Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Network Manager

The closing date is 28 May 2025

Job summary

The new Children and Young People's Gender Service National Provider Network (NPN) brings together specialist paediatric tertiary providers of the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Service (CYPGS). The Cass Review was an independent review into children and young people's gender services that concluded in April 2024 with a final report .

In August 2024, NHS England published anImplementation Plan, accepting these recommendations, and, the formation of the NPN cited as a key and urgent priority.

The aim of the NPN is to ensure that all CYPGS providers across England share a consistent approach, are high quality and underpinned by research, working closely with NHS England and CYPGS providers.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a collaborative leader to work as the NPN'sNetwork Manager.

The Network Manager will be an integral part of the development and management of the Network and will work with the NPN team and service providers to ensure safe, effective and consistent services across England. Though the role will not ordinarily involve direct contact with patients, the needs of the children and young people and their families are paramount.

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust is the host of the National Provider Network, but the NPN post-holders will work with specialist paediatric tertiary providers from across England, and with NHS England and other stakeholders.

Main duties of the job

The Network Manager will be responsible for leading and providing operational management support to the NPN and its sub-groups. The post-holder will also be responsible for managing and developing business and project support staff.

The post holder will have specialist knowledge underpinned by theory across a range of areas related to NPN business, including programme management and an understanding of children and young people's services, national policies and reviews, and the socio-political context in which the NPN operates.

The post holder will be responsible for developing and implementing business plans, projects and change initiatives, building key relationships, maintaining oversight of NPN membership and supporting the onboarding of member organisations. The post holder will also be responsible for NPN performance monitoring, coordinating the reporting into local governance and NHS England, and will also coordinate the national clinical audit and any national training.

The Network Manager will also support and operationally manage the CYPGS National Multidisciplinary Team (NMDT), working in partnership with the Business and Project Support Officer as well as supporting the National MDT Chair. The post holder will be responsible for ensuring Standard Operating Procedures are adhered to, robust information governance is in place and quality and outcome monitoring is undertaken within a continuous improvement ethos.

About us

As one of Europe's biggest and busiest children's hospitals, at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, we treat everything from common illnesses to highly complex and specialist conditions.In addition to our main hospital site, we offer paediatric services at a number of community sites and hold local clinics across Merseyside, Cumbria, Shropshire, Wales and the Isle of Man. We also provide specialist inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs in our recently relocated and newly opened state of the art facility.

Alder Hey has a thriving research portfolio and leads research into children's medicines, infection, inflammation and oncology. We are becoming recognised as one of the world's leaders in children's healthcare and research. We contribute to public health, lead cutting-edge research and teach the next generation of children's specialists. Alongside this is ourInnovation Hub, a dedicated space where clinicians and industries can come together to create new products and technologies.

We know that a children's hospital is different and that our job is more than just treating an illness. To us, every child is an individual. As well as giving them the very best care, we set out to make them feel happy, safe and confident as they play, learn and grow. At Alder Hey we are here to look after a child and their family and that includes mums, dads, brothers and sisters.

Date posted

14 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£53,755 to £60,504 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working, Home or remote working

Reference number

411-COM-25-7186688

Job locations

Alder Hey Children's NHS FT

Liverpool

L14 5AB

Job description

Job responsibilities

Communication and Relationship Skills

To provide and receive highly complex, contentious or sensitive information across internal and external stakeholders

Establish and maintain effective communication methods across the providers in the NPN Board and its sub-groups, including using highly developed influencing and motivational skills to achieve cooperation and business or service change.

Support the effective and efficient communication of National MDT processes and outcomes with the Chair and clinicians.

To maintain a high profile, being highly visible, accessible and approachable to NPN members, partners and key stakeholders to ensure that open and honest communication channels are created and sustained.

To provide written reports as required and within timescale.

To keep accurate, timely and thorough records of in line with Trust policy, including the compilation of appropriate statistics.

To communicate in a timely manner to relevant line manager any issues concerning NPN business and risk management.

To actively engage with the NPN programme team, attending and contributing proactively to team meetings or related national workstream meetings

To collaborate and negotiate effectively with multi-agency professionals and senior leaders across regional centres and the national team

To create, maintain and enhance supportive working relationships with professional networks and colleagues.

To prioritise workload, and the workload of others against conflicting demands

Analytical and Judgement Skills

To manage complex facts or datasets requiring interpretation or comparison of a range of options.

To make recommendations to leadership team where a solution is needed

Make decisions in relation to own scope of work

To maintain a particular focus on reporting evaluation and analysis with the aim of supporting consistency across regional centres so that children and young people receive a quality service regardless of where they live or access CYP gender services.

