Job summary
- Main area
- Corporate Operations
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8c
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 153-CO04768
- Employer
- University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- University Hospitals Dorset - All sites
- Town
- Poole
- Salary
- £74,290 - £85,601 pa
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
General Manager – Planned Care Pathway Redesign and Flow Lead
NHS AfC: Band 8c
As University Hospitals Dorset we are a three site acute trust with ‘university hospital’ status through our partnership with Bournemouth University, working with an annual budget of £730m.
We offer highly regarded health services, employing some 10,000 staff. Our ambitious £250m estates programme is well on the way to delivering state-of-the-art facilities over the next two years to meet the current and future healthcare needs of the populations we serve.
In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with over seven miles of sandy beaches you’ll find inspirational opportunities to achieve your perfect work/life balance. With the New Forest and the Purbecks on our doorstep, we’re also less than three hours from London by road or train. The thriving towns of Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch give way to idyllic villages and unspoilt landscapes just minutes from our hospitals.
We believe that having a diverse workforce, and allowing people to be themselves, is essential in ensuring we offer an inclusive, welcoming and productive place to work.
We especially welcome applications from minority groups in the community who may be underrepresented in our workforce.
At UHD our active staff network groups are the Women's Network, Black Asian Minority Ethnic Group (BAME), Pride Network, European (EU), Pro Ability Staff Network, and the Armed Forces Support Group.
As a Trust we are proudly signed up to the Disability Confident and Armed Forces Covenant guaranteed interview schemes.
We are aware that some candidates may choose to use AI tools to support the preparation of their application. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind applicants that submissions should remain an honest and accurate representation of your own experience and suitability. Personal integrity is an important part of the recruitment process.
Job overview
Are you an experienced and driven professional with a passion for transforming elective care pathways and improving patient experience across outpatient, inpatient and diagnostic services?
This newly developed senior leadership role at University Hospitals Dorset offers an exciting opportunity to lead on the redesign and optimisation of planned care pathways. The Planned Care Pathway Redesign and Flow Lead will report directly to the Director of Operational Performance and Oversight and will play a vital role in delivering sustainable improvements in outpatient, diagnostic, and elective care performance.
Working across all clinical specialties, departments, and sites within UHD, the post-holder will collaborate closely with clinical directorates, the Productivity and Efficiency Team, and the Associate Medical Director for Clinical Efficiency. Together, they will shape and deliver a clear, evidence-based vision with a particular focus on non-admitted pathways —aligned with GIRFT, best practice standards, and innovation in quality and access.
This is a high-impact role requiring exceptional communication, operational, and improvement skills, with the ability to influence, coordinate and implement change at pace. The post also recognises the increasing need for additional management capacity to enable new models of care and support cross-site service realignment in a dynamic, agile environment.
Main duties of the job
As the Planned Care Pathway Redesign and Flow Lead, you will be the accountable lead for the Trust’s elective pathway transformation across outpatients, diagnostics, and wider elective services. You will ensure that care pathways are designed and delivered in a way that maximises clinical efficiency, enhances patient experience, and supports sustainable improvements in operational performance.
A key part of this role will be acting as a visible and influential change champion, delivering the Trust-wide vision for non-admitted care. You will work across all clinical specialties to drive innovation, improvement, and consistency, ensuring that every service has a clearly defined and measurable plan for transformation—firmly rooted in GIRFT principles, best practice, and the Trust’s commitment to high-quality care.
Your leadership will be essential in coordinating efforts across multiple departments and sites, engaging with clinical directorates, the Productivity and Efficiency Team, and the Associate Medical Director for Clinical Efficiency. Together, you will embed new ways of working that are future-focused and resilient, while ensuring that the transformation agenda remains clinically led and operationally sound.
Working for our organisation
Our values define who we are as #TeamUHD. They underpin everything we do now and in the future. They define how we treat our patients, visitors, and each other, our valued teammates and colleagues. UHD are investing in services across the Trust, with many being transformed and developed following merger and the New Hospital Programme. This means that some services may move site this year or next, either temporarily or long term. Recruiting Managers interviewing for this role will be happy to answer any specific questions that you have about this at interview.
Please note if the role or service is relocated as part of a planned move, employees will not be eligible for excess mileage reimbursement. Travel from the postholder's home to the new work base will be considered a normal commute. Any other changes not related to this relocation will be managed according to the relevant Trust or National terms and conditions.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Job description
Job responsibilities
To understand the role in more detail please read the full job description and person specification documents which are attached to this advert
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
· Evidence of post-qualification study/professional development to master's level (post graduate certificate/MBA/MSc) or equivalent senior management experience
· First degree or has appropriate level of senior managerial experience.
· Evidence of regular and up to date CPD.
· Senior Leadership Training. Management Qualification.
Experience
Essential
· Broad operational management experience within an Acute NHS Trust environment.
· Experience of managing and delivering services to deadline and within resources.
· Demonstrable experience of demand and capacity modelling.
· Demonstrable success in the delivery of KPIs within an acute NHS environment.
· Experience of planning and developing strategy within complex organisation context.
· Experience of successful delivery cost improvement and transformation programmes.
· Experience of successfully managing budgets – familiar with budget setting, monitoring and actively managing variation.
Skills
Essential
· Ability to work effectively in partnership with clinical leaders.
· Ability to collaborate contractively with internal and external partners to create the conditions for successful partnership working.
· Ability to use MS Office to create reports with ability to interrogate and analyse a variety of data.
· Advanced Typing skills.
· Leadership and facilitation of change.
· High level leadership, influencing and persuasion skills.
· Ability to work with complexity and ambiguity.
· Excellent presentation skills including verbal reasoning skills.
· Strong planning and project management abilities. Can demonstrate the abilities necessary to be an effective team member.
· Excellent analytical skills (situations and information).
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).
Employer details
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Royal Bournemouth Hospital
Castle Lane East
Bournemouth
BH7 7DW
Employer's website
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Evidence of post-qualification study/professional development to master’s level (post grad certificate/MBA/MSc) or equivalent senior management experience.
- First degree or has appropriate level of senior managerial experience.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Broad operational management experience within an Acute NHS Trust environment.
- Experience of planning and developing strategy within complex organisation context.
- Experience of successful delivery cost improvement and transformation programmes.
Technical Skills Competencies
Essential criteria
- Ability to work effectively in partnership with clinical leaders.
- Strong planning and project management abilities. Can demonstrate the abilities necessary to be an effective team member.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable understanding of the NHS operating context, including health care funding and the financial framework and of Government Policy.
- Expert knowledge of NHS reporting regimes including compliance with performance targets and effective pathway management.
Other requirements specific to the role
Essential criteria
- Ability to lead and motivate a large team of staff including senior clinicians.
- Ability to travel within the locality and wider afield for business purposes.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have regular contact with vulnerable people and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Judith May
- Job title
- Director of Operational Performance and Oversight
- Email address
- [email protected]
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