Head of Oncology Services/Deputy Divisional Manager | The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

Type: Trainee
Location: Manchester, M20 4BX

Description:

This is a new role within the Network Services Division, one of two clinical Divisions at the Trust. The Division comprises Oncology, SACT, Radiotherapy, Haematology, Pharmacy, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Physics and Engineering services.

The Head of Oncology role will provide senior managerial and leadership support to the Clinical and Medical Oncology Services across the Disease Group teams. These are busy and complex services experiencing continual growth and development in treatment options for patients. The post holder will work closely with the Clinical Directors and Service Managers as well as nursing and AHP lead roles. The post holder will be required to communicate highly complex and sensitive information, operate with a high level of clinical awareness, personal influence and skill, working effectively with the wider team, other providers, patients and carers. They will have a proven ability to deliver service improvement in complex environments and will have evidence of excellent interpersonal skills. The successful candidate will have experience of successfully working with multi-disciplinary teams, to deliver services and implement change. They will be expected to contribute to Trust-wide initiatives and projects and to participate in the senior manager on-call rota.

The post holder will also be the deputy for the Divisional Director taking responsibility for agreed pan Divisional issues and deputising in the Divisional Directors absence.

The post holder will be responsible and accountable for the strategic, operational, performance and business management of the Oncology services including administration services and systems, medical staff management, cancer Waiting time targets/pathway management, financial and budget management, service development and improvement and etc.

The post holder will be highly visible and effectively manage all resources needed to deliver comprehensive Oncology services which provide optimum patient care and staffing models to meet current performance targets and longer-term service developments. The Head of Oncology Services will support the Oncology Disease Groups in responding to operational challenges in a timely and efficient way, identifying immediate and longer-term solutions and opportunities to improve systems and services for the future, in the context of the particular challenges and ongoing growth faced by Oncology services.

The post holder occupies a strategic role within the division and will be expected to support the development of the long-term service strategy as well as contributing to the Trust’s policies and future developments. There is also an explicit requirement for the post holder to deputise for the Divisional Director, across all service areas and departments in the Division, and to act as the divisional and cross trust lead for specific issues and projects, as well as identified GM projects as required, in agreement with the Divisional Director

The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.

We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years.

We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.

1. Corporate Role

• In conjunction with with the Divisional Director, is responsible and accountable to the trust for the operational management and delivery of the division, deputising fully in the absence of the Divisional Director.
• Represents the Network Services Division at meetings both internally and externally as required by Divisional Director.
• Supports the Divisional Director in providing strategic direction for managers within the division.
• Takes a lead role in the division for service improvement and development, implementing change to ensure key corporate, national and local targets are achieved within agreed timescales.
• Contributes to the Trust’s strategy and delivers radical, yet practical and sustainable change and service modernization within the Directorates.

2. Strategic Planning and Service Development

• Develops and implements long term service strategy and policies for Oncology Services, , in line with corporate strategies of stakeholders and linking directly to relevant legislation as well as national and local healthcare guidance and initiatives. Undertakes this in collaboration with clinicians, local primary care and other NHS organisations as appropriate, working across organisational boundaries and within complex and changing strategic environment. Resolves conflict, where they arise, relating to service provision.
• Responsible for the interpretation and implementation of broad policies and NHS guidance, contributes to corporate policies and strategy and develops services locally in line with them.
• Leads and coordinates all service objectives ensuring relevance to local and national priorities.
• Plays a key role in service planning for the Oncology Services departments, develops and implements long term strategic plans.

3. Service/Operational Management

• Act as head of service for operational issues for Medical and Clinical Oncology – ensuring excellent operational, performance and financial management and governance.
• Responsible for the line management of all staff within these Services with direct line management of the Service Managers
• Provide leadership and support for clinical and non-clinical teams.
• Responsibility for the operational delivery of Oncology Services across three Disease Group Streams in Clinical and Medical Oncology.
• Supports the day-to-day management and running of Oncology Services, alongside the Service Managers, Divisional Matrons/Lead Nurses, lead managers and the Clinical Directors and Clinical Leads
• In liaison with the Divisional Directors, plays a key role in planning and implementing strategy for operational management to meet organisational performance plans within agreed budgets and timescales.
• Provides leadership and direction for managers within the directorate, ensuring clear communication of policy, business objectives and agreed targets.
• Ensures the implementation of effective and appropriate performance management systems and processes to ensure delivery of performance targets.
• Leads on the performance management agenda. Develops and introduces strategies and process changes to ensure recurrent achievement of activity at target levels. This includes liaison with clinicians to influence working practices to achieve the necessary changes.
• Interprets and analyses highly complex data in relation to performance management.
• Leads on substantial programmes of work, to improve services across pathways of care or for the directorate.
• Leads, manages and/or contributes to specific trust-wide projects or initiatives as requested by the Divisional Director and in collaboration with other agencies.
• Develops own work plan in line with divisional and trust objectives.
• Responsible for the delivery of safe and effective clinical services across the directorate, ensuring that all targets, deadlines and objectives are delivered as appropriate.
• Establish excellent relationships with clinical staff, leaders and external stakeholders successfully developing clinical services utilising latest best practice methodologies.
• Lead and manage the non-nursing human resources (HR) within the directorate in line with HR best practice.
• Establish effective relationships with clinical staff and other stakeholders, ensuring financial targets and value improvement programmes are delivered to agreed budgets.
• Work with other directorate leaders in the achievement of corporate objectives.
• To deliver a service that is managed through a culture of governance, clinical and organisational.

