Strategic Estates Programme Manager

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Dorchester; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in the United Kingdom is looking for a Strategic Estates Programme Manager to oversee management of critical construction projects as part of the New Hospital Programme. The role demands strong organizational, communication, and project management skills, along with a postgraduate degree in engineering or construction. Responsibilities include delivering large capital projects and building strategic relationships. This opportunity offers a chance to transform healthcare delivery and ensure high-quality patient care.

Qualifications

• Postgraduate degree in engineering or construction or equivalent experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Strong influencing, negotiation, and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide programme management and oversight of the New Hospital Programme.
• Lead business case development for the programme.
• Manage relationships with local and national partner organisations.

Skills

Strong influencing and negotiation skills

Highly organised and disciplined

Excellent verbal and written communicator

Ability to quickly build relationships and credibility with colleagues and stakeholders

Team leader

Education

Engineering or construction postgraduate degree

PRINCE 2 or equivalent project management qualification

Job description

Go back Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Strategic Estates Programme Manager

The closing date is 17 February 2026

The Strategic Estates Team at Dorset County Hospital lead delivery of the £100m new ED and CrCU departments, part of the governments flagship New Hospital Programme. The Programme Manager will provide programme management oversight and client responsibility for construction aspects of the scheme. Beyond NHP, there is opportunity for the post holder to participate in wider estate strategy and business case development. The Strategic Estate team support Dorset County Hospital and our federated partner Trust, Dorset Healthcare University NHSFT.

Main duties of the job

Provide programme management and oversight of the New Hospital Programme, a complex programme of change that will transform the delivery of care at Dorset County Hospital by delivering new estate with a variety of public and private partners

Lead programme design, planning and delivery of programme outcomes

Lead on business case development for the programme.

Lead the delivery of large capital projects in line with approved business cases.

Work alongside clinical and operational colleagues to enable delivery of new models of care to transform service delivery

Manage relationships with a variety of local and national partner organisations too successfully deliver the New Hospital Programme

Directly manage staff within the programme team

About us

At DCHFT, we pride ourselves on the care we provide for our patients, and on the culture, we are creating for our staff. We work hard to create a fair, inclusive environment for our staff.

Our Mission is to work in partnership to provide high quality, compassionate services and to nurture an environment where people can be at their best. Our vision is healthier lives, empowered citizens, thriving communities.

We are a Trust that celebrates diversity, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from people in all under-represented groups.

We understand that some applicants may choose to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in preparing their application materials. While this is not discouraged, we kindly remind candidates that all submissions must be truthful and accurately reflect your own experiences and suitability for this role.

Personal integrity and authenticity are central to our recruitment process. We value honesty and appreciate applications that are genuine and representative of the individual behind them.

UKVI Sponsorship: This role may be available for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). Sponsorship will be determined based on your current situation and on a case-by-case basis.

Job responsibilities

Our DCHFT Job Description and Person Specification (attached) tells you all about this role, what to expect and what is needed to succeed. When completing your application please make sure to tell us how your experience and skills fit the person specification.

Please contact us at [e-mail] if you are unable to view or download the attachment.

For all our roles, we are looking for staff who hold our Trust Values of Integrity, Respect Teamwork and Excellence, and who are passionate about providing the best patient care. To read more about our Trust and our Values search Dorset County Hospital online.

Person Specification

EDUCATION, QUALIFICATIONS & TRAINING

• Engineering or construction postgraduate degree level or equivalent experience (E)
• Evidence of continuing professional development (E)
• PRINCE 2 or equivalent project management qualification or equivalent experience (E)
• Formal management training (D)
• Membership of relevant professional body such as ICE, IME, CIBSE, RICS or CIOB, IEEE (D)

SKILLS & ABILITIES

• Strong influencing and negotiation skills (E)
• Highly organised and disciplined (E)
• Excellent verbal and written communicator (E)
• Ability to quickly build relationships and credibility with colleagues and stakeholders (E)
• Team leader (E)
• Ability to interpret contractual and legal terminology (E)
• Ability to lead and inspire change (D)
• Seeks and taken opportunities for improving services (D)

KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

• Proven experience of successfully delivering capital programmes and projects across a variety of disciplines/sectors (E)
• Experience of working with multiple stakeholders at all levels of an organisation and across a local authority area (E)
• Proven ability to successfully manage and deliver complex projects/workstreams simultaneously (E)
• Experience of successful partnership working with public/private sector providers and specialists (E)
• Experience of successfully developing business cases to secure investment and of securing commitment and buy-in to plans (E)
• Experience of commercial contract negotiations and commercial contract management of a construction project (E)
• Experience of working across organisational boundaries to deliver change (E)
• Experience of building design (D)
• Experience of working within a healthcare or NHS environment (D)
• Experience of demand and capacity planning (D)
• Experience of successfully developing and implementing new service developments or transforming services (D)

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust