Matter Improvement Lead

Go back Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 04 August 2026

Are you passionate about improving cancer services and delivering real change for patients?

Help us transform cancer pathways and improve outcomes for patients across the East Midlands. Every day matters -- and so does your contribution.

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced and motivated improvement leader to join our organisation as the Days Matter Performance Improvement Lead.

Funded through the East Midlands Cancer Alliance (EMCA) and hosted by University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, this 12-month fixed-term or secondment opportunity will play a pivotal role in supporting cancer pathway improvement and performance recovery across the Trust.

Working closely with operational, clinical and executive leaders, the successful candidate will lead a programme of improvement activity designed to reduce delays, improve patient experience and support delivery of national Cancer Waiting Time standards.

This is an excellent opportunity for an individual with strong programme management, operational performance and service improvement experience to make a significant impact on cancer care.

The Days Matter Programme focuses on identifying and addressing delays within cancer pathways to ensure patients receive timely diagnosis and treatment.

As the Days Matter Performance Improvement Lead, you will:

Lead the delivery of the Trust's Days Matter Programme.

Identify opportunities to improve cancer pathway performance.

Work with clinical and operational teams to redesign pathways and remove barriers to timely care.

Support achievement of national Cancer Waiting Time standards including Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS), 31-Day and 62-Day targets.

Analyse complex performance data to identify trends, risks and improvement opportunities.

Facilitate service improvement initiatives using recognised quality improvement methodologies.

Develop strong relationships with stakeholders across the Trust, East Midlands Cancer Alliance and wider healthcare system.

Provide regular assurance and reporting to senior leadership teams and programme boards.

You will be expected to work independently, influence senior stakeholders and deliver sustainable improvements that make a tangible difference to patient outcomes.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.

Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview.

Performance Improvement Leadership

• Lead the delivery of the Days Matter improvement programme across participating providers.
• Identify opportunities to improve performance against cancer waiting time standards.
• Undertake detailed pathway analysis to identify bottlenecks, unwarranted variation and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and oversee improvement plans with measurable outcomes.
• Support providers to deliver sustainable pathway redesign and service transformation.
• Ensure improvement activity is aligned with national cancer objectives and regionalpriorities.
  Programme and Project Management
• Establish and maintain programme governance arrangements.
• Develop project plans, milestones, risk registers and reporting frameworks.
• Monitor delivery against agreed objectives and benefits realisation plans.
• Coordinate multiple work streams simultaneously.
• Produce high-quality reports, briefings and presentations for senior leaders andboards.
  Performance Analysis
• Analyse complex datasets relating to cancer waiting times and operational performance.
• Interpret quantitative and qualitative information to identify trends and root causes.
• Use benchmarking to compare provider performance and identify best practice.
• Develop performance dashboards and improvement metrics.
  Stakeholder Management
• Build strong relationships with:
  • Chief Operating Officers
  • Cancer Managers
  • Clinical Directors
  • Tumour Site Leads
  • Cancer Alliances
  • Integrated Care Boards
  • EMCA representatives
• Facilitate collaborative improvement across organisational boundaries.
• Influence senior stakeholders to secure engagement and delivery of improvement actions.
  Service Improvement
• Apply recognised improvement methodologies including:
  • Lean
  • Model for…