Project Support Officer

Transformation Unit; Preston; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Band 5 Project Support Officer to provide comprehensive administrative support for the Elective Reform Programme in Preston. You will manage project tools, monitor progress, and coordinate with clinical and operational leads to ensure timely delivery and reporting.

The role demands initiative, discretion, and strong organisational, communication and IT skills within a programme management context.

Qualifications

• Degree level qualification or equivalent knowledge via recognised project management training.
• Experience in a programme and project management environment.
• NHS experience and knowledge is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Provide comprehensive project administrative support for the Elective Reform Programme.
• Maintain and update project dashboards and progress reports.
• Support meetings and networks with accurate papers and documentation.
• Liaise with operational and clinical leads for updates and action tracking.
• Ensure financial records are kept for funded projects where applicable.

Skills

Project management support

Stakeholder liaison

Analytical thinking

Communication skills

Education

Degree level qualification or project management training

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Employer Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Preston Business Centre Town Preston Salary £32,073 - £39,043 Per Annum, Pro Rata Salary period Yearly Closing 30/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 16/11/2026

Project Support Officer

Band 5

Job overview

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is hosting this post on behalf of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Provider Collaborative.

The post-holder will be responsible for providing comprehensive programme and project administrative support for the Lancashire and South Cumbria Elective Reform Programme.

The role requires initiative, discretion, attention to detail and the ability to work with minimum supervision to deadlines.

Excellent administrative, organisational and communication skills are essential to the success of this role. This post requires experience in a programme and project management environment.

The post-holder will act as first point of contact for enquiries regarding various improvement workstreams and programmes of work and resolve day-to-day problems independently.

Main duties of the job

Specific duties include:

• Support development of project tools / system to monitor delivery progress.
• Support the monitoring of delivery progress and impact and keep systems up to date to ensure leads have the latest progress reports to ensure effective use is made of monthly project / programme meetings.
• Liaise with identified operational and clinical leads to obtain updates.
• Update progress reports as required.
• Support development of project systems to collate and store evidence of progress made against agreed actions and keep up to date.
• Keep up-to-date relevant dashboards as required.
• Ensure accurate financial records are maintained for projects where applicable.
• Provide administrative and project support for key meetings and networks.

Working for our organisation

The Provider Collaborative Team support secondary care providers across the system with priority programmes that benefit from a whole system focus. The Elective Reform are a small welcoming team who work passionately and with agility to support system level change in Elective Care Pathways.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication and relationships

• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with the full range of stakeholders involved in the Elective Reform Programme.
• Gain “buy-in” support for projects from key stakeholders.
• Support the management of a demanding, fast paced action plan that may be perceived negatively and / or have an impact on the capacity of operational services.
• Support the provision and communication of complex, sensitive and highly contentious information to key stakeholders.
• Help prepare reports and presentations to share with stakeholders, staff and programme boards.
• Work in close co-operation with programme, operational and clinical leads.
• Use persuasive and negotiating skills to improve understanding when dealing with stakeholders.
• Use interpersonal skills to overcome all barriers, which can sometimes be very significant, to ensure successful outcomes.
• Adopt a supportive, facilitative approach to ensure the continued momentum of the improvement and programme plans are maintained.

Analytical and judgement

• Under the direction of the Programme Manager and Associate Director of Elective Reform, analyse and interpret information and data and make comparisons to identify potential options, corrective or appropriate action.
• Make recommendations to senior members of the team and / or programme Senior Responsible Officers.
• Support the identification and management of risk and issues.

Planning and organisation

• Work with the programme manager(s) and operational leads to support the development of improvement and programme delivery plans.
• Help to identify co-dependencies, potential risks / delays and identify mitigation actions to make adjustments to meet targets.
• Monitor progress against key milestones and outcomes.
• Responsible for highlighting areas for action in preparation for senior / strategic meetings as required.
• Ensure papers are received and delivered to required deadlines.
• Use experience to balance competing priorities.

Policy and Service Improvement

• Develop policies and protocols for own work area.
• Present a positive role model in times of service improvement.

Responsibility for Human Resources

• Provide training on progress monitoring systems to Operational Leads, administrators as required.
• Support wider management team members with guidance to improve project knowledge.
• Provide training on progress monitoring systems to Operational Leads, administrators as required.
• Support wider management team members with guidance to improve project knowledge.

Responsibility for Information Resources

• Support development of systems to monitor progress.
• Responsible for ensuring that systems for monitoring progress are keep up-to-date and that a clear audit trail exists for all activity.
• Support development of systems to collate and store evidence of progress made against actions and keep up to date.
• Keep up-to-date relevant dashboards as required.
• Support development and maintenance of project documentation.
• Project reporting – update regular progress reports as required.
• A competent knowledge of Microsoft and other software packages is required for reporting, business change and project plans.

Service improvement

• Support development and collation of surveys / audits related to improvement plans.
• Support systematic approach to evaluations / lessons learned / bench marking.

Person specification

Qualifications and Education

• Degree level qualification or equivalent level of knowledge attainted through a recognised Project / Programme Management training qualification and equivalent proven project experience.

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience of working in a programme and project management environment.
• Proven track record of providing high level project management support to a range of projects and programmes.
• Competent and proficient knowledge and understanding of a range of IT systems.
• NHS experience and knowledge

We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of race, age, disability, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnership, neurodiversity or veteran status are encouraged to apply for this post. Our Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders is available Here

Working Smarter pledge

We are reminded everyday of how important life is, so as part of our Working Smarter pledge we offer a variety of flexible working options and wellbeing support to enable our people to find and maintain the right work-life balance.

Please note a young person must be in part‑time education or training until they’re 18. therefore if you are under 18 we are unable to employ you on a full time basis, unless it is in an apprenticeship role.

If the role you’ve applied for requires a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check we will administer this on your behalf and the cost will be recovered from your salary, either as a one-off payment, or over 3 months. The level of check required depends on the role that you have been offered. Currently the charges are - Basic DBS check £26.40 Standard DBS check £26.40 and Enhanced DBS check £54.40. You should be aware that if you are successful in obtaining a position that requires a DBS check but later withdraw your application, you may be required to reimburse the cost of the DBS check. DBS checks remain free of charge for volunteer positions. The DBS Code of Practice can be accessed here .

In line with guidance from United Kingdom Health Security Agency, all staff and volunteers are required to comply with Trust Infection Prevention and Control processes in relation to safe working. This includes mask wearing and adherence to social distancing at all Trust sites.

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We look forward to hearing from you soon!