Associate Operations Manager

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us. This vacancy is open only to applicants from Hampshire & Isle of Wight NHS Integrated Care System, which is limited to: Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB, Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, Isle of Wight NHS Trust, University Hospital Southampton FT, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS FT, South Central Ambulance Service, or Hampshire Hospitals FT.

Main duties of the job

The Southampton Eye Unit at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity for an associate operations manager to join our team, manage, and support the growing demand within our expanding service. The postholder will be part of a team comprising two other associate operations managers, an operations manager, and a care group manager. The postholder will be overseeing the effective running of the service he/she will be responsible for. We offer fantastic training and development opportunities, giving you the best possible opportunity to achieve the career you want.

We are a purpose-built block within the University Hospital Southampton. The department consists of outpatients department, Eye Emergency, an inpatient ward and four fully equipped ophthalmic theatres across our Southampton and Lymington site. We recently expanded our outpatient department and doubled our capacity. The postholder will be overseeing services within ophthalmology and will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the area of responsibility.

Working for our organisation

University Hospital Southampton is one of England's largest acute teaching Trusts, offering a wide range of learning and development opportunities to support your career aspirations. Located on the south coast with an international airport and direct rail links to London, Southampton offers an ideal setting to live and work, with the New Forest, South Downs and Jurassic Coast.

At UHS we’re committed to providing a flexible working environment where possible. Whether you are balancing family, study, or your wellbeing with your career, we want to support you so you can help our patients. At UHS, we proudly champion individuality, recognizing that outstanding care is only possible with a diverse, inclusive team. We’re committed to creating an anti-racist, anti-discriminatory environment where everyone feels valued, safe, and empowered to make a meaningful impact in our communities. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences to join us in building a healthcare community where everyone can belong, thrive, and contribute.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The successful applicant will require proven strengths in operational management to support the ophthalmology department. They will be an essential part of the care group operational team and would predominantly work with clinicians, nurses, AHPs, and other administrative staff in leading and managing a service within ophthalmology. The postholder will be overseeing the performance improvement of the ophthalmology key national and local service performance commitments. He/she will help improve the performance by working closely with operational and management colleagues, helping them increase the use of analytics and reporting so that the care group understands its performance. They are also required to communicate complex information to all levels of staff within and external to the organisation in a clear and digestible format. Working with the business intelligence team to develop new and improved reporting and analytics that enable more effective performance management is also expected of the postholder.

Attached you will find the person specification document which provides more detail about the essential and desirable skills and experience needed for this role. We highly recommend you review this document and use it when completing your application as these criteria are used by hiring managers as guidance during shortlisting.

Person specification

• First degree or an equivalent level professional qualification or an equivalent level of experience.
• Postgraduate diploma level management qualification or an equivalent level of relevant experience.
• Experience to demonstrate capability and capacity for management of health services.
• Staff and resource management experience.
• Experience of using Trust information software/systems.

Please be advised that this vacancy may close earlier than stated if we receive a large number of applications. We will not accept any applications or queries via agencies, under any circumstances.

Our commitment to equality

Equality remains at the centre of our policymaking, service delivery, and employment practice, giving all employees equal opportunity to develop, apply for promotions, and have working arrangements that enable them to achieve a manageable work-life balance. UHS actively promotes a work environment free from harassment and discrimination and provides training for managers and staff to ensure this happens. We also closely monitor recruitment activity, training, development, and employment practices to ensure equality of practice with regard to race, colour, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status and age.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.