Senior Programme Manager

NHS Scotland; Balloch; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Scotland is seeking a Senior Programme Manager to provide strategic leadership for Scotland's Pregnancy and Newborn Screening Programme. You will drive national coordination across maternity, laboratory and public health services, ensuring governance and quality standards while enabling service improvements.

The role requires senior programme management experience in healthcare, strong stakeholder engagement, and the ability to influence across complex systems at a national level.

Qualifications

• Significant experience delivering programmes in healthcare/public health settings.
• Strong governance, quality assurance and service improvement capabilities.
• Experience working across organisations and influencing at a national level.
• Ability to build collaborative partnerships with diverse stakeholders: maternity, lab services, public health leads and policy teams.
• Excellent analytical skills including data interpretation and reporting.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and national coordination across Scotland's Pregnancy and Newborn Screening Programme.
• Shape and strengthen national screening programmes to improve outcomes for mothers and babies.
• Lead planning and governance of programme strategy and service change.
• Advise the Scottish Government and support cross‑organisational collaboration.

Skills

Programme management

Healthcare/public health

Quality assurance

Stakeholder engagement

Data analysis

Communication skills

Job description

Senior Programme Manager

On 1 April 2026, NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) became one national organisation, focused on continuity today and a stronger, more connected service for tomorrow.

About The Organisation

PSD Scotland unites expertise from NES and NSS in a way that will allow us to accelerate national programmes to support the NHS to deliver better care, now and in the future.

We support staff with education and training, provide the tools and data that improve services, and run vital national functions such as procurement, logistics and blood, tissue and cell services.

Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland (SOAS) is hosted within the Clinical Directorate of PSD Scotland which provides professional and clinical leadership for medical, nursing, dental, pharmacy and healthcare science across NHS Scotland. It also plays a central role within PSD Scotland to provide advice and ensure effective quality management, governance, risk management, professional development, service improvement, research development and innovation and strategic and change management.

The Post

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and motivated individual to provide high quality, expert national coordination across the many diverse components of Scotland’s Pregnancy and Newborn Screening Programme.

This is a key national role within SOAS, which delivers the oversight, governance, and coordination of national screening programmes across Scotland, provides expert advice to the Scottish Government and leads the planning and management of national screening programme strategy and service change.

The Candidate

Will provide leadership and national coordination across all elements of the Pregnancy and Newborn Screening Programme; and play a key role in shaping and strengthening Scotland’s national pregnancy and newborn screening programmes to improve outcomes for mothers, babies, and families across Scotland.

Role

This is a highly visible national role requiring strategic thinking, operational insight, and the ability to influence across complex systems; do you have:

• Significant experience in programme management within a healthcare or public health setting
• Strong skills in quality assurance, clinical governance and service improvement
• Experience working across organisational boundaries and influencing at a national level
• An ability to build effective relationships and collaborative partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders: from maternity and laboratory services to public health leads and policy leads within Scottish Government
• Strong analytical skills, including data interpretation and reporting
• An ability to manage competing priorities in a fast paced and evolving environment
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Location and Working Pattern

Gyle Square, Edinburgh or Delta House, Glasgow.

Currently hybrid working

Monday to Friday 36 hours per week

It is a condition of this employment that you must live and remain a resident within the UK and have entitlement to work in the UK for the post in which you will be employed.

Benefits

• pension scheme
• comprehensive range of work life balance policies
• occupational health services
• learning resource centres
• discounted leisure, financial and shopping benefits
• HR Benefits Brochure

Inclusion

Public Services Delivery Scotland is a national organisation and, as an anchor institution, it is our ambition to be a diverse and inclusive organisation where everyone feels welcome. We recognise that flexible working creates an inclusive workplace where employees can thrive and feel confident about their ability to balance their personal and professional responsibilities. This is supported through Once for Scotland flexible working policies. PSD Scotland has made a long‑term commitment to staff health and well‑being and offers many learning and development opportunities to support and improve our approaches to diversity, inclusion and mental health in the workplace. There are a number of equality staff networks in place which all staff are welcome to join. We are also an equal opportunities employer and as such aim to guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for our vacancies. As an accredited Disability Confident Leader, it is the aim of PSD Scotland to offer a fully accessible and inclusive recruitment service that supports applicants on their candidate journey. If you are interested in any reasonable adjustments, please contact the Recruitment Team on [e-mail]

Further Information

For an informal discussion on the post, please contact Julie Anderson, Portfolio Manager, at [e-mail]

Closing date for completed applications is Wednesday 30th September 2026

Please note that the majority of correspondence is sent by e-mail only, so please check your e-mail regularly (including junk folders).

We are an equal opportunities employer and as committed participant in the disability confident scheme, guarantees to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for our vacancies however, where exceptionally high application volumes make this impracticable, a fair and proportionate shortlisting approach will be applied in line with Disability Confident guidance.