Job summary
- Main area
- Improvement & Development Manager
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 7
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 349-HIM-7895925
- Employer
- Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Health Innovation Manchester, CityLabs 1.0
- Town
- Manchester
- Salary
- £49,387 - £56,515 Per annum / pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 22/04/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Improvement & Development Manager
NHS AfC: Band 7
Job overview
Health Innovation Manchester is looking for a driven and adaptable Improvement and Development Manager to help us deliver meaningful improvements and transformational change. This is an exciting opportunity to take on a role where your work directly shapes how our organisation grows, learns and improves.
About the Role
In this role, you’ll play a key role in our transformation activity turning organisational priorities into practical plans and real progress. You’ll work with autonomy, often leading key projects end‑to‑end, and creating the clarity and momentum needed to move complex pieces of work forward.
Your day could involve facilitating a workshop, translating strategic aims into a delivery plan, unpacking insights from staff feedback, or helping colleagues understand and adopt new ways of working. You’ll be someone who naturally builds trust, brings people together and helps them make sense of change. You’ll use data and insight to inform your decisions, but you’ll also draw on curiosity, creativity and sound judgement to find solutions when things are ambiguous.
You’ll enjoy working at pace and will take pride in producing high‑quality outputs whether that’s a project plan, a report for senior leaders, or a simple tool that makes work easier for colleagues. You’ll also champion innovative approaches, including the thoughtful use of AI, to enhance productivity and support smarter working.
Main duties of the job
You’ll thrive here if you enjoy making sense of complexity and turning it into something clear, actionable and engaging. You’re someone who brings others with you through change not by pushing direction, but by listening, involving and shaping work collaboratively.
Your background will include leading improvement or change activity, and you’ll feel confident working independently on programmes that require judgement, organisation and resilience. You’ll communicate with credibility, whether you’re presenting complex ideas or facilitating a room of diverse colleagues.
You’ll be curious, quick to learn, and comfortable navigating shifting priorities. You understand both the people side and the process side of improvement work, and you’re motivated by seeing practical results. Above all, you care about helping people do their best work and creating the conditions for positive, sustainable development across teams.
Working for our organisation
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) is the largest provider of specialist services, and our Oxford Road Campus in Manchester, the largest health academic campus in Europe - what better place to shape and develop your leadership career.
We deliver care to over 1 million patients & users each year through our 10 hospitals and extensive community services. Our 30,000 plus strong workforce is central to our success and innovation.
You will play a pivotal part in supporting our operational excellence and strategic ambitions. You’ll work collaboratively with clinical and non-clinical teams, driving improvements that enhance patient experience, staff wellbeing, and service efficiency across the Trust.
MFT offers a dynamic, inclusive environment where your leadership, ideas, and expertise are valued. You’ll have access to professional development, digital tools and opportunities to contribute to transformational projects that shape the future of healthcare delivery.
We are committed to supporting your growth and wellbeing, recognising the vital role you play in our organisation’s success.
Join us and help shape the future of our Trust—make a real difference to our teams, our services, and our communities, and fundamentally, our patients.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need for this role, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the ‘Supporting Documents’ heading.
Explore ‘Inside MFT – Your Candidate Place’
To help you feel confident, prepared and fully informed before you apply, we invite you to explore Inside MFT – Your Candidate Place. This welcoming one‑stop hub gives you a real sense of who we are — what we stand for, how we reward and support you, and the many ways we care for you as you care for others. You’ll also find practical hints and tips for submitting a great application, along with the essential information you need to know before you apply.
To access ‘Inside MFT – Your Candidate Place', simply click on the relevant PDF document under the ‘Documents to download’ section and once opened, you can either scan or click on the QR code.
Closing vacancy listings early
We welcome applications from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.
To help us manage applications fairly and give each one the time it deserves, our adverts may close early if we receive a high level of interest. Early applications are therefore encouraged.
Diversity Matters
MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, please contact the manager named below.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in your application
Here at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, we’re proud to be ALL HERE FOR YOU—for our patients, our communities, and each other.
As part of our commitment to fairness, transparency, and personal integrity, we ask all applicants to ensure that their job applications reflect their own experiences, skills, and motivations. While AI tools can support spelling, grammar, or formatting, we expect that the content of your application—especially personal statements and responses to role-specific questions—is written by you. This helps us get to know the real you and ensures that our recruitment process remains equitable and meaningful for everyone.
Thank you for helping us uphold the values that make our Trust a place where people belong, grow, and thrive. We look forward to receiving your application.
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Proven track record of delivering complex change or transformation projects with autonomy
- Experience translating strategic actions into structured, outcome‑focused delivery
- Evidence of delivering both people‑ and process‑focused improvement work
- Experience producing project plans, reports and risk / assurance documentation
- Experience working at pace in dynamic environments with shifting priorities
- Experience engaging and influencing staff to participate in change
- Experience using AI tools to optimise productivity and workflows
Desirable criteria
- Experience delivering system‑level or cross‑organisational transformation projects
- Experience conducting audits, evaluations or applied improvement research
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Project management capability and experience using improvement methodologies
- High learning agility: able to quickly understand new issues, adopt new tools and flex approach as needed
- Tenacity and resilience to drive work forward despite challenges
- Excellent communication, engagement, negotiation and facilitation skills
- Ability to analyse complex data and draw meaningful insights
- Ability to influence, motivate and support others through change
- Strong planning, organisation, prioritisation and problem‑solving skills
Desirable criteria
- Research or evaluation skills
- Experience designing or delivering improvement training
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Degree or equivalent experience
- Demonstrable project management expertise and substantial organisational change experience equivalent to master’s level
- Evidence of continuous professional or personal development
Desirable criteria
- Project management qualification (PRINCE2, Agile, MSP or similar)
- Accredited improvement practitioner or coach‑level training
- Further postgraduate study
- Organisational development, quality improvement or organisational change background
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Hailey McGlynn
- Job title
- Head of Organisational Improvement
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
If you would like to know more about the role, or schedule an informal conversation, please contact the Recruiting Manager, Hailey McGlynn ([email protected])
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