Pathway Manager

Job summary GM Cancer brings together patients, carers, and other service users as well as NHS organisations and academic institutions with the aim of securing world-class cancer outcomes and experience for our population of 3 million.
GM Cancer is the cancer programme of Greater Manchester Integrated Care.The pathway manager team within GM Cancer supports 12 clinical Pathway Boards.
The Pathway Boards deliver Greater Manchester (GM) system-wide improvements to cancer pathways and patient care, with a broad remit covering the whole pathway including early diagnosis, sustainable operational delivery and personalised care, workforce and education, research and reducing health inequalities.Pathway Boards bring together stakeholders from across GM including clinicians, service users, primary/secondary care representatives, place-based representatives, managers and other organisations/groups to create an engaged, multidisciplinary board which is representative of the whole patient pathway.
Each Pathway Board has its own programme of work and the pathway manager works closely with the clinical lead for each pathway to deliver these programmes.
The pathway managers' roles are busy and varied.GM Cancer is hosted and based at The Christie and staff have a hybrid working pattern (mix of working from home and in the office), with some travel across Greater Manchester and Cheshire.This is a fixed term contract to 31st March 2026 in the first instance, secondments welcomed.
Main duties of the job The Pathway Manager will support delivery of GM Cancer objectives and priorities identified within NHS England's Long Term Plan and the local cancer operational delivery plan.The post holder will provide comprehensive management, leadership and support for several Pathway Boards including proactively and collaboratively leading/managing projects and progressing the Pathway Boards' work programmes, to support embedding best practice across organisations and improving delivery of cancer care in line with NHSE priorities.
About us GM Cancer brings together patients, carers, and other service users as well as NHS organisations and academic institutions with the aim of securing world-class cancer outcomes and experience for our population of 3 million.
GM Cancer is the cancer programme of Greater Manchester Integrated Care.GM Cancer is hosted by The Christie, with office space at The Christie's Withington site.The Christie is one of Europe's leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year.
We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire.
Job description Job responsibilities Set-up and organisation Lead a number of multidisciplinary tumour-specific Pathway Boards (for example breast, lung, colorectal, gynaecological), ensuring full representation from across Greater Manchester NHS Trusts, relevant organisations and key partners (including radiology, pathology, commissioning, primary care, patients representatives, charities) in the care of patients across the whole patient pathway This requires considerable concentration for prolonged periods of time at least twice a week and leads to emotional strain and pressure associated with a high workload volume and engagement as a regular feature of the role Creation of complex bids for funding , to improve early diagnosis of cancersAnalysing data from varying sources (qualitative and quantitative) and including relevant data in the comprehensive reports/bids/plans to support the cases of need produced by the postholder Develop yearly work plans across a number of boards and manage the delivery of these plans in line with the NHS Long Term Plan and GM Cancer plan.
Examples include GM-wide patient pathways to be adopted across the GM Trusts for specific symptoms pertaining to disease groups , mastalgia, bone preservation during cancer treatment, clinics for familial cancers Developing evidence-based plans, projects, policy, and service developments to directly improve patient outcomes across the GM population, relating to early diagnosis, increasing survival rates and equity of access to specific cancer services.
These plans/policies/service developments could be new GM patient pathways or services, or based upon national initiatives that are mandated to be delivered across the multiple Trusts/organisations in Greater Manchester Lead specific Pathway Board GM/multiple organisation-wide projects and bids including responsibility and management of the budgets for these projectsCo-ordinate, facilitate and manage all the multi-organisational Pathway Board meetings for a number of tumour-specific pathways, creating and presenting progress reports/documents at these meetings Prepare agendas, papers, and minutes for Pathway Board meetings, being responsible for the follow up of agreed actions, holding to account the relevant senior clinicians/managers, and leading the progress of the actions Propose and deliver meaningful educational events for a wide group of pathway stakeholders and interested parties across organisations and professions whether face to face or remotely, to allow new developments and learning from the Pathway Board to be disseminated across the system.
These events can be regional or national to train/support the workforce to deliver improved patient outcomes/best practice, creating and delivering the content Create opportunities and facilitate full and active patient participation in the work of Pathway Boards, working with patient representatives and adapting communication methods to overcome any barriers to communication Lead on building meaningful relationships across GM organisations and beyond, including public health bodies (, Public Health England, cancer screening services) and service user engagement, to enhance, share and embed best practice within the pathways, including working with voluntary community and social enterprise organisations (, CRUK, Macmillan) In conjunction with the Clinical Leads identify and mitigate/escalate any issues/risks to the programmes of work Ensure research and clinical trials are supported through the Pathways Boards and identify opportunities for system-wide participation/expansion in trials Communication and support The post holder is the key management support for the Pathway Clinical Leads and the programme management, including delivery of GM-wide projects to meet the Boards aims for , improving early diagnosis and survival rates The post holder is the key communication link between Pathway Clinical Leads and the Greater Manchester Cancer Senior Management Team Has responsibility to develop and write innovative proposals and business cases, including financial modelling, outcomes and benefits for system-wide service change, improvement, and transformation for cancer pathways, with the Pathway Clinical Leads.
