NHS AfC:
Band 8aContractPermanentHours
1. Full time
2. Flexible working
37.5 hours per week Job ref 914-BSA7417098 Site Newcastle, Fleetwood or WakefieldTown Newcastle Upon TyneSalary £55,690 - £62,682 per annumSalary period YearlyClosing 23/09/2025 23:59
Job overview
Are you ready to lead change and make a real impact across the NHS?
Do you thrive in a fast-paced environment where collaboration, innovation and improvement are at the heart of everything you do?
We’re looking for an experienced and passionate Optimisation Manager to join our Workforce Services Directorate, on our Electronic Staff Record (ESR) workstream. We’re working in partnership with the ESR Central Team to help NHS organisations make the most of ESR. Our aim is to support them in using the system more effectively and ensuring accurate data to inform better business decisions. As the Optimisation Manager, you’ll lead and champion this workstream, providing strategic direction and supporting the team to deliver successful projects. You’ll also be responsible for planning, reporting, and managing budgets, working closely with the Optimisation Senior Management Team. You’ll use your initiative to get the best out of your team and drive continuous improvement.
This position is currently hybrid working, with a main base of Newcastle, Fleetwood or Wakefield.
What do we offer? • 27 days leave (increasing with length of service) plus 8 bank holidays • Flexible working (we are happy to discuss options such as compressed hours) • Hybrid working model (we are currently working largely remotely) • Career development • Active wellbeing and inclusion networks • Excellent pension • NHS Car lease scheme • Access to a wide range of benefits and high street discounts!
Main duties of the job
As Optimisation Manager, you’ll lead the delivery of change and improvement projects across the Workforce Services Directorate. You’ll work closely with NHS teams, clients, and suppliers to design and implement new processes, onboard new clients, and manage service transitions.
Your key responsibilities will include:
3. Leading complex projects and change initiatives across the Workforce Services Directorate.
4. Building strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
5. Designing and improving processes to enhance customer experience and service delivery.
6. Managing budgets, pricing models, and financial controls.
7. Supporting business development and client onboarding/offboarding.
8. Driving continuous improvement and embedding agile ways of working.
9. Coaching and developing team members to achieve high performance.
10. You’ll be a key point of contact for process change, ensuring readiness and alignment across systems and services.
11. Promote and role model a positive, progressive and inclusive one-team culture across the Workforce Optimisation Team.
For a more detailed breakdown of the role and responsibilities please take a look at the job description attached to the advert. We welcome conversations about this opportunity, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to find out more.
Working for our organisation
Here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), what we do matters.
We manage the NHS Pension scheme, process prescription payments and much more. Our services are used by NHS organisations, contractors and the public: we’re proud to be part of something meaningful, that touches millions of lives.
We design our services around customer needs and place people at the heart of our organisation. That’s why when you join us, you’ll be empowered and supported to help your career grow.
As one of the UK’s Best Big Companies to work for, we’re connected to our values: Collaborative, Adventurous, Reliable and Energetic. We care about our people, our purpose, and your progress.
We strive to offer a fantastic colleague experience, where every colleague is heard, supported and respected. Wellbeing, diversity and inclusion is at the centre of this, and you can join our Lived Experience Networks who help us bring our authentic selves to work.
We’re committed to being a flexible employer and we try to offer a working pattern that suits you where possible, through hybrid working, flexible hours and more.
Alongside a competitive salary with pay progression, we offer a people-centric benefits package, connecting you to the rewards and benefits you value most!
Ready to join us in delivering business service excellence to the NHS, helping people live longer, healthier lives? Apply today and see where the NHSBSA can take you.
We are people connected to care.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
In this role, you are accountable for
1. Nurturing key relationships and maintaining networks internally and externally, including national networks. Encourage an atmosphere of trust and openness based on working together and shared objectives. Utilise high-functioning communication skills to encourage a collaborative customer-focused approach.
a. negotiating delivery objectives with senior internal and external stakeholders, external project managers, commercial and IG leads, 3rd party delivery partners;
b. negotiating pricing for services with senior external stakeholders;
c. delivering objectives to agreed standards and timescales; and
d. constantly challenging and balancing timescales, project deliverables, resources and governance considerations to meet difficult challenges presented by changes in policy, ICT capabilities, client priorities and the wider context while maintaining productive collaborative working relationships.
