About this role
Job summary
Are you passionate about improving cancer services and delivering real change for patients?
Help us transform cancer pathways and improve outcomes for patients across the East Midlands. Every day matters -- and so does your contribution.
We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced and motivated improvement leader to join our organisation as the Days Matter Performance Improvement Lead.
Funded through the East Midlands Cancer Alliance (EMCA) and hosted by University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, this 12-month fixed-term or secondment opportunity will play a pivotal role in supporting cancer pathway improvement and performance recovery across the Trust.
Working closely with operational, clinical and executive leaders, the successful candidate will lead a programme of improvement activity designed to reduce delays, improve patient experience and support delivery of national Cancer Waiting Time standards.
This is an excellent opportunity for an individual with strong programme management, operational performance and service improvement experience to make a significant impact on cancer care.
Main duties of the job
The Days Matter Programme focuses on identifying and addressing delays within cancer pathways to ensure patients receive timely diagnosis and treatment.
As the Days Matter Performance Improvement Lead, you will:
Lead the delivery of the Trust's Days Matter Programme.
Identify opportunities to improve cancer pathway performance.
Work with clinical and operational teams to redesign pathways and remove barriers to timely care.
Support achievement of national Cancer Waiting Time standards including Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), 31-Day and 62-Day targets.
Analyse complex performance data to identify trends, risks and improvement opportunities.
Facilitate service improvement initiatives using recognised quality improvement methodologies.
Develop strong relationships with stakeholders across the Trust, East Midlands Cancer Alliance and wider healthcare system.
Provide regular assurance and reporting to senior leadership teams and programme boards.
You will be expected to work independently, influence senior stakeholders and deliver sustainable improvements that make a tangible difference to patient outcomes.
About us
Please submit your application as soon as possible, as we reserve the right to close adverts once sufficient applications have been received.
We recognise that AI tools can support application writing; however, candidates are asked to keep their use to a minimum. Responses should reflect your own experience, skills and knowledge, as over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in generic answers that do not accurately represent your abilities.
University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.
Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.
Job description Job responsibilities
Performance Improvement Leadership
Lead the delivery of the Days Matter improvement programme across participating providers. Identify opportunities to improve performance against cancer waiting time standards. Undertake detailed pathway analysis to identify bottlenecks, unwarranted variation and opportunities for improvement. Develop and oversee improvement plans with measurable outcomes. Support providers to deliver sustainable pathway redesign and service transformation. Ensure improvement activity is aligned with national cancer objectives and regionalpriorities. Programme and Project Management Establish and maintain programme governance arrangements. Develop project plans, milestones, risk registers and reporting frameworks. Monitor delivery against agreed objectives and benefits realisation plans. Coordinate multiple workstreams simultaneously. Produce high-quality reports, briefings and presentations for senior leaders andboards. Performance Analysis Analyse complex datasets relating to cancer waiting times and operational performance. Interpret quantitative and qualitative information to identify trends and root causes. Use benchmarking to compare provider performance and identify best practice. Develop performance dashboards and improvement metrics. Stakeholder Management Build strong relationships with: Chief Operating Officers Cancer Managers Clinical Directors Tumour Site Leads Cancer Alliances Integrated Care Boards EMCA representatives Facilitate collaborative improvement across organisational boundaries. Influence senior stakeholders to secure engagement and delivery of improvement actions. Service Improvement Apply recognised improvement methodologies including: Lean Model for Improvement PDSA cycles Process mapping Demand and capacity modelling Quality Improvement methodologies Facilitate pathway redesign workshops. Share learning and best practice across organisations. Support implementation of national best practice timed pathways. Governance and Assurance Provide assurance regarding programme delivery, risks and mitigations. Prepare reports for programme boards, executive groups and regional governance forums. Ensure compliance with NHS governance requirements. Strategic Responsibility Leading significant improvement programmes across organisations. Translating national policy into local delivery plans. Influencing strategic decision-making. Financial Responsibility Responsible for management of allocated programme budgets where delegated. Supporting business case development and investment decisions. Workforce Responsibility Matrix management of multidisciplinary teams. Supervision and development of project staff. Leadership without direct line management authority across provider organisations. Analytical Responsibility Interpretation of highly complex performance and operational information. Identification of risks, trends and improvement opportunities. Freedom to Act Operates with a high degree of autonomy. Makes independent judgements within broad organisational objectives. Escalates significant risks and issues appropriately. Communication Responsibility Negotiates and influences at senior management level. Presents complex information to a range of audiences. Facilitates agreement across multiple stakeholders with differing priorities.
Person Specification
Educations, Training and Qualifications Essential
Educated to degree level or equivalent experience. Evidence of continuous professional development. Formal programme/project management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2, MSP, APM) or equivalent experience.
Knowledge and Experience Essential
Significant NHS operational management experience. Experience of leading large-scale service improvement programmes. Experience of performance management within acute healthcare settings. Experience of cancer services and cancer pathway performance management. Experience of working across organisational boundaries. Experience of presenting complex information to senior stakeholders. NHS performance frameworks. Cancer Waiting Time standards. NHS operational management. Quality Improvement methodologies. Programme and project management principles. Service redesign techniques
Skills Essential
Advanced analytical skills. Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills. Excellent written and verbal communication. Ability to manage competing priorities. Strategic thinking and problem solving. Facilitation and workshop leadership.
Desirable
Improvement qualification (Lean, Six Sigma, QI Practitioner). Experience of regional or system-wide programmes. Knowledge of cancer transformation programmes. Experience of working with Cancer Alliances or NHS England X
Key Competencies/Personal Qualities and Attributes Essential
Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users
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 Employer name Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address UHN - Northampton and Kettering sites
Kettering
NN16 8UZ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.kgh.nhs.uk/working-for-us (Opens in a new tab)