Band 7 - Governance Manager, Governance | West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust


Company:	West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust
Salary:	£51,657 - £58,785 pa inc. HCA
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Watford, WD18 0HB
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	13 Oct 2026
Closing date:	13 Nov 2026

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Summary

We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced Governance Manager to support the delivery of high-quality governance, patient safety and risk management arrangements within Paediatric Services across the Women and Children Division. Please note that while we are recruiting for paediatrics at this point, governance managers may be required to work within other services depending on service needs.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in supporting the delivery of safe, effective and compassionate care for children, young people and their families. Working closely with clinical, nursing and operational leaders, you will help ensure robust governance systems are in place across paediatric services, supporting the effective management of incidents, risks, complaints, clinical audit and regulatory compliance.

Reporting to the Deputy Head of Governance, you will provide expert governance advice, support the implementation of the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF), develop insightful governance reporting, and help ensure learning from incidents, complaints and patient feedback translates into meaningful service improvements.

This role offers an excellent opportunity for an experienced governance, quality, patient safety or risk management professional who is passionate about quality improvement and patient safety and wants to make a real difference within a busy and rewarding clinical environment.

As Governance Manager for Paediatric Services, you will work on the day-to-day coordination and delivery of governance processes, supporting the delivery of the Trust's Quality Governance Framework and patient safety priorities.

You will work closely with clinical and operational teams to oversee governance systems relating to patient safety incidents, risk management, complaints, clinical audit, quality improvement and regulatory compliance. The role includes supporting PSIRF learning responses and investigations, maintaining and quality assuring divisional risk registers, coordinating governance reporting and identifying emerging themes and risks from multiple sources of intelligence.

You will support the development of assurance reports and governance papers for divisional governance meetings and senior committees, ensuring that risks, controls, assurances and gaps are clearly articulated. The postholder will also help promote a culture of openness, learning and continuous improvement across paediatric services, ensuring that the patient and family voice informs governance and service development activities.

With a new hospital planned for Watford, work underway to update theatres at St Albans City Hospital and plans for a neighbourhood healthcare centre in Hemel Hempstead, this is an exciting time to join us.

We are building on the success of our award-winning virtual hospital and re-imagining models of care, working closely with partners and making the most of advances in digital healthcare.

Staff wellbeing and development are a priority, as is the role of innovation in improving clinical care, outcomes and patient experience.

Our vision is Excellent patient care, together and our values are to be empowered, compassionate, professional and inclusive. They capture an important balance across what we must all do as individuals and to support others.

We offer a variety of flexible working options as we recognise the importance of a good work life balance. www.westhertshospitals.nhs.uk/flexibleworking

If you have a disability or long-term health condition and require support or guidance please contact westherts.recruitment@nhs.net

If you are a Service Leaver, Veteran, Military Reserve, Cadet Force Adult Volunteer, or partner/spouse of those serving please tick "Member of the Armed Forces Community" on the application form.

We reserve the right to close this advert early due to the volume of applicants. Please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

If you do not hear back within 3 weeks of your application, please assume you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

The successful candidate will provide expert governance support to Paediatric Services, helping to ensure the Division meets its quality, safety and regulatory obligations. Responsibilities include supporting incident management and investigations, risk management processes, complaints and claims coordination, clinical audit programmes, governance reporting and action plan monitoring.

The postholder will analyse complex governance information to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement and work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to strengthen governance processes and assurance arrangements. They will provide guidance and training on governance, risk and patient safety systems and support the development of a positive culture that encourages learning, transparency and improvement.

The role is primarily based at Watford General Hospital with some cross-site working where required. Core working hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm (37.5 hours per week). Flexible working requests will be considered in line with Trust policy and service requirements.

This advert closes on Thursday 22 Oct 2026

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