Pathway Team Leader

UHDB; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

UHDB’s Royal Derby Hospital in Derby is recruiting a Band 4 Pathway Team Leader for the Breast Service on a 12-month secondment/ fixed-term contract, full time 37.5 hours per week.

You will coordinate clinic and pathway administration, supervise the administrative team, manage waiting lists and data quality, and support the delivery of national cancer standards. Closing date 25 October 2026; interview 6 November 2026; salary £28,392–£31,157 per annum.

Qualifications

• Experience within a patient-facing role
• Understanding of RTT and Cancer Waiting Time standards
• Experience managing patient pathways and waiting lists
• Experience supervising or leading staff
• Experience of clinical rota management
• Experience within a cancer or breast service
• Experience of service improvement initiatives

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day administration of the breast service pathway
• Coordinate clinic and pathway administration with clinical colleagues
• Monitor workloads, data quality and pathway delays
• Oversee waiting list management to ensure timely progression
• Support roster coordination for clinical services
• Contribute to service improvement initiatives and meetings
• Provide supervision and development for administrative staff

Skills

Patient-facing experience

RTT/Cancer Waiting Time standards

Pathway management & waiting lists

Supervising/leading staff

Clinical rota management

Breast service experience

Service improvement initiatives

Education

GCSE Maths & English

NVQ Level 3 in Administration

Management/Leadership qualification

Job description

Main area Breast Services Grade Band 4 Contract 12 months (Secondment/Fixed Term) Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (cover between 8am - 5pm) Job ref 320-CDCS-4361-A

Site Royal Derby Hospital Town Derby Salary £28,392 - £31,157 pa Salary period Yearly Closing 25/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 06/11/2026

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

With over 14,000 members of staff you can expect huge variety and new opportunities every day! Our staff go above and beyond and take pride in caring for our patients.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is fully committed to promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights in employment and delivery of its services. The Trust is committed to providing an environment where all employees, patients, carers and visitors experience equality of opportunity by means of understanding and appreciating the value of diversity.

As a Trust we promote an inclusive environment and welcome applications from a diverse pool of talent and backgrounds. All individuals are valued and given every opportunity to succeed based on merit.

The Trust actively encourages applications from members of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. These groups are under-represented in our organisation, and it’s important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities as much as possible.

Armed Forces and Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme

To further support the pledges in the Armed Forces Covenant and to make a positive contribution to support ex-armed forces personnel (veterans) make the transition to civilian life, the Trust has introduced a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for veterans who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification, to help them overcome barriers to find civilian employment. The scheme will operate for all external recruitment.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer and committed to both employing and retaining people with disabilities. This commitment is to guarantee an interview for any candidate that has disclosed a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification. Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 will be considered upon request.

if you are blind or visually impaired and require application material in an alternative format- such as Braille, large print, audio or accessible electronic formats oryou require support/adjustments with your application please contact the recruitment team on 01332 788466

The Trust is proud to be a signatory of the Care Leavers Covenant and is committed to supporting care-experienced people into employment.

Applicants who identify as a care leaver and who meet the essential criteria for the role, as detailed in the person specification, will be guaranteed an interview.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this within your application.

Join us and help make a real difference to our Trust.

Here’s more about the role and what we’re looking for;

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Breast Service as a Band 4 Pathway Team Leader. This is a key role within a dedicated and supportive team, providing leadership and operational oversight to ensure patients receive a high-quality, efficient, and compassionate service throughout their care pathway.

The post holder will play a vital role in coordinating and managing patient pathways, ensuring patients progress through diagnostic and treatment pathways in a timely manner. They will provide day‑to‑day supervision and support to administrative staff, oversee waiting list management, and support the delivery of national cancer standards and performance targets.

The successful candidate will work closely with clinical and administrative colleagues to coordinate clinic and pathway administration, monitor workloads, manage pathway delays, and ensure accurate and timely data management. They will also support the coordination of clinical rotas, helping to maintain appropriate clinic and administrative cover to ensure safe and effective service delivery.

This is an excellent opportunity for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to develop their leadership skills, contribute to service improvement initiatives, and make a real difference to patient experience within a busy and rewarding specialty. The role offers the chance to work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams, supporting the continued delivery of high‑quality breast care services.

Please be aware that there is no guarantee that you will be released from your substantive post, so you should seek approval before applying as you are applying for a Secondment.

If you have any questions or require further guidance, please contact the Recruitment Team.

