Senior Assurance and Compliance Manager

We are seeking expressions of interest for a Group Senior Assurance & Compliance Manager to establish and lead a dedicated perinatal assurance function across UHL and UHN. This is a new and exciting opportunity to shape how we deliver clear, robust and transparent assurance from frontline care through to Board-level oversight.

The Group Senior Assurance & Compliance Manager will play a key role in delivering a systematic, intelligence-led approach to assurance, providing a clear line of sight across safety, quality, workforce and performance.

You will:

• Develop and coordinate Group-wide Perinatal assurance reporting
• Triangulate data from incidents, complaints, workforce, performance and audit
• Support Board and committee reporting, ensuring information is clear, accurate and actionable
• Enable early identification, escalation and management of risk
• Strengthen regulatory readiness including CQC, NHS Resolution MIS Year 8 and national reviews (Ockenden, Amos, Thirlwall)

This role is central to ensuring we can demonstrate:

• Robust and credible assurance to Boards and regulators
• Improved visibility and management of risk
• Delivery of national safety and quality requirements
• A consistent and standardised approach across the Group

It directly supports the success of the UHL and UHN alignment of perinatal accountability and assurance operating model.

We are seeking individuals who:

• Have strong experience in governance, assurance, or quality improvement
• Are confident working with complex data and intelligence
• Can communicate clearly with senior leaders and committees
• Are highly organised, analytical and detail-focused
• Are motivated to improve outcomes for women, babies and families

This role forms part of a new Group Perinatal assurance function, repurposing existing resource to enhance oversight, reduce duplication and improve consistency across organisations.

Person Specification

Training

• Essential: Degree level qualification or equivalent experience gained in a large, complex healthcare organisation. Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to governance, assurance, quality improvement, service improvement or programme delivery.
• Desirable: Postgraduate qualification or equivalent experience in a relevant field, with training or qualification in quality improvement, project or programme management, governance, audit or risk management.

Experience

• Essential: Substantial experience of leading assurance, compliance, governance, quality improvement or service improvement activity within a healthcare setting. Knowledge of NHS governance, assurance, quality and risk arrangements.
• Experience of developing and maintaining action plans, assurance frameworks, governance reports and evidence systems to support delivery and oversight.
• Experience of preparing high-quality reports, presentations and updates for senior leaders, committees and boards.
• Experience of working with complex qualitative and quantitative information, triangulating evidence and presenting clear conclusions and recommendations.
• Experience of managing competing priorities, working to deadlines and influencing delivery across multidisciplinary teams and organisational boundaries.
• Experience of audit, service review, risk management or quality improvement methodology to support assurance and service development.
• Evidence of achieving transformation which has resulted in positive change in the health and/or social care setting.
• Management experience to include experience of having undertaken change management.
• Project management at a senior level with evidence of leading and managing improvement projects.
• Experience of analysing complex data with multiple components of information in both qualitative and quantitative formats.
• Experience of undertaking audits and using improvement methodology within change projects.
• Experience of working with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Knowledge of research, audit, data collection and analysis methodologies.
• Specialist knowledge, practical application and experience in change management, modernisation, service redesign, facilitation and successful implementation of service improvements at a senior level.
• Competent in theory and application of service improvement tools and techniques.
• Ability to manage competing demands, deadlines and a pressured environment.

Communication and relationship skills

• Essential: Highly developed communication, influencing and negotiation skills, with the ability to work credibly with senior clinical, operational and corporate leaders.
• Ability to communicate complex, sensitive or contentious information clearly and appropriately to a wide range of audiences.
• Ability to prepare and present concise, evidence-based written and verbal reports for committees, boards and external stakeholders.
• Ability to present complex and sensitive information to groups of staff from multidisciplinary backgrounds at all levels of the organisation.
• Ability to present to large groups including the public as necessary.

Analytical and Judgement skills

• Essential: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret complex information, identify themes, risks and gaps, and develop practical options and recommendations.
• Ability to exercise sound judgement on complex and sometimes contentious issues, balancing risk, evidence and organisational priorities.
• Ability to anticipate issues, take a strategic view and respond proactively to emerging requirements.
• Ability to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options and solutions.
• Takes decisions on contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action.
• Strategic thinking - ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.

Skills

• Essential: Strong skills in project coordination, report writing, data interpretation, stakeholder engagement and the use of governance, audit and quality improvement tools to support delivery, oversight and service improvement.

Planning and organisation skills

• Essential: Demonstrable ability to plan and organise work programmes over the short, medium and long term, managing multiple priorities and deadlines effectively.
• Ability to coordinate complex work across teams and organisations, ensuring actions, risks, evidence and reporting requirements are delivered in a timely way.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

• Essential: Able to demonstrate a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to treating all individuals with dignity and respect, supporting equitable access, inclusive practice and culturally sensitive care.

Other requirements specific to the role

• Essential: Ability to travel across UHL and UHN sites and work flexibly to meet the needs of the service.
• Commitment to maintaining confidentiality, professional credibility and a high standard of accuracy in all assurance and compliance work.
• Desirable: Experience of working across more than one site, organisation or system footprint. Knowledge of perinatal services across maternity and neonatal pathways.