Programme Manager

Scottish Ambulance Service

Programme Management Office

Programme Manager

Location: Negotiable

The Scottish Ambulance Service is a national health board within NHS Scotland and one of three Scottish emergency services. We offer a unique position in NHS Scotland operating across Health and Social Care, including Public Health, and as a mobile service meeting the scheduled and unscheduled care needs of the population of Scotland in every community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We attend with road resources, aeroplanes and helicopters and have the specialist resources of our operations response team and specialist transport and retrieval teams ready to assist. We also have a dedicated team of volunteers, support staff and operations centre staff able to assist our frontline crews in the delivery of high-quality care to our patients and the public.

The Service has a Programme Management Office (PMO) in place to support the Service in meeting the aims of our 2030 Strategy. We are currently recruiting a Programme Manager to join the PMO on a permanent basis to support the delivery of key Service programmes and projects.

The successful candidate will be an integral part of the PMO and a key member of the PMO Senior Leadership Team. They will line manage a team of staff within the PMO and have a senior role to play in the development of the PMO as a department.

They will provide leadership for the delivery of key Service strategic programmes. These will typically involve delivering transformational change, impacting thousands of users and with budgets of over £1m. The successful candidate will lead a core programme team and work with wider stakeholders to ensure that all appropriate staff are fully engaged in the development and implementation of the new solutions, and that appropriate programme, project and change management processes are being followed throughout the programme lifecycle.

The initial work the successful candidate will undertake involves leading the delivery of the Emergency Service Network Programme in SAS. This is a complex, technical programme that delivers the Service’s element of the Home Office’s Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP). The programme requires co-ordination with partners in other emergency services, other ambulance services and Scottish and UK governments. The programme will deliver a new critical communications infrastructure in Great Britain along with new devices, applications, LTE coverage and networks. The role requires a high degree of technical aptitude and the ability to be creative in finding solutions to complex problems as well as well-developed change management and influencing skills.

To be successful in this role, the candidate must have a proven track record of delivering complex programmes or projects. They should have excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. They will be interacting with staff at all levels across the Service including senior management, operational staff, support staff and unions. Reporting to Executive level within the Service will be a regular part of this job. There is also a requirement to work closely with partners such as Scottish Government, NHS Boards, Emergency Services and 3rd party suppliers. Therefore, it is essential that they can present complex information in a way that is meaningful to a range of different audiences.

The successful candidate will need to manage a range of competing priorities while maintaining high levels of quality. The candidate should be well organised, self-motivated and be prepared to work autonomously to deliver the range of programmes and projects assigned to them. Candidates must be confident using modern productivity tools, including AI-enabled solutions, to improve efficiency and support programme delivery.

Due to the sensitive nature of some of the work, candidates may require security clearance. This will be organised by the Service but will be a pre-requisite for commencing work on a programme or project which requires clearance.

The post location is flexible and will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate. This could include home working, office working at one of our locations across Scotland or a hybrid of the two. However, there are likely to be regular in-person meetings taking place in the central belt, so a willingness to travel is essential. Applicants must have a current driving licence.

Due to the dynamic nature of projects, there will be occasions where the post-holder will have to be flexible in terms of their start time and finish time during their working week.

SAS does not sponsor visas, so it is essential that applicants can demonstrate that they have this eligibility to work via an alternative, established UK visa route and will not require to be sponsored.

Interviews will be held in person in the central belt in the week commencing 14th September.

For further information please contact Liam Coughlan, [email protected].

To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service. As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here. Please note that SAS is NOT licensed to issue certificates of sponsorship under current UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) regulations. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship to work with us. NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.