Theatre Service Manager
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Job summary
The Cardiothoracic Theatre Service Manager plays a key role in ensuring safe, efficient, and high quality theatre services within one of the world's leading cardiothoracic centres. The postholder supports excellent patient outcomes by coordinating daily theatre activity, optimising utilisation, and providing strong, visible leadership to multidisciplinary teams.
Royal Papworth's theatres are a specialist, fast paced, and supportive environment with highly skilled teams who work collaboratively across surgery, anaesthetics, perfusion, and critical care. The department is known for its professionalism, innovation, and inclusive culture.
New starters will receive a structured induction, including orientation to Papworth pathways, shadowing opportunities, and ongoing mentorship from senior theatre and operational leaders. Access to leadership development and quality improvement training will be provided.
We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and offer personalised induction, supervision, additional training, and reasonable adjustments to ensure everyone can thrive and succeed in the role.
Main duties of the job
This role provides visible, supportive leadership across theatre services, ensuring high standards of safety, communication, and patient care. The postholder will coordinate day to day theatre operations, making proactive decisions to maintain safe staffing, optimise patient flow, and maximise utilisation of theatre capacity. They will build strong working relationships with clinical and operational teams, present performance information clearly, oversee incidents and complaints, and drive service planning and development. A key focus will be monitoring performance indicators, validating data, and leading improvement initiatives using recognised quality improvement methodologies.
The role also carries responsibility for staff leadership, workforce planning, financial oversight, and project delivery. The postholder will line manage designated staff, support wellbeing and development, manage sickness and HR processes, and ensure effective rostering and recruitment. They will lead or support change projects, engage teams in service redesign, and address barriers using strong communication and negotiation skills. Additionally, they will manage delegated budgets, ensure robust information governance, oversee equipment and digital systems, and use patient feedback to drive continuous improvements in experience and care quality. This position requires a high degree of autonomy, supported by training in project management, theatre IT systems, and advanced data analysis.
About us
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is the UK's leading heart and lung hospital, delivering care to more than 50,000 patients a year in its new state-of-the-art hospital in Cambridge. We perform the most heart and/or lung transplants in the UK and carried out the UK's first successful heart transplant in 1979. It also offers emergency heart attack treatment, sleep centre care and is one of just five centres nationally for those in severe respiratory failure.
Based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus the largest centre of medical research and health science in Europe the Trust is at the heart of treatments of the future. Royal Papworth became the first hospital trust in the country to be rated outstanding in all five areas assessed by the Care Quality Commission - a rating it still holds today. The Trust holds its values of compassion, excellence & collaboration at its core, and all colleagues joining the team are expected to uphold these in their day-to-day roles & interactions. Royal Papworth is proud of its diverse workforce and encourages people to embrace their individuality.
The Trust values difference and welcomes all applications irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy & maternity, race, religion & belief, sex and sexual orientation. Providing they meet the minimum post criteria, applicants with disabilities will be offered an interview.
For a street view tour: https://royalpapworth.nhs.uk/virtual-tour
Details
Date posted
13 February 2026
Pay scheme
Agenda for change
Band
Band 7
Salary
£47,810 to £54,710 a year
Contract
Secondment
Duration
12 months
Working pattern
Full-time
Reference number
175-2526-CA1599
Job locations
Royal Papworth Hospital
Papworth Road
Cambridge Bio Medical Campus
Cambridge
CB2 0AY
Employer details
Employer name
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Royal Papworth Hospital
Papworth Road
Cambridge Bio Medical Campus
Cambridge
CB2 0AY
Employer's website
https://royalpapworth.nhs.uk/working-here (Opens in a new tab)
Employer contact details
For questions about the job, contact:
Supporting documents
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