Proactive Care team - Senior Programme Manager in Harpenden

CLCH Hertfordshire Adult Community Services - CLCH NHS Trust provides a range of Community Services, and the Hertfordshire Division is recruiting a Senior Programme Manager to join the team on a 10-month fixed-term contract, providing maternity leave cover from January 2027 to November 2027. This is an opportunity to lead the implementation of a Proactive Care Service across South and West Hertfordshire to deliver on the strategic ambition of moving to a Neighbourhood Health Service.

You will lead the mobilisation, oversight and delivery of the service within South and West Herts. The Dacorum Neighbourhood is already established with opportunities to further develop and refine the model, and there is an agreed mobilisation plan for extending the service to other Neighbourhoods over the coming months. Elements of the programme include:

• coordinating recruitment and workforce mobilisation;
• establishing information management and technology (IM&T) and reporting arrangements;
• developing pathway documentation;
• establishing effective governance processes.

Reporting to the Deputy Director of Operations, you will work closely with senior and clinical leads, transformation colleagues and partner organisations across CLCH and the wider South and West Hertfordshire health and care system.

This service sees the shift from reactive care to proactive identification by using risk stratification searches within an ICB dataset. The searches will identify a cohort of frail patients with complex needs, who are at risk of experiencing fragmented care. We know that these patients can benefit from targeted intervention to improve outcomes, their overall experience and reduce the likelihood of further unplanned admissions. The service will operate alongside a number of other acute and community services, with the ability to step patients up into appropriate services - including the highly successful virtual ward models in South and West Hertfordshire.

This role presents an excellent opportunity to work in a topical area of service delivery within the NHS right now. It is essential you have experience of managing complex programmes and have good knowledge of how community services operate. You will be confident in engaging a wide range of stakeholders across organisational boundaries, and be able to communicate progress to senior leads within the Health and Care Partnership and Social Finance / the Community Interest Company.

We are proud to be one of the largest community healthcare providers in the country, with more than 4,500 colleagues caring for over four million people across London and Hertfordshire. Every day, our teams bring their skill, compassion, and determination to the people who depend on us. What inspires us is at the heart of who we are: when we work together, we can help people move forward in ways that truly matter. Our teams support children as they take their first steps in life, and they stand beside adults as they rebuild strength, confidence, and independence. From newborn health visiting to community nursing, stroke rehabilitation, and palliative care, we are there for people through some of life's most important moments.

Joining Central London Community Healthcare means becoming part of a community that lifts each other up. It means working in an organisation that values compassion, welcomes new ideas, and believes in the potential of every colleague. Your development matters here. Your wellbeing matters. Your voice helps shape the future of the care we provide. We offer a competitive employment package because the work you do matters. At Central London Community Healthcare, you will join an inclusive organisation that invests in its people, supports development, and helps you thrive while delivering high-quality care.

Applicants are expected to present clear and relevant evidence of the competencies and responsibilities detailed in the attached Job Description and Person Specification, together with a demonstrated commitment to the Trust's values of Accountability, Inclusion, Compassion, and Empowerment.

Education/Qualifications

• Essential: Educated to degree level or equivalent professional qualification and relevant experience or equivalent Prince 2 Practitioner or equivalent. Can evidence recent and ongoing personal development activity.
• Desirable: Programme/project qualification or equivalent.

Experience

• Essential: Substantial recent experience in managing complex programmes in the public sector environment.
• Substantial experience of identifying, interpreting and documenting new requirements.
• Experience of managing large-scale or complex projects involving matrix working.
• Extensive experience working within the NHS.
• Experience of working with stakeholders - external and internal.
• Experience of resource management, staff recruitment, supervision and management.
• Experience of successfully building effective working relationships with clinicians and managers in order to effectively manage operational delivery.
• Can demonstrate experience of leading, introducing and managing transformational change programmes.
• Evidence of successful audit, risk assessment and management in a complex environment including in clinical services.
• A demonstrable understanding of the drivers for public sector reform, and specifically of the NHS policy agenda.
• Demonstrable understanding of primary care, acute services and the health and social care agenda.
• Has demonstrable experience of effective partnership working with other organisations.

Skills and Knowledge

• Essential: Thorough working knowledge of Prince 2 or equivalent.
• Aware of requirements of multi-agency working.
• Understanding of Health Care Partnerships.
• Able to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing to staff and public at all levels with good presentation skills.
• Able to write clear and concise reports and specifications.
• Advanced negotiation and influencing skills with the ability to engage, build and sustain positive relationships within the trust and across organisational boundaries.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Competent user of IT systems.
• Able to work as part of a team or under own initiative.
• Ability to work under pressure, to tight deadlines and ability to respond to unscheduled tasks.
• Willingness to constantly learn and improve.
• Possess self-confidence, enthusiasm, motivation, tact and diplomacy.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and able to relate to a wide range of staff and colleagues.
• Ability to pick things up quickly and 'hit the ground running'.
• Aware of current developments in the NHS and is politically astute.
• Innovative, analytical and strategic thinking ability.
• 'Can do' approach.

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.

Employer details

Employer name: Central London Community Health Trust

Address: Harpenden Memorial Hospital, Carlton Road, Harpenden, AL5 4TA, United Kingdom

Employer's website: https://clch.nhs.uk/