Deputy Outpatients Manager
| Company: | NHS Jobs |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Negotiable |
| Hours: | Full-time |
| Location: | Dorking, RH4 2AA |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Posting date: | 18 Sept 2026 |
| Closing date: | 4 Oct 2026 |
Summary
WORKING PATTERN: Full Time JOB LOCATION: Dorking Hospital & other DHC locations as required. JOB SUMMARY The Deputy Outpatients Manager (Operations) will work closely with the Deputy Outpatients Manager (Services) and the Outpatients Service Manager to support the safe, effective and efficient delivery of outpatient services. They will provide day-to-day operational leadership, acting as the escalation point for operational issues and ensuring that patient experience remains at the heart of service delivery and decision-making. The post holder will provide operational leadership across outpatient services, supporting the delivery of high-quality patient pathways whilst contributing to service development, transformation initiatives, governance, workforce management and continuous quality improvement. They will work collaboratively with internal teams, clinicians and external partners to drive performance, improve processes and ensure organisational objectives, contractual requirements and patient expectations are met. The role will support the Outpatients Service Manager in overseeing the teams within Outpatients, including Referrals In, Reception, Pathways, Medical Secretaries and Referrals Out. Responsibilities will include line management, service improvement, developing effective relationships with third-party providers, supporting new service developments, and reviewing, developing and implementing standard operating procedures. The successful candidate will have excellent attention to detail, strong organisational and problem-solving skills, and the ability to prioritise a varied workload whilst exercising initiative and sound judgement. They will maintain a high level of professionalism, confidentiality and diplomacy, and demonstrate a commitment to delivering outstanding patient care and operational excellence. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POST General o To be responsible for day-to-day management of operational issues, making independent decisions. o Oversee the management of patient pathways from referrals received to patient discharge including elements undertaken by sub-contractors. o To be responsible for the day-to-day management of teams to meet objectives set by the board, local and national targets, KPIs and SLAs. o Prioritise and organise own workload; making decisions and initiating action where necessary, ensuring timeframes are met through shared knowledge and cover. o Attending and conducting operational meetings, review groups for incidents, complaints and governance. o Support service development projects from planning through to implementation, engaging stakeholders and contributing to business cases, operational readiness and service mobilisation. o Strive for continuous improvement, making use of developing technology to drive efficiency and autonomy. o Analyse operational and performance data to identify trends, risks and opportunities, providing recommendations and reports to support decision making. o Support effective utilisation of resources and identify opportunities to improve efficiency and value for money. o Promote equality, diversity and inclusion and actively contribute to creating a respectful and inclusive working environment. o Any other reasonable duties as commensurate with the nature of this role. Patient and public engagement o To be the first point of contact for complaints and concerns, working with the relevant team leader to promptly address patient issues. o Build effective working relationships with colleagues, clinicians and third parties. o Setting up regular quality and performance reviews with third party health care providers such a trust hospitals and independent hospitals. To support establishing new referral pathways, sharing wait list management trackers and the exchange of mutually beneficial information and addressing issues. o Conducting and supporting patient surveys, audits, inspections and reviewing patient feedback, creating action plans for any areas where improvements are identified. Governance o Responsible for responding to complaints within the set timeframes and guidelines. o Investigating incidents, establishing root cause and putting corrective and preventative measures in place to prevent a reoccurrence o Writing up new procedures and checking existing processes are fit for purpose and updating them where necessary. o Maintaining accurate record keeping. o Ensuring staff compliance with mandatory training. o Support the delivery of clinical governance and quality improvement programmes, ensuring lessons learned from incidents, complaints, audits and patient feedback are embedded into service delivery. o Conduct audits in line with recommended timeframes. Identify, assess and manage operational risks and contribute to the maintenance of departmental risk registers People Management o Direct line management of team leaders and overarching management of their teams. o Support Team Leaders to manage employee performance, attendance, conduct and capability issues. o Be fully conversant with all departmental policies and guidelines and ensure these are implemented and adhered to. o To act as a role model, actively demonstrating DHC values. o Maintain excellent working relationships with all colleagues. o Coaching and mentoring team members. o Support workforce planning activities including recruitment, onboarding, induction, retention and succession planning. Deputising for the Outpatients Service Manager o Act as the senior operational lead for outpatients in the absence of the Outpatients Service Manager and/or Deputy Outpatients Manager (Services), escalating matters where appropriate. o As duty manager provide support to all teams within the department to resolve queries, ensuring issues are resolved within a timely manner. o Sharing the responsibility of responding to duty calls, emails and tasks. o Ensure day to day operations are efficient & effective, suggesting and delivering improvements where relevant. WORK SETTING AND REVIEW To manage own workload efficiently and effectively on a daily basis. Maintain confidentiality at all times. Make decisions pertaining to the smooth and efficient running of the department, acting independently but with the support of the wider management team. Be able to work with a degree of autonomy and with a continuous improvement mindset. Work towards objectives as set by the Outpatients Service Manager. CONFIDENTIALITY The post holder must maintain the confidentiality of information about patients, staff and DHC business in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Caldicott principles. This job description represents an outline of the responsibilities of the post and is not intended to be an exhaustive list of duties or tasks. It will change and develop in line with organisational needs and may be amended following agreement with the post-holder. PERSON SPECIFICATION Please note: the criteria set out in the person specification will be used to make recruitment decisions. Please ensure you set out clearly in your application and supporting statement how your experience, skills, knowledge and qualifications meet the criteria.