Service Improvement Manager Hospital Services

NHS National Services Scotland; Airdrie; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Scotland seeks a Service Improvement Manager to lead service transformation initiatives aimed at enhancing patient flow. The role involves collaborating with various services to deliver impactful changes and develop local capabilities for sustainable improvements. Candidates should possess relevant degree qualifications, experience in health service management, and strong communication skills. This full-time position is fixed-term until July 2027, based in Airdrie, with a commitment to improving healthcare services.

Benefits

Minimum of 27 days annual leave

Membership of NHS Pension Scheme

Paid sick leave

Occupational health services

Work-life balance policies

Qualifications

• Significant experience and knowledge of health service management, including change management.
• Ability to handle complex work without supervision.
• Experience in managing clinical and organisational challenges.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of service improvement programmes.
• Work closely with various services to improve patient flow.
• Develop local capability for sustainable service improvement.

Skills

Effective Communicator

Ability to work flexibly and as part of a team

IT Literate

Self motivated, proactive and innovative

Education

Degree level and Postgraduate level qualification in business/management/change

Tools

Project Management training

Lean Change Agent training

ScIL training

Job description

The Role

To lead the development and delivery of improvement programmes to support service transformation through delivery of a range of high impact changes with a specific focus on improving patient flow. The Service Improvement Manager will also work to develop local capability to ensure sustainable service improvement longer term. This is a generic role which will be allocated to lead specific improvement programmes as required. The post-holder will be required to work closely with a large number of different services to facilitate improvements in both patient flow and the quality of patient journeys.

NHS Lanarkshire

Have you always wanted to work with NHS Lanarkshire? Then this might be the opportunity for you to join Team Lanarkshire!

Here at NHS Lanarkshire, we put the patient at the heart of everything we do. Each colleague within the organisation plays a key role in how we deliver our healthcare services.

We proudly serve a population of 655,000 across rural and urban communities in both North and South Lanarkshire. NHS Lanarkshire is comprised of Acute Services (which currently provide hospital based services over 3 main sites), Corporate & Property & Support Services, North and South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnerships which provide integrated primary healthcare and social care services to local communities and surrounding areas.

What we’ll need you to bring

Qualifications and Experience

• Degree level and Postgraduate level qualification in e.g. business / management / change
• Significant experience and knowledge of health service management, including change management and service/workforce redesign acquired through training and experience
• Significant experience in Change Management Skills including improvement methodology
• Experience of managing clinical and organisational challenges
• Ability to handle complex work without supervision
• Ability to negotiating and facilitating change with staff and stakeholders at all levels
• Knowledge of planning, operational processes and systems
• Experience of working in a programme or project environment

Skills / Qualities / Aptitudes

• Effective Communicator
• Ability to work flexibly and as part of a team
• IT Literate
• Self motivated, proactive and innovative

Please note for all vacancies where a driving licence is required this must be a full UK/EU/EEA licence.

It would be great if you also have

• Project Management training
• Lean Change Agent training or
• ScIL training
• Experience in analysing and leading improvement projects in patient flow and Service modernisation
• Evidence of leading a multi-disciplinary team through successful service change
• Knowledge of NHS Systems
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex data sets extracting key information and communicating this effectively
• High level change management skills including improvement methodology
• Ability to motivate colleagues from a diverse range of specialities and professions

Contract type

• Fixed Term or Secondment until July 2027
• Full time
• 37 hours

Please note this is a fixed term post until July 2027. Where a post only has temporary funding and an existing member of NHS Lanarkshire staff wishes to apply, this will be treated as a secondment. The employee MUST already have written agreement from their line manager to be released on a secondment before applying for the post.

Location and Working Pattern

This role will be based in Hospital Services within University Hospital Monklands

Whilst this advertisement may be for a specific post(s) in a particular location, applicants who are shortlisted for interview may be considered for similar vacancies in alternative locations.

Looking to find out more?

If you’re looking to find out more, then we would love to hear from you!

Please contact Marissa Morrison, Interim Emergency Medicine & Medicine Service Manager on [e-mail]

For enquiries regarding the application form or recruitment process, please contact Lynn Deas, Recruitment Administrator on [e-mail] (Please remember to include the job title and reference number in your email)

Why NHS Lanarkshire?

Join us and you will discover a supportive environment where you will have the chance to add to your skills and further your career.

Some of NHS Lanarkshire’s benefits include:

• A minimum of 27 days annual leave increasing with length of service

• A minimum of 8 days of public holidays

• Membership of NHS Pension Scheme, with life insurance benefits (for more information on the NHS Pension Scheme visit the Scottish Public Pension)

• Paid sick leave increasing with length of service

• Occupational health services

• Employee counselling services

• Work-life Balance policies and procedures

NHS Lanarkshire have a range of support services on topics that can impact both on your working and personal life including occupational health, spiritual care and independent counselling. This support can be accessed using the links on this page.

Further Information

For more information on the role, please refer to the Job Description. If you’re looking for more information on the recruitment process, organisation or the services we provide, please refer to our information pack, or our recruitment webpage.

Additional Information for Applicants

• Posts close at midnight on the indicated date. However, if there are a high level of interest in this position, we may close the advert once sufficient applications are received. Please complete and submit your application early.
• For help to complete an application on Jobtrain please follow this link: https://www.careers.nhs.scot/how-to-apply/application-process/
• Please check your e-mail regularly (including junk & spam folders) as well as your Jobtrain account for updates.
• We recommend using the Internet Browser "Google Chrome" or "Microsoft Edge" when using Jobtrain
• Once you have submitted your application form you will be unable to make any amendments

NHS Lanarkshire is dedicated to building a diverse workforce where everyone can thrive, develop, and succeed based on their skills, knowledge, and talent—regardless of race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or care experience or any other dimension that can be used to differentiate people from one another.

*Care experienced applicants include those who have lived with foster parents, kinship carers, or in residential/secure children’s settings.

Candidates should provide original and authentic responses to all questions within the application form. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), automated tools, or other third-party assistance to generate, draft, or significantly modify responses is strongly discouraged. By submitting your application, you confirm that all answers are your own work, reflect your personal knowledge, skills and experience, and have not been solely produced or altered by AI or similar technologies. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in your application being withdrawn from the application process.

Right to Work within the UK

NHS Lanarkshire has a legal obligation to ensure that it does not employ any worker who has not been granted the relevant permission to work in the UK.

We are required to check the entitlement to work in the UK of all prospective employees, regardless of nationality or job category. UK Visas & Immigration rules are available at the UK government site.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to check eligibility in advance of applying for vacancies in NHS Lanarkshire.

Please note that all Band 1 and Band 2 posts are not eligible for sponsorship through the Skilled Worker route.