Programme Manager-Beyond

Programme Manager – Beyond

Closing date: 04 June 2026

An exciting opportunity has arisen for two Programme Managers to join Beyond, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s Children and Young People’s (CYP) Transformation Programme.

Roles will be supporting elements of system delivery:

• One role will support the delivery of the CYP Alliance, a collaboration across NHS Trusts, and system partners across the ICB to deliver improvements in outcomes for CYP across the region aligned to acute hospital care
• One role will support both the system development of Children and Young People’s Neighbourhood Health Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT) and the existing programme of work aimed at reducing waiting times for children’s access to Community services waiting times, with a particular focus on children and young people with neurodiversity.

As programme manager you will work closely with diverse stakeholders and provider organisations to play a hands‑on role in overseeing several initiatives, driving improvements and change. This will include pathway redesign, service development, improving productivity and system level coordination to support healthcare for CYP.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidates will be responsible for leading and facilitating the following:

• Development of a clear project plan, work streams and agreed milestones.
• Developing strong networks with regional stakeholders including primary, secondary and community care providers.
• Supporting the development of strong working relationships with multiple teams across the Integrated Care System to improve outcomes for Children and Young People.
• Reviewing and evaluating performance and delivering, identifying areas for improvement and transformation.
• Using in‑depth knowledge and experience of healthcare management to influence, plan and review provision with a focus on identifying areas for improvement and service redesign.
• Developing a robust communication plan to ensure consistent engagement from key stakeholders.

About us

Beyond, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s Children and Young People’s Transformation Programme has reached over 839,736 CYP, families and professionals through 45 projects since its formation in 2021. It is hosted by Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust on behalf of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside. Programme delivery is undertaken in partnership with system colleagues from Local Authorities, Public Health and VCFS and is aligned to the three shifts within the NHS 10 Year Plan and underpinned by the voice of children, young people and families. There is a strong focus on addressing the impact of health inequalities and working towards earlier intervention to support children to reach their potential. We have a core Programme team, and a broader team with clinical and organisational expertise who are driving through transformational change across the region. This committed and passionate team are working across the system to support transformation through quality improvement.

Key Relationships

Children, Young People and families who access services for support

• NHS Cheshire and Merseyside
• Local Authorities, Acute Secondary Care Providers, Community Providers, Third Sector Organisations, Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England
• Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care System
• Performance, Operational and Corporate Managers

Job responsibilities

Communication and Relationship Skills

• Live the organisational values of Compassion, Courage, Commitment and Community and promote them throughout daily work.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement across the local health and social care system, contributing to the delivery of agreed priorities.
• Lead challenging and sensitive communications with staff and partner agencies to drive forward programmes of transformational change. This will include re‑designed pathways of care, staff roles, service models and contracting and performance management.
• Organise and present communication and engagement events/workshops, in order to share improvement across the local health and social care economy.
• Ensure consistent clinical engagement and involvement in the transformation programme and in specific initiatives within the projects, via effective communication, consultation and listening mechanisms.
• Develop opportunities and local knowledge management systems to promote successes and share knowledge within the Organisation and externally.
• Ensure that lead managers for Human Resource, Finance, Estates and Clinical Governance services are fully embedded into the Project/Programme.
• Required to use a range of communication strategies some of which may be highly sensitive and highly complex to ensure all staff, partners, stakeholders and public participate appropriately in the business of the Trust.