2. Leading in successfully developing and managing customer expectations ensuring mutual understanding of business needs through regular and effective communication, working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to achieve shared goals.
3. Providing expertise in relation to best practice for project and change management and building excellent working client relationships internally and externally, with system and service suppliers, customers and other organisations, representing the NHSBSA in local and external user groups.
4. Leading on all aspects of relevant processes, monitoring and supporting users in systems which may be introduced to improve processes. Providing process design expertise and to drive the further development of a professional service, taking a lead on implementing changes to and rolling out administration systems usage and new working practices.
5. Defining current processes, creating change plans, facilitating discussions and being a key point of reference for internal and external stakeholders, as to how best practice might be adopted in the definition of future processes, re-engineering and documenting those processes as they are agreed and overseeing their implementation.
6. Acting as a key contact point of assurance to the wider business in terms of the quality of process changes including leading an organisational readiness assessment, mapping activity and identifying gaps between current and future-state business processes
7. Ensuring change management and implementation enables maximum alignment across our Workforce systems and services.
8. Understanding and interpreting business requirements, risk management standards and strategic initiatives, and lead on projects on behalf of Workforce Services Directorate relating to further development of workforce systems and services. Liaising internally and externally on suggested and required changes.
9. Supporting the development of new business leads, preparing robust information for stakeholder meetings, producing bids under agreed frameworks, and presenting service options to prospective clients.
10. Project managing the onboarding of new clients, and the change in service mix for existing clients, to ensure a positive customer experience and managed impact on the service delivery team.
11. Leading the project management of the off boarding of clients to ensure a positive customer experience, managing the impact on service delivery teams whilst maintaining positive working relationships throughout.
12. Leading on a range of large scale, complex improvement projects addressing longer term strategic planning, performance and service issues across the Workforce Service Directorate to improve our end to end service for customers.
13. Developing and maintaining the appropriate agile environment to support and implement changes, whilst ensuring the users are fully engaged in the project, given the tight timescales and constantly changing requirements of projects, positive and improvement feedback is provided daily to team members, and that business focus is maintained.
14. Developing a continuous improvement culture for self and within the team and as a result establish new working practices leading to performance improvements, enhanced customer service or reduced cost by identifying and facilitating improvements to service delivery.
15. Managing the performance of staff members by leadership, coaching, motivation, monitoring, setting work targets, improvements and quality standards. Provide staff with regular timely constructive feedback about performance and behaviour, agreeing realistic targets, monitoring and evaluating achievements.
16. Being aware of own development requirements, and actively seek creative opportunities to meet those development needs.
17. Working as part of the Leadership and Management team to promote a shared vision delivered through an inclusive and supportive culture with high levels of trust, engagement and opportunity, to maintain and further develop our high-performing team.
18. Acting as first point of contact for significant process change related requests from internal/external customers including dealing with and delegating enquiries and be able to take initiative in order to troubleshoot, problem solve and determine an appropriate course of action.
19. Developing and maintaining the Workforce Services Directorate Service Catalogue based on customer requirements in line with the agreed service offering. Actively participating in the development of the key service offering as part of the Senior Management Team and establish the feasibility and pricing structure to embed the services.
20. Developing the cost model and associated pricing structure for services provided with clients, acting as the key contact with Finance to agree budgets and business planning requirements. Reporting to your manager to highlight risks, budget positions and completing business cases for additional resource/budget where required.
21. Leading on the development of accurate and robust invoicing to clients, ensuring all revenue is recovered and accounted for. Including both Service Catalogue charges and Additional Service Requests to cover costs.
22. Accurately costing resource required to complete client changes and additional services, identifying risks, dependencies and delivery timescales. Agreeing sign off of costs and ensuring recovery though robust invoicing channels.
23. Ensuring the establishment is managed in line with agreed budgets of £2.7m per annum, monitoring compliance and ensuring relevant approvals for any changes. Highlighting risks to agreed contribution rates as they arise.