Examples include introducing new innovative best practice such as Cytosponge, remote PSA sampling for prostate cancer across the NHS provider Trusts and NHS-related organisations of Greater Manchester Actively engage with the Clinical Leads, members of the Pathway Boards and managerial colleagues to ensure the work programme objectives are prioritised and delivered, using a range of communication methods to suit the varying audiences Is the main point of contact and link to expertise and resources regarding the Pathway Boards and the clinical pathways Challenge and hold to account the Pathway Clinical Directors and their Pathway Boards if they exhibit a lack of ambition or consider objectives that do not contribute towards those of Greater Manchester Cancer Maintain excellent communication for wider Greater Manchester Cancer developments with the Pathway Clinical Leads and their Pathway Boards (2-way communication both from the Pathway Boards to the GM Cancer Alliance to support wider cancer developments, and also how wider developments shared by GM Cancer Alliance can impact on the Pathway Boards programmes of work) Formally update the Greater Manchester Cancer Senior Management Team via the assurance framework with Pathway Board developments/project plans, and identify where support or challenge is needed Responsible for creation of reports and papers from the postholders data sources/involvement with the programmes of work to update the Greater Manchester Cancer Board on Pathway Board developments and to seek approval for recommended action Human Resources Responsible for the recruitment of administration and support staff Line management of administration and support staff, including appraisal and development, performance, and work streams, including responsibility for grievance and disciplinary procedures Maintaining all records pertaining to line management functions Contributing to the recruitment and annual appraisal of the Pathway Clinical Leads (senior clinicians) Data and information Research general and tumour-specific background data and literature from national and international sources to support the programmes of work/projects/focus of future projects across Greater Manchester organisations/Trusts Collate data and literature into concise reports and tools and present to Pathway Clinical Leads and Pathway Boards to support the direction of the programmes of work Develop measurable outcomes for each element of the pathway work programmes and track and report progress to the Pathway Boards, GM Cancer Senior Management Team, and Programme Assurance Group Analyse cancer data and intelligence to identify trends, key messages, and opportunities to improve patient outcomes and experience Support Pathway Boards in the collation, critical analysis, and presentation of GM system-wide audit data, comparing this to national data to inform decisions and prioritisation of objectives Use of appropriate systems such as Tableau to create reports to inform GM-wide system performance for the Pathway Boards Financial Management Manage and monitor the budgets associated with pathway work plans/projects including procurement, transacting funds to the relevant organisations and regular reporting of spend for local, regional, and national financial returns Lead the development of funding bids and business cases including the establishment of a compelling case of need required to support the implementation of performance programmes.
This will also include budget analysis, modelling, and projection to ensure that the programmes continue to maximise all available external funding and revenue streams throughout their lifecycle Ensure a comprehensive benefits realisation strategy is in place, including management of benefits beyond the lifecycle of the programmes to ensure that the programmes delivers the expected outcomes and improvements Accountable for authorising expenditure of pathway programmes of work in line with agreed delegated authorities/decision rights Planning and reporting In conjunction with the Pathway Clinical Leads and their Pathway Boards, manage responses to the NHSE Long Term Plan cancer elements Develop system-wide (across GM Trusts and organisations) operational procedures and documentation in line with national strategies for the relevant staff within these Trusts/organisations to use operationally, to ensure equitable access and progression of the cancer pathways and specific services Develop and manage the annual work programmes to contribute towards the delivery of the GM Cancer plan in conjunction with the Pathway Clinical Leads.
Ensuring these work programmes contain clear objectives, tasks and identified leads, and holding these leads to account for their specific actions Manage and monitor a number of competing deadlines to support delivery of the annual work programmes, instigating corrective action where appropriate Develop and support Pathway Boards in defining outcome measures so that achievement can be monitored during the year Track progress against the pathway outcome measures and provide progress reports to GM Cancer Develop and maintain a risk register for the Pathway Boards objectives and annual work plan, reporting risks and issues to the Pathway Clinical Lead (Greater Manchester Cancer trusts will retain responsibility for the clinical governance of cancer services provision) With the Pathway Clinical Leads, jointly create the annual report on progress in achieving the years objectives, the challenges faced during the year, and the priorities for the next year Person Specification Qualifications Essential Educated to postgraduate degree level or equivalent or significant experience of working at a similar level Postgraduate degree in management studies or equivalent or significant experience of working at a similar level Desirable Formal project management qualification (, PRINCE 2 practitioner or equivalent) Experience Essential Has worked with senior clinical colleagues to improve services Has managed members of staff Has led projects in complex and challenging environments Has managed and reported on risks and issues Has financial management experience Has delivered service changes and improvements within own area or organisation Has supported the delivery of plans for service changes and improvements across multiple teams or organisations Has an understanding of cancer services in Greater Manchester Desirable Has worked in a Greater Manchester health care environment Skills Essential Can influence others to develop a shared vision Can challenge other team members and senior colleagues when necessary Can analyse very complex information from a wide range of sources where material may be conflicting Can use experience to make inferences and act where information is incomplete Can monitor progress against plans, escalating risks and issues as appropriate Can manage own workload Can make informed decisions in the absence of complete information Can work to demanding and changing timescales Knowledge Essential Can use Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint software to a high standard Numerate and able to understand complex financial information Can produce concise and insightful written materials for senior stakeholders or a broader audience as appropriate Can create and deliver presentations to a broad range of different stakeholders Can develop plans for the short and long term for services that extend across multiple organisations and adjust them as required Values Essential Committed to quality in all that they do Values diversity and difference and promotes equality of opportunity Committed to working to help clinicians deliver better outcomes for patients Committed to patient and carer involvement in the development of health services Committed to the use of evidence and clinical consensus to bring about change Operates with integrity and openness Committed to personal development and supporting others to do the same Energetic and enthusiastic, capable of generating enthusiasm in others Challenges received wisdom and acceptance of the status quo Other Essential There is some travelling across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, and occasionally nationally