To seek, evaluate and organise accurate information to share with the NPN as a means of initiating and implementing change and ongoing improvements in service content, quality and delivery.

To monitor reports across the NPN, observing for trends and lessons learned, identifying the need for service or staff development and working with senior leads to inform strategy and improvements

Oversight of the membership and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), supports onboarding organisations

Co-ordination of reporting into Trust Board and NHSE including development of updates, returns and submissions, liaising with CYPGS providers to ensure reports and information provided on time

Planning and Organisational Skills

To plan and prioritise own workload with a broad range of complex activities often with competing deadlines.

To support and oversee junior staff members with workload and personal development

To lead the short and medium term planning and organisation of tasks or initiative required for effective operation of the NPN

To support the Director with long term strategy and planning initiatives which impact across other services.

To actively participate in the formulation and review of the NPN provision

To lead the planning of related policies, procedures and improvement projects

Collation of national data set and any planning rounds

Undertakes the role of National MDT Manager including the review of submission documentation, support to NMDT Chair, oversight of administration team and standard operating procedures.

Line management of junior staff

Responsibility for Patient/Client Care

To work in a non-clinical role as part of the CYPGS care pathway, managing National Multi-disciplinary Team submissions in line with due process to ensure care is coordinated with internal and external partners in a timely and professional way, and accurate records are maintained.

To provide general non-clinical information or guidance indirectly to patients and families, for example through supporting FOI and Complaints procedures or liaising with Communications leads.

Responsibility for Policy/Service Development

Participate in National MDT and NPN Board meetings, providing a professional perspective as appropriate to support effective management of the NPN, quality improvement across the NPN or policy development.

Assume a shared responsibility for the implementation, monitoring and review of NPN service developments

Manage the recruitment and HR processes required for the team, liaising with the host organisation where required

Lead the development and review of Standard Operating Procedures and core governance documents

Continuously improve the end-to-end process for the NPN and National MDT, including consideration of any digital opportunities.

Support the continual service improvement of the national CYP Gender Service.

Contribute to the delivery of national and local priorities as set out in the Trusts corporate objectives.

To be responsible for the general housekeeping of own work area, as well as departmental common areas, reporting any faulty or broken equipment and adhering to the Trust Risk Management Strategy.

To comply with all Trust and local departmental policies and procedures.

Undergo all statutory/mandatory training as and when required.

To take reasonable care for the health and safety of oneself, as well as others.

Adhere to Trust risk management policies to ensure a safe working environment.

The post holder is required to comply with the Trust policies on infection prevention and control, bringing any deficiencies to the attention of the Line Manager.

Financial/Physical Resources

Support the Associate Director and finance management colleagues, contributing to NPN budget management, financial initiatives and contracts

Hold delegated budget for the NPN as required by the Network Director, for example in relation to meeting resources costs

To ensure all charitable donations received are dealt with in line with Trust policies.

Responsible for ensuring Trust equipment and resources are maintained, reporting any faulty equipment to the Estates Department.

To ensure all charitable donations received are dealt with in line with Trust policies

Responsible for ensuring Trust equipment and resources are maintained, reporting any faulty equipment to the Estates Department

Oversee end to end invoicing process, undertaken by the Business and Project Support Officer

Responsibility for Human Resources

To actively participate, and lead when required, in the recruitment and selection of non-clinical staff ensuring appropriate skill-mix to meet operational needs.

Line manager for a single function, supervising, supporting, managing and developing junior team members

To undertake mandatory training as per Trust policy and participate in other relevant training to meet the needs of the service and as outlined in the post-holders development plan.

Contribute to the management of workloads of appropriate staff within the framework of the NPN policies and procedures.

To coordinate teaching and training in a range of settings as required with NPN partners and provide training in own area to support effective management of the NPN, in line with post holders experience and skills.

Responsibility for Information Resources

To maintain timely and accurate records in line with Trust standards, as defined by organisational policies and NPN standard operating procedures, safeguarding at all times the confidentiality of information relating to patients and staff.

To make sound professional judgements whilst handling sensitive information within the framework of confidentiality.

Use software as necessary to develop reports or presentations.

Following consultation, co-operate in the introduction of new technology and new working practices, in addition to those already in place as it may apply to the work of the administrative service.

Undertake regular refresher training in information technology to ensure knowledge and skills are kept up to date.

Ensure any other patient identifiable information (other than that stored on the Patient Administration System) is stored and used in line with the Trusts Information Governance Policy.