24. Overseeing available resources and any agreed budget allocations efficiently, effectively and economically.
25. Identifying and delivering process improvement changes, keeping relevant processes up to date and ensuring staff and customers use them in line with audit requirements including monitoring expenditure against target areas.
26. Modelling a collaborative, inclusive and influencing style of working, negotiating with and appropriately challenging others to achieve the best outcomes; embedding this approach across the broader team.
27. Analysing, interpreting and presenting highly complex data to highlight issues, risks and support decision-making.
28. Developing guides and process instructions for use on all aspects of process change to include risk, performance and governance.
29. Identifying and delivering user training requirements and either directly or with relevant information training sources, implementing and reviewing training programmes on a regular basis.
30. Providing detailed analysis, investigation and resolution to queries raised by 3rd party providers, including those who supply to NHSBSA and those contracted to Workforce Services customer organisations.
31. Coordinating the Optimisation team's involvement with and response to NHSBSA and client audits, ensuring all recommended actions are considered and taken forward as appropriate to ensure identified risks are mitigated wherever possible.
Person specification
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
12. Change management techniques.
13. LEAN/similar
14. Experience and knowledge of driving change management requirements and processes.
15. Good understanding of computerised office systems.
16. Experience and knowledge of Financial control in a Workforce environment
17. Able to work on own initiative, be exceptionally organised, taking decisions and actions in line with the Business aims of the organisation.
18. Able to demonstrate effective, inclusive leadership and motivational skills.
19. Identify and influence different approaches to working practices.
20. Drive and manage significant change.
21. Encourage innovation in others.
22. Drafting and Reporting skills.
23. Demonstrate a range of effective communication and presentation skills.
24. Committed to timely delivery to agreed quality standards.
25. Focus on customer service and continuous improvement.
26. Ability to communicate at all levels, building and maintaining good working relationships with managers, staff, external & internal stakeholders and services and goods providers.
27. Ability to use informed persuasion to influence others
28. Able to pushback firmly with stakeholders while maintaining a positive working relationship
29. Ability to make judgements unaided and to work pro-actively
30. Able to plan proactively and prioritise in line with business.
31. Flexible approach to work.
Desirable criteria
32. Microsoft
33. Databases
34. HR core processes
Experience
Essential criteria
35. Experience of designing, developing and implementing process changes/new systems and identifying AHT and other methods to underpin costs models
36. Development of service costing and pricing models
37. Experience of financial control in managing establishments and budgets
38. Experience delivering robust invoicing and pricing processes in line with contracts and service catalogues
39. Significant Project Management experience in highly complex environments with multiple, competing stakeholders
40. Business Process Improvement
41. Be able to demonstrate a good balance between strategic thinking/planning and delivery
42. Identifying and developing potential opportunities for business growth to successful contracting
43. Onboarding new clients to an existing service
Desirable criteria
44. Experience of transformational change management bringing about sustained service and performance improvement
45. Experience in working in a workforce environment with associated HR & OD processes
46. Wide experience and understanding of the NHS.
47. Experienced in the use of formal quality improvement and project planning methods
48. Client offboarding
Qualifications
Essential criteria
49. Degree level in change management or similar discipline or significant demonstrable relevant experience
50. Full Prince2 accreditation and evidenced experience of successful implementation
51. Agile/LEAN/6SIGMA training or a recognised project management methodology
52. Or significant demonstrable relevant experience
Desirable criteria
53. Post-graduate level or equivalent in relevant discipline
54. ISEB qualification in Business Analysis or Change
55. CIPD would be an advantage
The NHSBSA is passionate about creating a diverse and inclusive organisation, which is a great place to work and truly reflects the diversity of our customers. We welcome applications from talented people of diverse characteristics including age, disability, gender identity and expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any marginalised group. We also welcome applications from all those in the Armed Forces Community.
At the NHSBSA we pride ourselves on being a Disability Confident Leader, Stonewall Top 100 employer and we’ve recently been awarded the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion Gold Standard benchmark.
We offer an invitation to the first stage of the selection process for people with disabilities that wish to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme, and for members of the Armed Forces Community, where all of the essential criteria in the person specification are met.
A copy of our Privacy Notice is available to view at the link below:
NHSBSA Privacy Notice
Employer certification / accreditation badges