Senior Programme Manager - Merger PMO

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Job Overview

We are seeking two driven, professional and experienced Senior Programme Managers to join the Merger Programme Team.

The Bristol NHS Group is a partnership between North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW). We have come together as an NHS Group to deliver seamless, high-quality, equitable and sustainable care.

With 28,000 staff and a combined turnover of over £2.2 billion, this partnership gives us the scale, influence and expertise to transform the way healthcare is delivered locally.

The Trusts have announced the intention to merge in July 2026 and are now preparing for day 1 readiness and beyond.

The Merger Programme team has been established to support the delivery of the merged organisation and the main purpose of these two roles are to support the delivery of key projects to enable a safe merged organisation.

Some projects may be digital whilst others will be focussed on non-digital elements.

These roles demands experience of large-scale change programmes, working with senior practitioners and managers, to deliver extensive system change across acute hospitals. As well as demonstrating technical programme management and improvement skills, the individual will be expected to offer innovation and creativity to the projects to fully support the project and programme outcomes. The programme managers will need to be politically astute and strategically aware.

Main duties of the job

The Programme Manager Will Be Expected To

Ensure project and programme information is properly managed and best practice is shared across all teams.

Working for our organisation

University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the country, bringing together a combined workforce of over 13,000 staff and over 100 different clinical services across 10 different sites, serving a core population of more than 500,000 people across South West England. UHBW has been rated by the CQC as ‘Good’ overall and our staff are proud to deliver excellent care to the people of Bristol, Weston and beyond. As a forward- thinking multi-award winning Trust and a digital exemplar committed to improving patient care, our world-leading research and innovations are having a positive local and global impact. Our hospitals are spread across Bristol and Weston, join us and you can enjoy the very best of both worlds; city living within a stone’s throw of the countryside or beside the seaside, both with easy access to all that the South West has to offer. UHBW is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. As an equal opportunities employer actively working towards a diverse workforce we aim to recruit and retain a workforce which represents the rich diversity of the local population at all levels and are committed to designing our services around the needs of individual patients and those around them. Anonymous information will be used from your application in order to ensure we’re meeting our pledge.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Please see the attached job description and person specification for the full details of role and the main responsibilities, skills and experience it requires.

This vacancy is open to internal applicants from both North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.

Person specification

Qualifications And Training

Essential criteria

• Educated to Masters degree level or evidence of equivalent professional qualification/or experiential learning
• Programme and project management training (preferably MSP/PRINCE) or equivalent experience
• Evidence of continuous personal/professional development
  
  

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Extensive experience managing programmes, preferably within the NHS
• Evidence of leading challenging change projects within a complex environment
• Experience managing and resolving conflict during times of significant change
• Demonstrable involvement supporting service redesign projects that delivered quantifiable improvement
• Experience of setting up and implementing internal processes and procedures

Experience of managing and motivating a team

Experience of analysing very complex issues from multiple data sources where evidence can often conflict

Benefits realisation experience

Knowledge of health policy and key improvement initiatives to support the strategic priorities of the NHS

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working in a mixed economy of partners from a public or private sector context
  
  

Skills And Abilities

Essential criteria

• Highly effective communication skills to develop and deliver performance improvement plans with key stakeholders
• Strong leadership qualities with the capability to lead by example and inspire others
• Excellent interpersonal and influencing skills
• Ability to establish collaborative working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
• Able to think strategically and to analyse complex issues/data to formulate conclusions
• Capability to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, whilst working to tight and often changing timescales
• Ability to work collaboratively across the BNSSG STP to implement a programme of system wide change

Presentation, facilitation using service improvement tools

If you apply for this vacancy and have not received a communication from North Bristol NHS Trust within three weeks of the closing date, please assume that on this occasion your application has been unsuccessful.

Please note that North Bristol NHS Trust does not reimburse travel expenses relating to interview attendance.

If you feel you meet the requirements of the Disability Act / Two Ticks scheme and require further support/advice, please contact us on tel 0117 414 1151.

North Bristol NHS Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The successful applicant(s) will normally commence at the minimum of the scale unless they have previous NHS service at the same band. Progression through the scale is by annual increments.

At North Bristol Trust (NBT), we know diverse and inclusive environments lead to happier and healthier teams and improved patient care and outcomes. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are currently underrepresented in NBT’s workforce at Band 8a and above. These include people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQIA+ people.

Please note that stringent pre-employment checks are undertaken on all successful applicants prior to commencement in post.