SSD Production Manager

Transformation Unit; Chelmsford; Hybrid; GBP 29,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Production Manager for the Sterile Services Department. You will supervise staff, coordinate production activities and ensure decontamination, sterilisation and delivery of instruments to clinical teams, in line with HTM 01-01 and ISO 13485.

The role requires strong leadership, organisation and communication skills and a commitment to patient safety and continuous improvement within a large NHS trust serving 1.2 million people

Qualifications

• Evidence of competence in a supervisory or leadership role within Sterile Services or a related healthcare environment.
• Evidence of ongoing continuing professional development
• Membership of the Institute of Sterile Services Management.

Responsibilities

• Supervising and supporting Sterile Services staff
• Managing workflow and resources to meet operational demands.
• Monitoring production activity, quality performance and service standards.
• Supporting staff training, competency assessment and development.
• Ensuring compliance with decontamination standards and quality systems.
• Investigating incidents, complaints and non-conformances.
• Maintaining accurate records and instrument traceability.
• Working with clinical users to ensure instrument availability.
• Supporting service improvements that enhance quality, efficiency and patient safety.

Education

Membership of the Institute of Sterile Services Management

Job description

Employer Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Broomfield Town Chelmsford Salary £32,073 Per annum ( pro-rata for part time) Salary period Yearly Closing 20/09/2026 23:59

SSD Production Manager

Band 5

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is the onlyacute hospital provider in the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS), which is a system of health and care partners working together for our local population.

Within Mid and South Essex there are 149 GP practices, operating from over 200 sites, forming 27 Primary Care Networks and one Ambulance Trust. There are also three main community and mental health service providers who work together through a community collaborative.

We collaborate with other valuable partners, including three Healthwatch organisations, nine voluntary and community sector organisations and three top tier local authorities, with seven district, borough and city councils, as well as our local universities.

Job overview

Are you an experienced decontamination professional with a passion for quality, leadership and continuous improvement? We are looking for a motivated and proactive Production Manager to join our Sterile Services Department at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a vital role in supporting patient care by ensuring reusable surgical instruments and medical devices are decontaminated, assembled, sterilised and delivered safely and efficiently to our clinical teams. As a key member of the SSD management team, you will supervise staff, coordinate production activities, monitor quality and performance, and help ensure compliance with national standards and regulatory requirements.

We are seeking an individual with strong technical knowledge, excellent organisational skills and the ability to lead by example in a busy, fast-paced environment. You will be committed to delivering high standards, developing others, and driving service excellence.

At Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, you will join one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, serving a population of 1.2 million people across our hospital sites. We offer a supportive working environment where staff are encouraged to develop their careers, contribute new ideas and make a real difference to patient outcomes.

Main duties of the job

As Production Manager, you will support the day-to-day operation of the Sterile Services Department, ensuring the safe, effective and timely reprocessing of reusable medical devices and surgical instruments. You will coordinate workloads, monitor production activity and support Decontamination Technicians to ensure service demands are met.

The role requires excellent leadership, organisational and communication skills, with the ability to motivate staff, resolve problems, analyse performance data and work closely with clinical teams and service users. You will support compliance with HTM 01-01, ISO 13485, UK Medical Device Regulations and Trust policies while promoting continuous improvement and high standards of patient safety.

Key responsibilities include:

• Supervising and supporting Sterile Services staff
• Managing workflow and resources to meet operational demands.
• Monitoring production activity, quality performance and service standards.
• Supporting staff training, competency assessment and development.
• Ensuring compliance with decontamination standards and quality systems.
• Investigating incidents, complaints and non-conformances.
• Maintaining accurate records and instrument traceability.
• Working with clinical users to ensure instrument availability.
• Supporting service improvements that enhance quality, efficiency and patient safety.

Working for our organisation

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For full details about this varied and rewarding role, please see attached job description.

We look forward to your application.

Please be aware that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a suitable number of applications.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Evidence of competence in a supervisory or leadership role within Sterile Services or a related healthcare environment.
• Evidence of ongoing continuing professional development
• Membership of the Institute of Sterile Services Management.

Knowledge and Experience

• Minimum 3 years' experience working in a decontamination or sterile services environment.
• Evidence of knowledge of relevant medical devices used within the department.
• Minimum of 2 years' experience in a managerial role
• Experience within an NHS acute hospital setting.

Communication Skills

• Evidence of communicating complex technical information effectively and positively.
• Evidence of working effectively as part of a management team.
• Evidence of handling complaints or difficult situations effectively.
• Evidence of problem-solving and using own initiative.
• Experience presenting reports or service information at management meetings

Personal and People Development

• Evidence of working effectively under pressure.
• Evidence of organising and prioritising work to meet deadlines.
• Evidence of leading and motivating others
• Evidence of influencing or persuading colleagues or stakeholders.
• Experience contributing to departmental policy or procedure development.

Physical Requirements

• Evidence of standard keyboard skills.
• Evidence of the ability to maintain concentration and effectiveness when working under pressure and dealing with interruptions.

Other

• Confirmation of willingness to work flexible shift patterns.
• Evidence of being capable of working independently.

Please be aware as per the new Immigration guidelines we cannot sponsor candidates with a salary (full time or pro Rata) under the current minimum threshold.

Please note, the selection processes at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right skills and values, please be advised that the use of AI in applications are monitored. We remain vigilant against candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills, and you will be required to declare on your application if AI has been used before submitting your application.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.