Assistant Service Manager

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Isleworth; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in the UK is seeking an experienced Assistant Service Manager to oversee Urology, General Surgery, Colorectal, and Breast & Sarcoma services. The role involves supporting operational goals by collaborating with clinical teams, managing staff performance, and ensuring compliance with quality targets. Ideal candidates will possess superb communication skills and a track record of improving systems and performance under pressure. A commitment to diversity and equality is valued.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering improvements to systems and processes.
• Ability to balance competing demands and meet tight deadlines.
• Strong collaboration across diverse staff.

Responsibilities

• Oversee Urology and surgical services to meet performance targets.
• Support Service Manager in achieving operational objectives.
• Manage staff appraisals and development plans.
• Ensure compliance with quality and performance indicators.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Ability to work under pressure

Experience with systems improvement

Job description

Assistant Service Manager – West Middlesex Hospital

This role is an Assistant Service Manager operating within the Operational team at West Middlesex University Hospital. The post will oversee the Urology, General Surgery, Colorectal, Breast & Sarcoma services.

Key Responsibilities

• Work closely and in partnership with nursing teams, clinical teams, Patient Access, PALs and other divisions to achieve agreed performance, productivity targets and clinical quality indicators.
• Support the Service Manager and Service Directors in the delivery of objectives across the Directorate and directly manage mutually agreed projects and service improvement initiatives.
• Ensure line management of staff is undertaken professionally and that each member of staff has an appraisal and development and training plan consistent with Directorate, Division and Trust objectives.
• Be accountable through the General Manager, Deputy General Manager and Service Manager for the monitoring and delivery of key quality, productivity and performance targets.
• Promote excellent customer service throughout all areas of responsibility, taking remedial action to correct poor and unresponsive service.
• Assist the Service Manager in ensuring that clinic templates, procedure schedules and rotas deliver care at times that meet service capacity and patient needs.
• On behalf of the Service Manager, work close with the Service Directors and Clinical Directors to assure compliant working patterns for junior doctors, ensuring adequate medical staffing cover is in place to meet the clinical and operational needs of the service.
• Support the investigation and co‑ordination of complaints predominantly administrative/ medical related within the directorate working closely with medical staff and Patient Advisors, ensuring corrective action is taken in response to patient feedback.
• Be responsible for effective communication systems within areas of management responsibility including regular team and departmental briefing.
• Facilitate partnership and integration between services across multiple sites e.g. in relation to aligning systems and processes, sharing best practice, improving data etc.
• Ensure effective clinic utilisation and capacity planning, identifying where there is inefficiency or lack of capacity and taking steps to address where productivity and access fall below targets.
• Play a key role in ensuring effective systems of capturing high quality data and that all datasets are submitted to a high level of accuracy in line with required timescales.
• Identify service improvement or modernisation initiatives that will enhance the patient experience, improve the quality of care provided or enable improvements in performance; work with relevant staff and stakeholders to make recommendations in relation to the scope of the project.
• Manage small service changes or assist in wider change programmes as required, ensuring thorough planning, scoping, stakeholder engagement, patient communication and resource planning.
• Proactively take steps to ensure compliance with internal and external governance and best practice requirements.
• Identify and manage audits and service improvement projects in collaboration with GMs, DGMs, SMs, Nursing and Medical teams.
• Promote excellent customer service and patient experience throughout all areas of responsibility, taking remedial action to correct poor and unresponsive service.
• With support of the service manager, participate in business planning and ensure there is enough capacity within the service to match the patient demand and needs.
• Participate in the production, implementation and revision of operational policies throughout the Directorate, instigating changes or implementation of policies and procedures.
• Support Service Managers and Operational Admin Support in emergency rotas, co‑ordination of annual leave and study leave for clinicians, ensuring cover is always maintained and agency expenditure is minimised.
• Ensure close working relationships are maintained with the clinical professionals on all matters relating to patient care within the service.
• Play an active role in identifying areas within the service where expenditure can be reduced and/or income generated (CIP).
• Be involved under the Service Manager/DGMs/GM instruction in the business planning process, producing capital and revenue business cases and proposals for service development.
• Undertake detailed information analysis of specific projects/reports requiring high levels of analysis.
• Contribute to the management of performance information, taking a lead for specific projects.

Qualifications & Experience

You should have experience delivering improvements to systems, processes and performance, working across a wide range of staff to achieve good outcomes for patients. You will have excellent communication skills – both oral and verbal – and will be able to work well under pressure, balancing competing demands and meeting tight deadlines.

Commitment to Equality & Diversity

The Trust is committed to equality and welcomes applications from all, regardless of background. Adjustments can be made for disabled candidates.

Working Conditions & Benefits

Once a job offer is made, all NHS staff must have a work health assessment that adheres to equal opportunities legislation and good occupational health practice. Employment at the Trust is offered subject to successful completion of a six month probationary period. Early application is advised as vacancies may close once sufficient applications are received. If you haven’t heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, your application was likely unsuccessful.

About the Trust

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust operates two main acute hospital sites – Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital – along with award‑winning clinics across North West London. The Trust provides full clinical services, including maternity, A&E, and children’s services, plus specialist HIV and sexual health clinics. The Care Quality Commission rates us ‘Good’ in safety, effectiveness, care, and responsiveness, and ‘Outstanding’ in leadership and resource use. The Trust continually invests in our facilities, including a £30 m expansion of critical care at Chelsea and Westminster and an £80 m Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre at West Middlesex.