4. Financial Management & Business Planning

• Responsible for management of all Oncology budgets and accountable for the effective management of all resources
• Leads on business planning for the directorate, ensuring that there is an agreed performance management framework to effectively monitor the delivery of the annual business plan and that any conflict with respect to content and delivery is reconciled.
• Prepares robust business cases and supports Service Managers in the preparation of business cases to enable services to remain financially stable and responsive to the demands placed upon them. Performs highly detailed and complex option appraisals to inform decision making process, to include redesign of services, capital projects.
• Ensure organisational procedures are deployed across department for control of activities against budget.
• Ensures that services work to achieve organisational effectiveness and deliver services within available resources.
• Develops schemes and action plans to implement cash-releasing efficiency savings targets.
• Use and analyse financial information systems to ensure robust systems for financial monitoring, budgetary performance and appropriate allocation of funding for service.
• Identifies and makes recommendations for investment programmes, leads on the development of effective business arguments, presents to board or other appropriate forum.
• Using contractually agreed performance indicators monitors service provision of external service providers e.g. service level agreements at peripheral hospitals.
• Ensure that the directorate manages expenditure by achieving agreed income targets, or reducing expenditure accordingly.
• Responsible for delivery of Value Improvement Programme for Oncology Services
• Effectively manage the budget setting and devolution of budgets within the directorates, working closely with CD’s, divisional nurse manager, matrons and departmental managers, ensuring appropriate monitoring and review mechanisms are in place.
• Co-operate with the coding department in ensuring effective systems for the collection and coding of patient related information, that are safe, timely and efficient
• Budget holder and authorised signatory for the directorate budgets.
• Be responsible for service line reporting within the budget.

5. Human Resources Management

• Implements trust strategy for HR management and development Including recruitment & selection policy, discipline, grievance, performance appraisals.
• Develops and implements departmental workforce plan as part of business planning process in line with division and corporate HR strategies.
• Ensures an appropriate organisational structure to enable and empower individuals to make decisions where appropriate and that managers have clearly defined responsibility and accountability.
• Ensures effective recruitment processes are implemented within the Division that are compliant with trust policy. Authorises recruitment of staff, chairs appointment panels.
• Ensures that appraisal systems are implemented and cascaded to all staff within department.
• Provides appraisal/performance review resulting in clearly understood objectives and personal development plans that reflect both the needs of the trust and the longer-term goals of staff.
• Takes action under trust personnel policies (e.g. grievance, disciplinary, capability) where necessary.
• Ensures systems are in place within the directorate to identify poor performance, conduct issues and that any individuals identified are appropriately supported and managed within Trust policies. Ensures that grievances and whistle blowing are treated appropriately and within trust policies.
• Ensures that the directorate adopts flexible working practices that meet the working time directive and achieve a fair balance between the preferences of individual members of staff, the needs of the service, and the preferences of the whole staff group.
• Ensures that communication mechanisms operate effectively so that a culture is promoted where all staff can become involved in influencing and supporting the achievement of quality improvement and patient-focused care.
• Management responsibility for recruitment, retention, disciplinary and grievance, and all staffing issues within the directorates.
• Provide support and advice to junior managers directly managed.
• Actively manage sickness absence to agreed targets.
• Monitor both short and long term workload patterns within the division, relating these to the human resource strategy for the division including medical staff rotas Ensure comprehensive workforce planning, appropriate staffing levels and skill mix.
• Ensure all staff including clinical staff have an annual performance review and have development needs identified in a personal development plan.
• Co-ordinate the education and training needs of all staff within the directorate, ensuring the objectives of the organisation are reflected.
• Support the divisional and clinical director in the management/recruitment/manpower planning of medical staff.
• Support the clinical/divisional director in the provision of appropriate education and working conditions for trainee medical staff.
• Lead investigations arising from complaints, adverse Incidents and, serious untoward incidents.

A full outline of the role is provided within the job description and person specification.

This advert closes on Tuesday 6 May 2025

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