Job summary
Are you an experienced professional with a passion for improving patient flow, championing safe discharge, and leading multidisciplinary teams? We are seeking a dynamic, innovative, and highly visible Complex Discharge Manager to join us at Northampton General Hospital, providing strategic leadership to one of the most essential services supporting patient experience and operational efficiency.
About the Role
As the Complex Discharge Manager, you will hold professional and managerial accountability for the leadership, coordination, and delivery of our Complex Discharge Service. You will play a pivotal role in ensuring patients with complex needs experience safe, timely, and person-centred discharge pathways from admission to discharge.
You will provide strong, compassionate leadership to the discharge team, acting as an authoritative, approachable, and visible clinical leader across the organisation. This is an exciting opportunity to shape practice, drive improvement, and work collaboratively with internal and external partners to ensure the very best outcomes for our patients.
Main duties of the job
What You Will Be Doing
Leading and managing the complex discharge service, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe, responsive care.
Holding accountability for quality, safety, and clinical governance within the service.
Fostering a culture of professionalism, compassionate care, and continuous improvement.
Supporting workforce development, retention, and the building of a skilled, future-ready team.
Working collaboratively with external partners to promote integrated care and efficient patient flow.
Acting as a highly visible clinical leader for patients, carers, and staff.
Leading the implementation of effective governance processes and driving continuous service improvement.
Overseeing and delivering Trust-wide training and education in complex discharge.
Supporting wards, patients, and families to enable timely, solution-focused discharge planning from admission.
Leading the MDT Decision-Making Cell/Hub to ensure effective allocation and escalation processes.
Producing, interpreting, and reporting complex performance data to inform service improvements.
About us
Northampton General Hospital is one of the largest employers in the area and we are on an exciting journey. All of our divisions are committed to doing things better, with more efficiency as we update, modernise, and advance. We have also entered into a Group Model with neighbouring Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.
Our Excellence Values
Compassion
Accountability
Respect
Integrity
Courage
We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone's full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities.
We are a Defence positive trust, supporting our reservists, veterans, spouses and partners.
The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals.
We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.
We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds.This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.
Job description
Job responsibilities
About You
We are looking for a senior registered professional leader who is:
Passionate about improving patient flow and discharge processes
A strong communicator and relationshipbuilder
Skilled in leading multidisciplinary teams and influencing at all levels
Able to analyse complex information and drive evidencebased change
Committed to patientcentred care, staff development, and high clinical standards
Confident working across organisational boundaries with system partners
Why Join Us?
This is a highimpact leadership role offering the opportunity to make a real difference to patient care, staff experience, and operational performance. You will join a supportive senior team and work within a Trust committed to continuous improvement, integrated care, and professional development.
Job description
Job responsibilities
About You
We are looking for a senior registered professional leader who is:
Passionate about improving patient flow and discharge processes
A strong communicator and relationshipbuilder
Skilled in leading multidisciplinary teams and influencing at all levels
Able to analyse complex information and drive evidencebased change
Committed to patientcentred care, staff development, and high clinical standards
Confident working across organisational boundaries with system partners
Why Join Us?
This is a highimpact leadership role offering the opportunity to make a real difference to patient care, staff experience, and operational performance. You will join a supportive senior team and work within a Trust committed to continuous improvement, integrated care, and professional development.
Person Specification
Educations,Training and Qualifications
Essential
- Evidence of Post registration specialist qualification
- Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
- Evidence of proactive and continued professional development.
- Management or Leadership Qualification
Desirable
- Masters qualification or working towards
- Recognised teaching or assessing qualification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Evidence of senior management experience in an acute or social care environment with management responsibilities or equivalent management experience
- Experience of conflict resolution
- Experience of change management practice and service development
- Experience of staff management including dealing with challenging HR issues and the application of formal policies
- Experience of staff management including dealing with challenging HR issues and the application of formal policies
- Evidence of setting and achieving targets and implementing innovative solutions designed to improve services within tight financial constraints
- Evidence of previous experience delivering strategy and policy associated with discharge
- Expert knowledge in admission avoidance discharge planning and the use of best practice
- Familiarity with the Trust and Local Authority's vision and objectives
- Knowledge of related local and national policy guidelines
Desirable
- Experience using QSIR (Quality, Service Improvement Redesign)
- An understanding the impact of the Long Term Plan (LTP) on discharge
- Experience of working with private organisations such as Care Homes as well as voluntary sector organisations
Skills
Essential
- Demonstrable and substantial management responsibilities
- The ability to influence a sustainable culture that improves quality and experience for all patients
- Able to work independently
- Evidence of complex problem solving and decision-making ability
- Efficient and effective communicator at all levels in highly complex and sometimes challenging situations
- Demonstrates an ability to interpret and utilise information effectively to communicate, influence and achieve operational and strategic goals
- The ability to work in partnership with others to develop, take forward and evaluate direction, policies and strategies
- The ability to test and review new models, concepts, and practices
- The ability to use Excel and Word to create statistical information for the Division
- An ability to provide Board level reporting in the field of discharge
- The ability to transfer data into meaning full actions to improve performance and present as required
- The ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organisations as well as externally with commissioners and other stakeholders
Personal Qualities and Attributes
Essential
- Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users
Person Specification
Educations,Training and Qualifications
Essential
- Evidence of Post registration specialist qualification
- Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
- Evidence of proactive and continued professional development.
- Management or Leadership Qualification
Desirable
- Masters qualification or working towards
- Recognised teaching or assessing qualification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Evidence of senior management experience in an acute or social care environment with management responsibilities or equivalent management experience
- Experience of conflict resolution
- Experience of change management practice and service development
- Experience of staff management including dealing with challenging HR issues and the application of formal policies
- Experience of staff management including dealing with challenging HR issues and the application of formal policies
- Evidence of setting and achieving targets and implementing innovative solutions designed to improve services within tight financial constraints
- Evidence of previous experience delivering strategy and policy associated with discharge
- Expert knowledge in admission avoidance discharge planning and the use of best practice
- Familiarity with the Trust and Local Authority's vision and objectives
- Knowledge of related local and national policy guidelines
Desirable
- Experience using QSIR (Quality, Service Improvement Redesign)
- An understanding the impact of the Long Term Plan (LTP) on discharge
- Experience of working with private organisations such as Care Homes as well as voluntary sector organisations
Skills
Essential
- Demonstrable and substantial management responsibilities
- The ability to influence a sustainable culture that improves quality and experience for all patients
- Able to work independently
- Evidence of complex problem solving and decision-making ability
- Efficient and effective communicator at all levels in highly complex and sometimes challenging situations
- Demonstrates an ability to interpret and utilise information effectively to communicate, influence and achieve operational and strategic goals
- The ability to work in partnership with others to develop, take forward and evaluate direction, policies and strategies
- The ability to test and review new models, concepts, and practices
- The ability to use Excel and Word to create statistical information for the Division
- An ability to provide Board level reporting in the field of discharge
- The ability to transfer data into meaning full actions to improve performance and present as required
- The ability to communicate effectively across all levels of the organisations as well as externally with commissioners and other stakeholders
Personal Qualities and Attributes
Essential
- Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
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