When required, create, maintain and update databases specific to the specialty requirements.

Responsibility for Research and Development

Undertake R&D activities as appropriate, participating in agreed research activities and carry out specific research projects within own specialist area.

To work alongside Service Leads and Managers, and national quality and audit teams to coordinate the collection/collation of complex NPN data to support activity and KPI reporting, monitoring of consistency and quality across CYPGS services, and to inform service developments and improvements.

Ensure the sharing of best practice across all services within the NPN where appropriate

Oversight of online training modules, ensuring they are up to date

Co-ordination of national clinical audit.

Co-ordination of national training.

The post holder may be required to undertake audits of their own workload, as well as that of the supporting team, in conjunction with the requirements of the management team, e.g. telephone audit.

Update and maintain specialty specific databases for audit purposes as and when required.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Communication and Relationship Skills

To provide and receive highly complex, contentious or sensitive information across internal and external stakeholders

Establish and maintain effective communication methods across the providers in the NPN Board and its sub-groups, including using highly developed influencing and motivational skills to achieve cooperation and business or service change.

Support the effective and efficient communication of National MDT processes and outcomes with the Chair and clinicians.

To maintain a high profile, being highly visible, accessible and approachable to NPN members, partners and key stakeholders to ensure that open and honest communication channels are created and sustained.

To provide written reports as required and within timescale.

To keep accurate, timely and thorough records of in line with Trust policy, including the compilation of appropriate statistics.

To communicate in a timely manner to relevant line manager any issues concerning NPN business and risk management.

To actively engage with the NPN programme team, attending and contributing proactively to team meetings or related national workstream meetings

To collaborate and negotiate effectively with multi-agency professionals and senior leaders across regional centres and the national team

To create, maintain and enhance supportive working relationships with professional networks and colleagues.

To prioritise workload, and the workload of others against conflicting demands

Analytical and Judgement Skills

To manage complex facts or datasets requiring interpretation or comparison of a range of options.

To make recommendations to leadership team where a solution is needed

Make decisions in relation to own scope of work

To maintain a particular focus on reporting evaluation and analysis with the aim of supporting consistency across regional centres so that children and young people receive a quality service regardless of where they live or access CYP gender services.

To seek, evaluate and organise accurate information to share with the NPN as a means of initiating and implementing change and ongoing improvements in service content, quality and delivery.

To monitor reports across the NPN, observing for trends and lessons learned, identifying the need for service or staff development and working with senior leads to inform strategy and improvements

Oversight of the membership and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), supports onboarding organisations

Co-ordination of reporting into Trust Board and NHSE including development of updates, returns and submissions, liaising with CYPGS providers to ensure reports and information provided on time

Planning and Organisational Skills

To plan and prioritise own workload with a broad range of complex activities often with competing deadlines.

To support and oversee junior staff members with workload and personal development

To lead the short and medium term planning and organisation of tasks or initiative required for effective operation of the NPN

To support the Director with long term strategy and planning initiatives which impact across other services.

To actively participate in the formulation and review of the NPN provision

To lead the planning of related policies, procedures and improvement projects

Collation of national data set and any planning rounds

Undertakes the role of National MDT Manager including the review of submission documentation, support to NMDT Chair, oversight of administration team and standard operating procedures.

Line management of junior staff

Responsibility for Patient/Client Care

To work in a non-clinical role as part of the CYPGS care pathway, managing National Multi-disciplinary Team submissions in line with due process to ensure care is coordinated with internal and external partners in a timely and professional way, and accurate records are maintained.

To provide general non-clinical information or guidance indirectly to patients and families, for example through supporting FOI and Complaints procedures or liaising with Communications leads.

Responsibility for Policy/Service Development

Participate in National MDT and NPN Board meetings, providing a professional perspective as appropriate to support effective management of the NPN, quality improvement across the NPN or policy development.

Assume a shared responsibility for the implementation, monitoring and review of NPN service developments

Manage the recruitment and HR processes required for the team, liaising with the host organisation where required

Lead the development and review of Standard Operating Procedures and core governance documents

Continuously improve the end-to-end process for the NPN and National MDT, including consideration of any digital opportunities.

Support the continual service improvement of the national CYP Gender Service.

Contribute to the delivery of national and local priorities as set out in the Trusts corporate objectives.

To be responsible for the general housekeeping of own work area, as well as departmental common areas, reporting any faulty or broken equipment and adhering to the Trust Risk Management Strategy.

To comply with all Trust and local departmental policies and procedures.

