Pathway Improvement Project Manager

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust; Greater Manchester; On-site; GBP 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Project Manager to drive a portfolio of initiatives aimed at improving early cancer diagnosis across Greater Manchester. You will coordinate cross-organisational work, engage clinical leads and patients, and manage risk and reporting to senior management.

Responsibilities include delivering work plans aligned with national cancer guidance, preparing papers and updates, and ensuring project milestones are achieved within multi-stakeholder environments.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent, or substantial senior project management experience.
• Postgraduate degree in management studies or equivalent (desirable).
• PRINCE2 or equivalent project management qualification (desirable).

Responsibilities

• Lead projects related to early cancer diagnosis and pathways across primary and secondary care.
• Coordinate meetings, prepare agendas, papers, minutes, and action follow-ups.
• Develop and manage work plans aligned to GM cancer plans and national guidance.
• Engage with stakeholders, including clinicians and patients, to deliver service improvements.
• Monitor risks, issues, and progress; report to pathway leads and boards.

Skills

Word/Excel/PowerPoint

Concise written materials

Presentations to stakeholders

Influence others

Challenge senior colleagues

Numerate finance

Analyze complex information

Inference from incomplete information

Cross-organisation planning

Progress tracking & risk escalation

Workload management

Decision-making under uncertainty

Timely delivery under pressure

Education

Degree level or equivalent / substantial senior experience

Postgraduate degree in management studies or equivalent

PRINCE2 or equivalent qualification

Job description

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Project Manager will support the GM Cancer Early Diagnosis team in the scoping, developments, and delivery of a range of projects to deliver improvements to the rate of early diagnosis of cancer.

The roles and responsibilities are as follows:

Set-up and organisation

• Project Manage specific pieces of work in response to local requirements, ensuring full representation from all key partners (including patients) in the programmes of work
• Develop and manage the delivery of work plans for the above groups in line with the long-term plan for cancer and the national cancer programme guidance / national planning guidance
• Co-ordinate, facilitate and administrate the above meetings, providing support to the meeting Chairs
• Prepare agendas, forward plans, papers, and minutes for the above meetings and manage the follow-up agreed actions with responsible group members, holding them to account for progress
• Arrange educational / engagement events where required for a wider group of stakeholders and interested parties, to allow new developments and learning from the projects to be disseminated across the system
• Facilitate full and active patient participation in the projects and any subgroups which may be established to support this work
• Build relationships across and beyond the groups referred to above, including, for example, public health, GM teams (e.g., elective reform) and primary care leads
• Work closely with clinical leads as required
• Identify and mitigate/escalate any issues/risks to the boards' programmes of work.

Communication and support

• Be the first point of contact for cancer commissioning manager and Early Diagnosis Programme Board members seeking advice or support in relation to the specific projects led by the postholder
• Function as a conduit between GM Cancer colleagues, localities, and the Greater Manchester Cancer Senior Management team in relation to the specific projects and objectives
• Work with the relevant pathway board manager and Clinical Lead on the development of innovative proposals for service change and improvement
• With reference to the point above, engage with relevant clinical leads and members of the pathway boards and managerial colleagues to ensure that the work programme objectives are achieved
• Function as a main point of contact and link to expertise and resources regarding specific improvements to deliver Early Cancer Diagnosis
• Routinely communicate project updates and developments with GM Cancer colleagues
• Create reports and papers to update the Greater Manchester Cancer Board and to seek approval for recommended action / any required funding

Data and information

• Research general and tumour-specific background data and literature from national and international sources relating to the programmes of work referred to in this job description
• Collate data and literature into concise reports and tools and present to the relevant groups
• Develop measurable outcomes for each element of the work programmes and track and report progress
• Analyse data and intelligence to identify trends, key messages, and opportunities to improve patient outcomes and experience
• Support the collation and presentation of local system-wide audit data

Planning and reporting

• Support the Pathway Clinical Leads and their Pathway Boards in managing their response to the GM long term plan for cancer where there are links with Early Diagnosis deliverables
• Develop and manage the annual work programmes that will contribute to the delivery of the GM cancer plan and Early Diagnosis Long Term Plan ambitions in relation to the project work allocated. Ensuring that these contain clear objectives, tasks and identified leads
• Ensure that the Early Diagnosis Steering Group work plan reflects, and contributes towards the achievement of the Greater Manchester Cancer delivery of the Long-Term Plan and national planning guidance response
• Support the definition of outcome measures so that achievement can be monitored during the year
• Track progress against the outcome measures referred to above
• Develop and maintain a risk register for the project and report into the Early Diagnosis Steering Group annual work plan, reporting risks and issues to the Early Diagnosis Clinical Lead and Director of Commissioning
• Work with the Early Diagnosis Clinical Lead and Director of Commissioning to report on progress in achieving the year's objectives, the challenges faced during the year, and the priorities for the next year

Quality and peer review

• Work with providers, commissioners, and others to ensure adherence to all required quality assurance programmes such as the national quality surveillance programme
• Provide project management support to the groups referred to above to develop and sustain services and projects that meet local and national specifications and NICE guidance

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to degree level or equivalent or considerable experience of working at a similar level

Desirable criteria

• Postgraduate degree in management studies or equivalent
• Formal project management qualification (e.g., PRINCE 2 practitioner or equivalent)

Experience

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable experience of leading projects relating to early cancer diagnosis and cancer pathways across primary and secondary care settings
• Has collaborated with senior clinical colleagues to improve services
• Has co-ordinated projects in complex and challenging environments
• Has managed and reported on risks and issues
• Has supported the delivery of plans for service changes and improvements within own area or organisation

Desirable criteria

• Has worked as part of a Greater Manchester health care environment
• Has managed members of staff
• Has supported the delivery of plans for service changes and improvements across multiple organisations

Skills

Essential criteria

• Can use Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint software to a high standard
• Can produce concise and insightful written materials for senior stakeholders or a broader audience as appropriate
• Can create and deliver presentations to a broad range of different stakeholders
• Can influence others to develop a shared vision
• Can challenge other team members and senior colleagues when necessary
• Numerate and able to understand complex financial information
• Can analyse complex information from a wide range of sources where material may be conflicting
• Can use experience to make inferences and act where information is incomplete
• Can develop plans for the short and long term for services that extend across multiple organisations and adjust them as required
• Can monitor progress against plans, escalating risks and issues as appropriate
• Can manage own workload
• Can make informed decisions in the absence of complete information
• Can work to demanding and changing timescales

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Demonstrable understanding and experience of enacting pathway improvements using the NHS contracting and commissioning structures
• Has an understanding of cancer services and pathways in Greater Manchester

Values

Essential criteria

• Committed to quality in all that they do
• Values diversity and difference and promotes equality of opportunity
• Committed to working to help clinicians deliver better outcomes for patients
• Committed to patient and carer involvement in the development of health services
• Committed to the use of evidence and clinical consensus to bring about change
• Operates with integrity and openness
• Committed to personal development and supporting others to do the same
• Energetic and enthusiastic, capable of generating enthusiasm in others
• Challenges received wisdom and acceptance of the status quo

The closing date for this post may be extended if there are insufficient applicants or brought forward if there is a high volume of applicants.