Service Manager - Planned Pathways

Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust; Harlow; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust in West Essex is recruiting a Service Manager to provide strong operational leadership across Trauma and Orthopaedics and Rheumatology. This role focuses on delivering safe, patient-centred pathways and coordinating complex clinical services.

You will oversee performance, workforce, finance and service development across your portfolio, working with Clinical Leads and senior staff to ensure timely surgical care and alignment with national priorities.

Qualifications

• Experience in service management within a clinical setting.
• Ability to lead cross‑functional teams and drive service improvement.
• Strong data analysis and governance skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day operational leadership for surgical services.
• Deliver performance against targets including RTT, cancer, diagnostics and flow.
• Lead capacity and demand planning across theatres, clinics, diagnostics, wards and SDEC.
• Coordinate consultant and SAS doctor job planning and ensure alignment to service demand.
• Lead workforce planning, recruitment, retention and service resilience.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Operational management

Performance management

Budget management

Workforce planning

Education

Degree in healthcare management

Tools

IT systems

Job description

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) is proud to care for the communities of West Essex, delivering safe, compassionate, and high-quality services. We are part of the Neighbourhood Wavea national programme that’s changing how care is delivered by focusing on prevention, early support, and more joined-up services across health, social care, and the voluntary sector.

This means we are working more closely with local partners to bring care closer to home and support people to live healthier, more independent lives.

We are a supportive and inclusive organisation that values its people. We offer development opportunities, flexible working, and a strong focus on wellbeing. As a Disability Confident and equal opportunities employer, we welcome applicants from all backgrounds and experiences.

Join us and help shape the future of care in West Essex.

We are recruiting a Service Manager to provide strong operational leadership across our Trauma and Orthopaedic and Rheumatology services at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust. These highimpact roles sit at the heart of a fastpaced, complex clinical environment and play a key part in delivering safe, effective and timely surgical care.

Working closely with Clinical Leads, Matrons, senior clinicians and the General Manager, you will oversee performance, workforce, finance and service development across your allocated portfolio, ensuring highquality, patientcentred pathways and delivery against key national and local priorities.

As a Service Manager within Planned Pathways division, you will be a visible, credible leader with a strong grip on operational performance. You will work in close partnership with clinical teams, acting as the link between frontline delivery and corporate functions to ensure services are efficient, responsive and safe.

Using data, insight and sound judgement, you will proactively manage performance across elective, emergency and diagnostic pathways, anticipate risk and drive improvement in a demanding environment. You will support and challenge services to deliver against RTT, cancer, access and flow standards, while maintaining a relentless focus on patient experience and clinical quality.

You will play a key role in shaping the future of surgical services, leading workforce and medical job planning, supporting service improvement and transformation, and contributing to Trustwide and system priorities. These roles require confident decisionmakers who can manage complexity, lead teams through change and deliver results.

• Provide daytoday operational leadership for surgical services, ensuring safe, effective and patientfocused care
• Deliver performance against RTT, cancer, diagnostics, emergency flow and access targets, implementing recovery actions where required
• Lead capacity and demand planning across theatres, clinics, diagnostics, wards and SDEC
• Coordinate and support consultant and SAS doctor job planning, ensuring compliance and alignment to service demand
• Lead and support workforce planning, recruitment, retention and service resilience
• Manage service budgets, supporting cost improvement programmes and business case development
• Maintain strong clinical governance, including incidents, risks, complaints, audits and national standards compliance
• Lead and support service transformation, pathway redesign, elective recovery and system collaboration

Digestive Services Portfolio

• Operational leadership for Trauma and Orthopaedic and Rheumatology
• Oversight of elective and cancer pathways and diagnostic capacity
• Close working with multidisciplinary teams to improve access, flow and patient outcomes

Surgery Portfolio

• Operational leadership for Surgical Inpatients and outpatients
• Focus on emergency flow, inpatient capacity, surgical pathways and sitewide escalation
• Supporting safe, effective delivery across both elective and emergency surgical services