Undergo all statutory/mandatory training as and when required.

To take reasonable care for the health and safety of oneself, as well as others.

Adhere to Trust risk management policies to ensure a safe working environment.

The post holder is required to comply with the Trust policies on infection prevention and control, bringing any deficiencies to the attention of the Line Manager.

Financial/Physical Resources

Support the Associate Director and finance management colleagues, contributing to NPN budget management, financial initiatives and contracts

Hold delegated budget for the NPN as required by the Network Director, for example in relation to meeting resources costs

To ensure all charitable donations received are dealt with in line with Trust policies.

Responsible for ensuring Trust equipment and resources are maintained, reporting any faulty equipment to the Estates Department.

To ensure all charitable donations received are dealt with in line with Trust policies

Responsible for ensuring Trust equipment and resources are maintained, reporting any faulty equipment to the Estates Department

Oversee end to end invoicing process, undertaken by the Business and Project Support Officer

Responsibility for Human Resources

To actively participate, and lead when required, in the recruitment and selection of non-clinical staff ensuring appropriate skill-mix to meet operational needs.

Line manager for a single function, supervising, supporting, managing and developing junior team members

To undertake mandatory training as per Trust policy and participate in other relevant training to meet the needs of the service and as outlined in the post-holders development plan.

Contribute to the management of workloads of appropriate staff within the framework of the NPN policies and procedures.

To coordinate teaching and training in a range of settings as required with NPN partners and provide training in own area to support effective management of the NPN, in line with post holders experience and skills.

Responsibility for Information Resources

To maintain timely and accurate records in line with Trust standards, as defined by organisational policies and NPN standard operating procedures, safeguarding at all times the confidentiality of information relating to patients and staff.

To make sound professional judgements whilst handling sensitive information within the framework of confidentiality.

Use software as necessary to develop reports or presentations.

Following consultation, co-operate in the introduction of new technology and new working practices, in addition to those already in place as it may apply to the work of the administrative service.

Undertake regular refresher training in information technology to ensure knowledge and skills are kept up to date.

Ensure any other patient identifiable information (other than that stored on the Patient Administration System) is stored and used in line with the Trusts Information Governance Policy.

When required, create, maintain and update databases specific to the specialty requirements.

Responsibility for Research and Development

Undertake R&D activities as appropriate, participating in agreed research activities and carry out specific research projects within own specialist area.

To work alongside Service Leads and Managers, and national quality and audit teams to coordinate the collection/collation of complex NPN data to support activity and KPI reporting, monitoring of consistency and quality across CYPGS services, and to inform service developments and improvements.

Ensure the sharing of best practice across all services within the NPN where appropriate

Oversight of online training modules, ensuring they are up to date

Co-ordination of national clinical audit.

Co-ordination of national training.

The post holder may be required to undertake audits of their own workload, as well as that of the supporting team, in conjunction with the requirements of the management team, e.g. telephone audit.

Update and maintain specialty specific databases for audit purposes as and when required.

Person Specification

Education

Essential

Degree level education
Masters level education
Continued CPD
Experience in a management role in healthcare
Experience of working in a network setting

Desirable

Project management qualification

Person Specification

Education

Essential

Degree level education
Masters level education
Continued CPD
Experience in a management role in healthcare
Experience of working in a network setting

Desirable

Project management qualification

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

Certificate of Sponsorship

Employer details

Employer name

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Alder Hey Children's NHS FT

Liverpool

L14 5AB

Employer's website

https://alderhey.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Alder Hey Children's NHS FT

Liverpool

L14 5AB

Employer's website

https://alderhey.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

For questions about the job, contact:

CYPGS Providers

CYPGS National Provider Network

CYPGSProviders@alderhey.nhs.uk

Date posted

14 May 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£53,755 to £60,504 a year per annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working, Home or remote working

Reference number

411-COM-25-7186688

Job locations

Alder Hey Children's NHS FT

Liverpool

L14 5AB

Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)

Network Manager

Job summary

Main duties of the job

About us

Details

Date posted

Pay scheme

Band

Salary

Contract

Working pattern

Reference number

Job locations

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job responsibilities

Person Specification

Education

Essential

Desirable

Education

Essential

Desirable

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

Certificate of Sponsorship

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

Certificate of Sponsorship

Employer details

Employer name

Address

Employer's website

Employer details

Employer name

Address

Employer's website

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Details

Date posted

Pay scheme

Band

Salary

Contract

Working pattern

Reference number

Job locations

Supporting documents

Privacy notice