Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Senior Operational Manager

The closing date is 11 September 2025

Job summary

Are you an experienced and dynamic leader with a passion for improving patient care and driving operational excellence? We are looking for a Senior Operational Manager to join our team, supporting the delivery of high-quality clinical services across a busy and growing division.

This exciting opportunity offers the chance to work alongside senior leaders, clinical teams, and support staff to ensure the efficient day-to-day management of specialist services. The role is integral to achieving key performance targets, enhancing patient experience, and implementing service developments. You will lead on operational delivery, workforce management, and financial oversight, identifying opportunities for improvement and ensuring that services meet both local and national objectives.

The ideal candidate will bring excellent leadership, organisational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage complex operational challenges in a fast-paced environment. If you are motivated to make a real difference to service delivery and patient outcomes, we would love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

The Senior Operational Manager will provide operational leadership and support to designated clinical specialties, ensuring services are delivered effectively, efficiently, and in line with performance targets. Key duties include managing day-to-day operations, overseeing workforce planning, and supporting the delivery of patient pathways to meet Referral to Treatment (RTT), Diagnostic (DM01) and waiting list targets. The role also involves managing budgets, implementing cost improvement plans, and leading service developments to enhance patient care.

About us

MFT is one of the largest NHS Trust In England with a turnover of over £3bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We're creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.

Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you'll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.

We've also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research, and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system which launched in September 2022.

We're proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What's more, we're excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.

At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.

Details

Date posted

29 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

349-WTWA-7344572-RL4

Job locations

Wythenshawe Hospital

Southmoor Road

Manchester

M23 9LT


Job description

Job responsibilities

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience youll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading. So that youre even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, youll need to take time to read the Candidate Essentials Guide that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how we care for you as you care for others. Most importantly, it also contains critical information youll need to be aware of before you submit an application form.

Diversity Matters

MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating, and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at resourcing@mft.nhs.uk.

Were looking forward to hearing from you!

Job description

Job responsibilities

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience youll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the Supporting Documents heading. So that youre even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, youll need to take time to read the Candidate Essentials Guide that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how we care for you as you care for others. Most importantly, it also contains critical information youll need to be aware of before you submit an application form.

Diversity Matters

MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating, and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at resourcing@mft.nhs.uk.

Were looking forward to hearing from you!

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to degree level or equivalent experience

Desirable

  • Recognised leadership and/or management qualification

Skills

Essential

  • Up to date knowledge of speciality service areas including current issues in service delivery and patient pathways
  • Understanding of current issues health service management including business planning process
  • Effective verbal, written communication to clinical staff, patients and carers and work colleagues
  • Ability to analyse and interpret complex and varied information and develop action plans
  • Ability to motivate staff and demonstrate effective and positive leadership

Desirable

  • Excellent management skills and ability to manage conflict

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of managing clinical services and working with medical staff
  • Contributing to improvements in service standards and patient experience
  • Monitoring compliance with local and national performance and quality targets
  • Experience of developing innovative and lasting solutions to operational and performance issues
  • Experience of budget and human resource management
  • Experience of managing administrative and support staff

Desirable

  • Experience of finance and cost improvement programmes
  • Experience of waiting list and activity monitoring against contract

Knowledge

Essential

  • High level knowledge of patient and hospital administration systems
  • Understanding of local and national performance targets
  • Understanding of data protection and confidentiality

Desirable

  • Knowledge of local and national initiatives
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to degree level or equivalent experience

Desirable

  • Recognised leadership and/or management qualification

Skills

Essential

  • Up to date knowledge of speciality service areas including current issues in service delivery and patient pathways
  • Understanding of current issues health service management including business planning process
  • Effective verbal, written communication to clinical staff, patients and carers and work colleagues
  • Ability to analyse and interpret complex and varied information and develop action plans
  • Ability to motivate staff and demonstrate effective and positive leadership

Desirable

  • Excellent management skills and ability to manage conflict

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of managing clinical services and working with medical staff
  • Contributing to improvements in service standards and patient experience
  • Monitoring compliance with local and national performance and quality targets
  • Experience of developing innovative and lasting solutions to operational and performance issues
  • Experience of budget and human resource management
  • Experience of managing administrative and support staff

Desirable

  • Experience of finance and cost improvement programmes
  • Experience of waiting list and activity monitoring against contract

Knowledge

Essential

  • High level knowledge of patient and hospital administration systems
  • Understanding of local and national performance targets
  • Understanding of data protection and confidentiality

Desirable

  • Knowledge of local and national initiatives

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Wythenshawe Hospital

Southmoor Road

Manchester

M23 9LT


Employer's website

https://mft.nhs.uk/careers/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Wythenshawe Hospital

Southmoor Road

Manchester

M23 9LT


Employer's website

https://mft.nhs.uk/careers/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Deputy Directorate Manager

Jodi Kelly

jodi.kelly@mft.nhs.uk

07977667341

Details

Date posted

29 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£47,810 to £54,710 a year per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

349-WTWA-7344572-RL4

Job locations

Wythenshawe Hospital

Southmoor Road

Manchester

M23 9LT


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)