Main duties of the job

Key responsibilities include:

• Day-to-day leadership and supervision of the administrative team.
• Conducting one-to-ones, appraisals, sickness management, performance management and supporting recruitment activities.
• Managing and improving data quality, including clinic outcomes, appointment backlogs and pathway tracking.
• Supporting waiting list management and ensuring patients progress through their pathways in a timely manner.
• Leading service improvement initiatives to enhance efficiency and patient experience.
• Chairing team meetings and contributing to medical staffing meetings.
• Supporting the coordination of clinical rotas to ensure safe and effective service delivery.
• Working collaboratively with clinical and operational teams to resolve pathway issues and achieve service objectives.

We are looking for an approachable and resilient individual with excellent organisational, communication and problem‑solving skills. The successful candidate will be confident in decision‑making, able to motivate and support a team, passionate about service improvement, and capable of building effective working relationships across multidisciplinary teams.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone looking to develop their leadership skills while making a meaningful contribution to patient care within the Breast Service.

Closing date of applications: 25 October 2026

Interview date: 6 November 2026

Working for our organisation

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In return we will offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
• On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England – an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day – 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click on the link to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship Skilled worker: Health and Care Visa | NHS Employers

Important visa information: Due to UK Home Office immigration rule changes effective from 22 July 2025, applicants sponsored under Occupation Code 6131 (Nursing Auxiliaries and Assistants) may not be eligible to bring dependants under the Skilled Worker route if their Certificate of Sponsorship is issued on or after this date. Applicants are responsible for understanding how these rules apply to their individual circumstances. The Trust cannot provide immigration advice. Further information is available on the Skilled Worker visa: Your partner and children - GOV.UK

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).

Skilled worker: Health and Care Visa

Read about the Health and Care Visa for employing overseas nationals (excluding Irish citizens) under the points-based immigration system.

Person specification

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience within a patient facing role
• Understanding of RTT and Cancer Waiting Time standards
• Experience managing patient pathways and waiting lists
• Experience supervising or leading staff
• Experience of clinical rota management
• Experience within a cancer or breast service
• Experience of service improvement initiatives

Skills

• Ability to motivate and inspire staff by encouraging and supporting development
• Ability to collate, analyse and present data
• Problem solving mindset/improvement focused

Analytical and judgemental skills

• Ability to plan and organise own time and that of team
• Ability to be responsive to change in order to prioritise own and team's workload
• Experience monitoring data quality and performance
• Experience resolving pathway or operational issues

  Qualifications

  • GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent)
  • NVQ Level 3 in Administration or equivalent experience
  • Management/Leadership qualification or equivalent experience
  Our Trust aims to provide the highest quality care to patients within Derbyshire and South East Staffordshire and we want the very best people to work with us.

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  IMPORTANT INFORMATION

  At UHDB , we offer different ways to work flexibly to each and every one of our colleagues, many of whom already work flexibly at all sites of the Trust.

  For our roles we are open to discussing the possibility of part-time/ reduced hours/ compressed hours/ flexible start and finish times/ fixed/flexible shifts/ annualised hours/ term time hours/ hybrid working – working partly in the trust/partly at home.

  Why don’t you talk to us at interview about the flexibility you would like to explore and what it means to you, and we will discuss what’s possible for the job and team, and the opportunities we might be able to create together.

  We can’t promise to give you exactly what you want, but we do promise to work with you to look at all the available options.

  Most of our posts are subject to a DBS check, however having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from obtaining a position. Please be aware that all new employees starting work with us will be charged for the cost of their DBS check, if it is required for their role.

  All correspondence relating to your application will be sent to you via our trac.system account. Please ensure that you regularly check your emails; this includes junk/spam, as your security settings may not recognise the sender.

  Anyone from outside of the UK (excluding from the Republic of Ireland) will need permission from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to work in the UK and may also need entry clearance before travelling here.

  UKVI is responsible for managing migration. To obtain a visa or entry clearance, you will need to meet certain requirements and demonstrate you have the right the work in the UK via:

  • the points-based immigration system
  • the EU settlement scheme
  • eVisa

  During the course of its employment activities, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust collects, stores and processes personal information about prospective, current and former staff.

  Our Privacy Notice includes applicants, employees (and former employees), workers (including agency, casual, honorary and contracted staff), volunteers, trainees and those carrying out work experience – please refer to our Privacy Notice available on our Trust website: https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/information-governance

  UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

  Employer certification / accreditation badges

  The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

  Application numbers

  At UHDB , we offer different ways to work flexibly to each and every one of our colleagues, many of whom already work flexibly at all sites of the Trust.

  Name Merlin Martin Job title Service Manager Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 01332 788593 Additional information

  We’d love to hear from you! If you have any questions about the role, team, or working environment, feel free to get in touch for an informal chat. Speaking with us before applying is completely optional, but it can help you decide if this opportunity is the right fit for you.