Job vacancy: Senior Programme Manager, NHS England, Leeds/London/Exeter: Other Locations could be considered

Job summary

Main area: Cyber Operations
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8c
Contract: Fixed term: 14 months (until 31/10/2026. Secondment only for current NHS Employees)
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 990-TD-14992-E

Employer: NHS England
Employer type: NHS
Site: Any NHSE Office
Town: Leeds/London/Exeter: Other Locations could be considered
Salary: £76,965 - £88,682 per annum (exclusive of HCAS)
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 31/08/2025 23:59

Senior Programme Manager

NHS AfC: Band 8c

Our Organisation

The NHS is building a culture that is positive, compassionate and inclusive – and we all have our part to play.

As employers we are committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all our colleagues. This underpins our values as set out in the NHS Constitution and supports us to be an Employer of Choice, while helping our colleagues to deliver high quality services for our patients and communities.

As a flexible employer, we want to support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a ‘home’ office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

We are an accredited Living Wage Employer which means that every colleague working for our organisation and third-party contractors will earn a real Living Wage. We are one of over 15,000 organisations, who voluntarily chose to pay the real Living Wage.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information about the role and responsibilities.

Please ensure your supporting statement includes demonstratable evidence and specific examples on how you meet the criteria for each of the key skills specified. This will be used in both the shortlisting and interview processes

Important: Please be aware there are residency requirements you need to meet:

All NHS England Cyber Security personnel must hold Security Clearance level as a minimum. To meet National Security Vetting requirements, SC clearances require 5 years continuous UK residency. In certain cases, this can be reduced to three years continuous UK residency, with additional overseas checks for the previous two years. Candidates who were posted abroad for service with HM Government, Armed Forces or within a UK government role - will still be considered.
Please make sure you meet these requirements before applying for this role. You don’t need to have SC already, however, failure to achieve the requirements for SC after offer will result in the job offer being withdrawn. For further advice please check https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels#security-check-sc

Please note that the reason for the fixed term of this contract is short term vacancy.

If you like what you have read and think you have the skills and experience, we need then don't delay, apply today! We get lots of applications for our roles and so we sometimes have to close our posts early. Don't miss out!

Secondment

Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.

Person specification

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Has led on change programmes and facilitate the uptake of initiatives that support and embed excellence within the health system; evidencing how they were a champion for best practice, learning from experience and from others, supporting the spread of innovation within the organisation and beyond.
Can evidence how they have communicated, engage and build relationships with key strategic policy makers to influence the development of strategy and policies across the organisation and the wider health and social care system.

Desirable criteria

Has had oversight on the delivery of benefits and track realisation of project/programme outcomes.

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Educated to Masters level in a relevant area of academic practice or equivalent experience working at a commensurate band / level.
To have one or more of the below programme /project management qualifications or equivalent level of experience: • Managing Successful. • Programmes Practitioner • Managing Successful Programmes Advanced • Practitioner. • P3O Practitioner. • Major Projects Leadership Academy.

Skills and Experience

Essential criteria

Can evidence how they have developed complex communications including how they have interrogated and analysed, sometimes highly complex and contentious, information to support the delivery of clear project reporting and project outcomes.
Can evidence how they have communicated the vision for NHS England and support the development of strategy and operational policies that support this vision, including reporting on progress and managing risks and issues, acting as a point of escalation for project managers within the team, including the development and management of KPI/KRI and milestones.
Has managed whole programme lifecycles, containing multiple projects through to effective closure of a number of programmes relating to system change, ensuring excellent governance throughout

Desirable criteria

Has managed large scale IT programmes of work that have directly impacted the sector

Our commitments to you

We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better patient outcomes. We strive to ensure our people feel trusted, valued and empowered. We’re passionate about nurturing and developing people. When you join us, we want you to grow and excel, and we offer many opportunities for you to do that. We welcome your talent and enthusiasm irrespective of age, disability, neuro-divergence, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. We have policies and procedures to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability and/or who are neuro-divergent.

We welcome applications from disabled candidates. If you meet all the essential criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview.

If applying for this role on a secondment basis, please make sure you have obtained prior agreement from your current line manager to apply for this position.

Please note that we currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies.

To comply with the HM Government Functional Standard GovS 007, and specifically the Personnel Security Standards 2024, individuals employed or contracted by NHS England may be required to undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standards check, dependent on the role.

The NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for the processing of your application; a privacy notice is attached to advise you on how we will process your personal data.

If you have applied via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through NHS Jobs, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any emails sent to us via NHS Jobs. If you have a query relating to your application, please contact the recruitment team on [email protected] or 0300 330 1369. You can view our Privacy Notice here.

NHS England