across Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

• Enabling the spread and adoption of innovation
• Improving the quality and safety of health and care
• Supporting innovators and driving economic growth

We are one of 15 Health Innovation Networks in the UK, collaborating to share learning and provide access to a pipeline of solutions.

We value diversity and encourage applications from groups underrepresented in decision-making, including ethnic minorities and those with disabilities. Our recruitment processes are inclusive and aim to appoint the best candidates from a broad pool of diverse applicants.

Visit our career site / vacancies page for the full job description and details of the selection process.

• Seniority level:
  Mid-Senior level
• Employment type:
  
  Full-time
• Job function:
  Project Management and Information Technology
• Industries:
  Hospitals and Health Care