Planning and Organisational Skills

• Developing programmes, designing and driving implementation of programme management processes and the application across Beyond in the context of NHS requirements, obtaining Director level endorsement as necessary.
• Preparing and maintaining the programme plan and project plans to execute the strategic direction of the programmes, co‑ordinating service improvement activities across it in alignment with defined programme blueprint, available resources and project dependency, ensuring each project in the portfolio:
  • Is adequately described and documented to include unambiguous statements on what will be delivered.
  • Is communicated to those who need or wish to know about it.
  • Has a structure and management organisation around it that will lead to success.
• Advising the Senior Programme Manager, Programme Director, SRO and Chair of the Board on any potential issues that may adversely affect the programme or constituent projects or threaten delivery or benefits realisation.
• Monitoring and reporting on the progress, quality and benefits of Beyond and constituent projects through the outcome reporting process, informing the Senior Programme Manager, Programme Director, SRO and Chair of the Board of any deviation outside of agreed tolerances.
• Identifying, evaluating and monitoring risks, and their causes, that may impact upon the programme or constituent projects in accordance with policies and instigate agreed mitigation plans and actions to remove or minimise the impact of those risks.
• Monitoring guidance from NHSE, partners and other key stakeholders both internal and external, that may cause Beyond to adjust its programme and ensure programme and project elements are effectively coordinated with each other.
• Contribute to programme/project evaluation review.
• Taking a lead role in resolving issues and conflicts that arise within the programme and constituent projects and between programmes, thereby ensuring the integrity of Beyond.
• Ensuring that programme projects meet the funding, project initiation and closure requirements specified by the Programme Blueprint to proceed so that benefits can be tracked from project creation to realisation, maintaining a register for all programme projects of the nature and location of documentation required for audit purpose.
• Developing or assisting with the development of Business Cases.
• Assisting the Beyond Board, programme delivery groups and senior leads in their delivery of programmes and projects to ensure a consistent approach across Beyond.
• Ensuring mechanisms are in place to capture lessons arising from programme and project implementation and disseminate these to appropriate people in the organisation.
• Planning and managing programmes and projects within the overall Beyond portfolio to develop and enhance the range of services and level of care provided by Beyond as a whole to patients.
• Advising the Senior Programme Manager, Programme Director, SRO and Chair of the Board on progress and any potential risks and issues that may adversely affect the programme, its constituent projects or threaten delivery or benefits realisation.

Responsibilities for Policy and Service Development

• The Programme Manager will be required to support the development of and comment on directorate procedures and protocols.
• The post holder will work with NHSE/I, Commissioners, providers and other key stakeholders to continuously identify potential areas for improving outcomes, making significant efficiencies in services and developing new business.
• The post holder will develop and deliver policy or service changes for high impact clinical and service transformation programmes in order to support the achievement of agreed programme benefits and required organisational transformation.
• The post holder will be responsible for ensuring that procedures and policies are developed, reviewed and implemented in respect of document control, version control, variation process, project plan development, monitoring and reporting.
• In addition, the post holder will be required to contribute to any Communications and Stakeholder Management Strategy, Risk Strategy and Benefit Realisation Plans to meet the needs of a diverse audience.

Person Specification

Education & Training

• Educated to post‑graduate degree level or equivalent experience
• Experience in a senior management role encompassing either programme or project management and preferably both
• Proven track record in managing programmes and projects on time and to successful conclusions with at least three years full project life cycle experience having delivered at least two large projects to completion
• Received training in programme/project management process methodology (ideally including, or with a good working knowledge of, PRINCE2 or P3O or MSP – Managing Successful Programmes)
• Experienced and competent in the use of MS Office applications, particularly Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Microsoft Project

Experience of

• Being flexible, adaptable and use tact and diplomacy in dealing with staff at all levels, especially when barriers to change arise so that staff understand the reason for change and buy into the process.
• Influencing senior people to obtain commitment and to anticipate and empathise with their needs.
• Incorporating patient/user views into services planning and development.
• Managing and working in a team environment effectively and with enthusiasm, providing direction and motivation to other team members.
• Motivating team members and build up their confidence, providing reassurance and guidance to complete their work effectively, showing enthusiasm for staff learning and development including the jobholder’s own.
• Confidently planning, organising and leading multi‑disciplinary workshops and meetings.

Knowledge of

• External environments including national and regional strategies and priorities, and the national political agenda.
• A thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of day‑to‑day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.

Skills

• Demonstrate strong written, oral communication and presentation skills – can present highly complex concepts, ideas and data concisely and effectively to a variety of audiences in a variety of ways including to the Executive Team and other large groups internal and external.
• Highly developed interpersonal and “political” skills giving awareness of the organisational culture, the sensitive, confidential or controversial nature of material and a sense of the appropriate use of it in any given situation with the ability to provide reassurance where necessary.
• Able to effectively work across organisational boundaries
• Ability to train managers in programme and project management processes, both individually and in groups, ensuring relevant elements of the service improvement programme are communicated to those who need or wish to know about it.
• Ability to negotiate with directors and senior managers controlling resources for release of staff to work on programmes/projects and with staff working on other programmes to ensure linkage with other initiatives.

Other

• Plan and organise programme inputs to Executive Team meetings and meetings of other Trust personnel and external stakeholders.
• Ability to operate on both strategic and tactical levels, translating concepts into tangible results: plan own workload; work without supervision and achieve all deadlines under pressure; work on a number of projects within the programme portfolio simultaneously and maintain a quality of output; develop action plans for portfolio projects and manage their implementation and influence others in achieving these; and assist the with planning future portfolio projects.
• Demonstrate a concern for quality in both the post holder’s own and others work.
• Ability to travel as required.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.

£57,528 to £64,750 a year per annum pro rata

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