Assistant Service Manager in General Surgery

NHS; London; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare institution in London is seeking an enthusiastic Assistant Service Manager for the General Surgery specialty. In this role, you will provide operational management support and ensure the efficiency of non-clinical services. Candidates should have leadership experience in a fast-paced environment, IT proficiency, and knowledge of NHS operational systems. This position guarantees a chance to contribute to exceptional patient care and offers a salary range from £37,259 to £45,356 annually.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a patient/customer facing environment.
• Experience in leadership and team management.
• Strong IT skills with various spreadsheet software.

Responsibilities

• Manage the team of administrative staff for General Surgery.
• Ensure operational plans meet access targets.
• Support complaint investigations and multi-disciplinary meetings.

Skills

Leadership

IT proficiency

Organizational skills

Education

Relevant qualifications for operational management

Tools

NHS software (iClip, PAS)

Job description

Job summary

We are seeking an enthusiastic Assistant Service Manager to provide essential day-to-day operational management support to the Service Manager. In this vital role, you will help ensure that the General Surgery specialty operates efficiently and effectively from a non-clinical perspective. As a valued member of a wider management team within the Care Group, you will contribute to delivering exceptional patient care through excellent service management.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be expected to manage the team of administrative staff, ensuring equitable workload distribution and excellent standards of administrative support across the teams. The Service Manager and Deputy General Manager will support the post holder in the management of more complex HR issues. The post holder will also lead on management of the patient tracking lists (PTLs) in line with national 18 week RTT guidelines, attend weekly theatre operational meetings with service manager. The post holder will, as part of their role, will need to investigate, resolve and correct data quality issues identified via the RTT

The post holder will work closely with the patient pathway coordinators, outpatient bookings team and the central booking service, the secretarial team and nursing team, the 18 weeks team, consultants and junior doctors It is vital therefore that the post holder is confident, organised and diligent to foster strong relationships with all of the above teams and more.

We are looking for someone with previous experience of leading a team of staff. This person should also have a good standard of education and experience in outpatients or an operational service within the trust. You should be IT literate with experience of using hospital patient administration systems and must also have experience in capacity and demand challenges and waiting list management

About us

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provide services from two main hospitals, St George's Hospital and Queen Mary's Hospital, and two health centres, St Johns Therapy Centre, and The Nelson Centre.With over 9,000 dedicated staff caring for patients around the clock, we are the largest healthcare provider in southwest London.

Our main site, St George's Hospital in Tooting - one of the country's principal teaching hospitals - is shared with St George's, University of London, which trains medical students and carries out advanced medical research. St George's Hospital also hosts the St George's, University of London and Kingston University Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences, which is responsible for training a wide range of healthcare professionals from across the region.

Details Date posted

15 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£37,259 to £45,356 a year pa

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

200-NN-7351418-A&C-Z

Job locations

St George's Hospital

Blackshaw Road

London

SW17 0QT

Job description Job responsibilities

The Assistant Service Manager is responsible for the operational delivery of a range of functions in the General Surgery Care Group. The key tasks are:

Ensuring that operational plans to deliver access targets are put into place

Managing Outpatient clinics for General Surgery (incl Colorectal Cancer, Colorectal, Upper GI and Bariatric Services).

Managing and developing medical secretaries and other administrative staff as appropriate

Working closely with the Outpatient Call Centre over the management of Outpatient resources for the Care Group

Provision of information to support the investigation and monitoring of complaints, including co-ordinating responses to complaints as delegated by the Service Manager.

Providing support for the multi-disciplinary meetings for the Care Group.

Supporting the development, management and implementation of project plans for service development when applicable.

Job description Job responsibilities

The Assistant Service Manager is responsible for the operational delivery of a range of functions in the General Surgery Care Group. The key tasks are:

Ensuring that operational plans to deliver access targets are put into place

Managing Outpatient clinics for General Surgery (incl Colorectal Cancer, Colorectal, Upper GI and Bariatric Services).

Managing and developing medical secretaries and other administrative staff as appropriate

Working closely with the Outpatient Call Centre over the management of Outpatient resources for the Care Group

Provision of information to support the investigation and monitoring of complaints, including co-ordinating responses to complaints as delegated by the Service Manager.

Providing support for the multi-disciplinary meetings for the Care Group.

Supporting the development, management and implementation of project plans for service development when applicable.

Person Specification Skills Essential

• Must have proven I.T skillset, to handle various spreadsheets and Microsoft/NHS software.
• Must have proven skillset of leadership, managing or leading teams in fast paced enviroments.
• Must have proven skillset of working on own initiative and looking for improvements
• Ability to manage and deliver to deadlines and within resources.
• Understand the principles of waiting list management and how to ensure that patients are brought in the appropriate order.

Desirable

• Desirable if they have used NHS software (iClip, PAS, EPIC, Soliton ETC)

Experience Essential

• Several years experience in a patient/customer facing enviroment
• Working along side people/teams and roles of a variety of professional backgrounds

Desirable

• Experience in an operational/leadership or project management role
• Previous staff management and financial management

Qualifications and Training Essential

• Experience or qualifications that would lead the interview panel to conclude that this person has the capacity to take on an operational management role.

Desirable

• Formal, academic, or other managerial qualification or courses.

Person Specification Skills Essential

• Must have proven I.T skillset, to handle various spreadsheets and Microsoft/NHS software.
• Must have proven skillset of leadership, managing or leading teams in fast paced enviroments.
• Must have proven skillset of working on own initiative and looking for improvements
• Ability to manage and deliver to deadlines and within resources.
• Understand the principles of waiting list management and how to ensure that patients are brought in the appropriate order.

Desirable

• Desirable if they have used NHS software (iClip, PAS, EPIC, Soliton ETC)

Experience Essential

• Several years experience in a patient/customer facing enviroment
• Working along side people/teams and roles of a variety of professional backgrounds

Desirable

• Experience in an operational/leadership or project management role
• Previous staff management and financial management

Qualifications and Training Essential

• Experience or qualifications that would lead the interview panel to conclude that this person has the capacity to take on an operational management role.

Desirable

• Formal, academic, or other managerial qualification or courses.

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.

Employer details Employer name

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

St George's Hospital

Blackshaw Road

London

SW17 0QT

Employer's website

https://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details Employer name

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

St George's Hospital

Blackshaw Road

London

SW17 0QT

Employer's website

https://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)