County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Macmillan Information and Support Manager
The closing date is 08 November 2025
CDDFT is seeking an experienced and motivated individual to support the continued management and development of the Macmillan Cancer Information Service. The individual will require highly developed interpersonal, communication, service improvement and facilitation skills.
The importance of timely, sensitive, reliable and comprehensible information and support for people affected by cancer is widely recognised. CDDFT has three hospital‑based information centres and two outreach centres across the county to provide cancer information services to people affected by cancer, health and social care professionals, and the public.
This role and the Information and Support Centres are integral to the experience of people affected by cancer in County Durham and Darlington. This is achieved by close working with clinical and non‑clinical teams both within hospitals and within communities.
Main duties of the job
You will support the ongoing development, management and day‑to‑day operation of the service, including performance management, reporting and leading a team of cancer care coordinators and volunteers. This requires a flexible and responsive approach.
You will help to manage a trust‑wide support service, engaging with internal and external teams and services to support people affected by cancer in their own communities through signposting and collaboration.
The cancer information and support centres are innovative and responsive to need, listening to the patient voice to inform where resources are required.
The Centre Manager responsibilities include promoting personalised care for cancer patients so they feel empowered and supported to make holistic, informed decisions. This helps enable their independence and supports self‑management to empower the patient and their carers. They will coordinate the service approach to assess the individual needs of patients, providing appropriate personalised information and support about cancer and cancer services to help enable people to navigate the health and social care system.
About us
We provide hospital services from two acute sites – Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester‑Le‑Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community‑based settings and care in patients' homes.
We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under‑represented.
Job responsibilities
The Macmillan Information and Support Manager will play a pivotal role in leading the service that supports people affected by cancer in County Durham and Darlington. They will be highly motivated and flexible, developing effective working relationships across internal and external teams and organisations.
They will maintain a team, including cancer care coordinators and volunteers, to support the information centres. This requires careful selection, induction, ongoing training and support, and succession planning.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Educated to degree level or equivalent
* Advanced communication skills training
* Counselling qualification
* Cancer training/education
* Leadership training
Experience
* Experience of working with people affected by cancer
* Experience in a leadership/supervisory role
* Experience working with patients and carers in a health or social care environment, providing advice, support and information
* Experience of supporting service improvements and implementing new ways of working
* Experience of engaging with patients to learn from their experiences and using their feedback to shape service delivery
* Experience of working collaboratively with internal and external agencies
* Professional background in an area of healthcare, social care or welfare rights
* Experience of working with cancer patients and carers
* Experience of working within a clinical environment
* Experience of working with or managing volunteers
Special Skills & Knowledge
* Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information with empathy
* Enhanced interpersonal/communication skills demonstrating self‑awareness and emotional intelligence
* Ability to lead, manage and motivate a team of staff and volunteers within a healthcare environment
* Knowledge of key strategies impacting on the delivery of care and support for people with cancer, including the Personalised Care Agenda
* Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with multidisciplinary team to improve and coordinate services
* Competently utilises a wide range of IT systems and programmes
* Personal resilience to manage an emotionally challenging and demanding workload
* Willingness to undertake further training and development
* Positive attitude towards change and its implementation
* Highly motivated and organised
* Audit and data analysis skills
* Good knowledge of support services for people dealing with cancer
Special Requirements
* Able to deal appropriately with distressing information from patients and their relatives
* Ability to concentrate on tasks while managing frequent interruptions and making appropriate adjustments to priorities
* Flexible and adaptable
* Ability to travel independently across sites to fulfil the requirements of the post
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires submission for Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer name
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
£38,682 to £46,580 a year, pro rata
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