Programme Assistant - Industry and Innovation

University Hospital Southampton NHS FT; Chilworth; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in Chilworth is seeking a passionate project manager to drive innovation in healthcare. The successful candidate will assess incoming innovation proposals, coordinate with partner organizations, and support innovators in navigating the healthcare ecosystem. Ideal candidates will have a degree, project management experience, and a keen interest in improving healthcare services through innovation. This role offers a supportive environment aimed at creating outstanding care for patients.

Benefits

Flexible working environment

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience in project management.
• Knowledge of health and social care environment.
• Experience in an NHS or healthcare setting.

Responsibilities

• Assess incoming Innovation Records to evaluate their stage of development.
• Allocate projects to partner organizations to support innovation.
• Manage service flow and prioritize tasks.

Skills

Project management

Communication skills

Innovation

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Degree or equivalent in project management

Tools

MS Office Suite

Job description

Overview

Job Overview: We are delighted to offer an exciting opportunity to join our team at Health Innovation Wessex. Please refer to the detailed job description below for more information about the role.

Main duties of the job: Are you fascinated by change and innovation? Can you help the NHS adopt innovation faster to help deliver better care to patients?

At Health Innovation Wessex, we improve people's health, achieve excellence in health care and boost innovation and growth in our region's life science and healthcare sector. As one of 15 Health Innovation Networks (HINs) across England, we connect and support academics, NHS, industry and others to bring fresh energy to old problems, inspired thinking to new ones and to adopt innovative practice at scale. You will be working with progressive start-ups, clinicians and innovators across the UK and potentially globally with innovative ideas, products and solutions for the NHS and patients. You will play a role in curating opportunities for them to navigate the health innovation ecosystem through various NHS, NIHR and national bodies.

Working for our organisation

University Hospital Southampton is one of England''s largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations.

Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast.

We believe that using technology wisely shows strong time management and commitment to innovation. Personalising your recruitment application to highlight your unique skills and experiences is crucial. Relying too heavily on generic, AI-generated content instead of drawing from your own strengths and accomplishments may lead to your application being rejected if multiple candidates present identical or similar information.

At UHS we’re committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients.

At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognizing that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We’re committed to creating an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

We are an ambitious organisation, looking for passionate and motivated people to join us with a proven track record of delivery. You will need tenacity to succeed, great communication and project management skills, an ability to build new relationships quickly, and the capability to drive innovation in practice. You may not feel you meet all aspects of the role, but we welcome applications from people with a wide range of past experiences – whether that be clinical, NHS management or from industry. An appreciation of the challenges involved with innovation deployment and transformation in the NHS is an advantage to succeed in this role. Past experience of product development, commissioning, transformation and project management is also advantageous.

You will assess incoming Innovation Records in the NHS Innovation Service to understand the innovation, its use and purpose, and to evaluate the stage of development it has achieved and therefore the outstanding needs. Using your skills, knowledge and expertise, you will allocate to 26 partner organisations such as the National Institute for Healthcare Research (NIHR), NHS Supply Chain and NICE to support the innovator to close the developmental gaps. This will include monthly reporting of KPIs and coordinating periodic reviews with each organisation to review their support criteria documentation and recent allocations.

You will also delegate assessments to others in the team, manage service flow and be responsible for the prioritisation of tasks. You will work as part of a dynamic, progressive team working with the innovations of tomorrow. You will support innovators to navigate the local healthcare ecosystem for innovation, such as collaborating with NHS providers, academic institutions and research organisations, as well as local businesses.

For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Gemma Snell - [e-mail] – mobile [phone]

Person specification

Qualifications / Training Required

Essential criteria

• Educated to degree level or able to demonstrate an equivalent level of knowledge, skills and experience in a relevant related or project management discipline
• Knowledge of the specialist work practices and/or professional guidelines relevant to the HIW programme area
• Evidence of CPD
• Understanding of the health and social care environment and relevant organisations

Desirable criteria

• Project Management training (e.g. PRINCE II)
• Management experience
• Knowledge of the local (Wessex) organisations and structures
• Understanding of current policy and national drivers, e.g., ICB/ICP/ICS

Previous or relevant experience necessary

Essential criteria

• Programme or project support experience in an NHS or care service setting or in a commercial setting within the healthcare sector
• Experience of integrated working, across professional boundaries and involving several organisations
• Managing own workload and prioritising demands on time

Desirable criteria

• Effective leadership and team building skills
• Experience in previous roles of participating in part of the innovation development pathway
• Experience of reviewing innovations that may be in development, gathering evidence or deployed.

Aptitudes And Skills Required

Essential criteria

• Ability to prioritise work to consistently meet deadlines.
• Accurate and timely project monitoring/documentation/escalation
• Ability to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders – patients, public, clinical and managerial
• Ability to work both autonomously and as part of a team
• Proficient IT skills, with the ability to quickly adapt to new technologies, including demonstrating first class knowledge of MS Office Suite

Desirable criteria

• Ability to maintain contributions to a database in line with nationally agreed standards
• A good understanding of risk management practices

Values and behaviours

Essential criteria

• Quality – People – Together :
• Innovative
• Inclusive
• Collaborative
• Achieving
• Trustworthy
• UHS :
• Patients First
• Always Improving
• Working Together