Employer: Bolton NHS Foundation Trust
Job Title: Operational Business Manager
Location: United Kingdom
Salary: £66,582 to £77,368 a year
Job Type: Full-time
Closing Date: 14 June 2026

Job Summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Operational Business Manager to join the Medicine Division. The successful candidate will form a team of 3 OBM’s and will be required to work together to deliver services and patient outcomes. This role relates to Urgent and Emergency Care.

OBM’s are required to work in partnership with clinical leads, matrons, service leads and other external partners. Internally, clinical leads, service leads and matrons will report operationally to the post holder, whilst being professionally accountable to the Divisional Medical Director, Divisional Nursing Director/Assistant.

The post holder will be the operational lead for the service and whilst not line managing all team members professionally, will be expected to influence team members, form and drive service performance and transformation.

The post holder will report to the Deputy Divisional Director of Operations and form an integral part of the divisional senior management team.

Working partnerships will be with clinical and non-clinical colleagues and will provide the best possible experience to patients and their significant others, along with staff, whilst at the same time meeting performance standards and driving service transformation aims.

Main Duties of the Job

The Operational Business Manager will work with the Clinical Leads, Service Leads, Matrons and external partners to ensure that the operational area is productive, efficient and viable in its own right.

In support of this objective, decision making within the service area will be informed by an agreed range of key performance indicators (KPIs) and business information which demonstrate the performance of the unit in terms of:

• Quality of clinical outcome
• Income
• Expenditure
• Human Resources
• Operational Performance

It will be the responsibility of the post holder to ensure that the operational area delivers nationally and locally contractually determined standards of access to healthcare on a consistent basis, including (but not limited to):

• Diagnostic standards
• Management of length of stay and stranded patients
• A&E four hour standard
• Ambulance Access standards
• Reduction in health care inequalities

The post holder will respond to information provided, taking appropriate action to immediately rectify any deficiency in capacity.

The post holder will interpret policies and procedures and initiate the appropriate action within the relevant services.

The post holder will provide assurance to the Divisional Leadership Team and wider, in relation to operational performance indicators and improvement plans for services.

The post holder will share performance information with the lead clinicians, teams and individuals through appropriate methods of communication.

Job Responsibilities

• The Operational Business Manager will be required to deputise for the Deputy Divisional Director.
• The post holder will be required to develop, implement and monitor improvement plans in line with national and locally agreed standards.
• The post holder will be required to introduce and put in practice new or revised policies in defined areas of responsibility.
• Take a lead in capacity management/planning, devising activity planning models and liaising with the wider multidisciplinary team to ensure delivery of the Divisional and Trust priorities.
• As a Medicine OBM, the post holder will have in-depth knowledge of both primary and secondary care as well as the medium term planning requirements.
• The post holder will be fully conversant with the wider determinants of health and function as a highly performing and credible leader.
• Work closely with the Clinical Lead, service leads and Nursing teams to ensure robust rosters are in place in line with financial recovery plans.
• Regularly review capacity to ensure sufficient levels are available to deliver the best possible experience to patients.
• Where additional support is required, the post holder will be expected to mitigate this and develop a long term plan, influencing key stakeholders and delivering outcomes.
• Provide general managerial advice and guidance throughout all areas of responsibility.
• Decide how best to achieve expected results within areas of responsibility using significant discretion within defined parameters.
• Prioritise and plan an unpredictable workload with frequent interruptions, ensuring deadlines are met within agreed timescales and where there is a frequent requirement for concentration.

About Bolton NHS Foundation Trust

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is an integrated provider of acute, intermediate, and community health care. Bolton NHS Foundation Trust works alongside and in partnership with primary care to provide services (rated ‘Good’ in the last CQC inspection) to 275,000 people living in Bolton.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is one of the few in the country to deliver a financial surplus over a number of years, whilst also providing and sustaining high quality clinical services. Financial and clinical stability is important as it gives the Trust the scope to drive services forward and innovate.

The latest Staff Survey results show that Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is the best performing acute Trust in Greater Manchester for Quality of Care, Staff Morale & Staff Engagement. The fact that this is direct feedback from staff is a source of pride for the Trust.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to Masters or equivalent relevant experience at senior level in a complex NHS organisation.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Desirable

• Masters MSc./MBA or equivalent relevant experience.
• Management/business-related qualification Prince 2 Practitioner.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of implementation and accountability for policies and procedures over large areas of responsibility.
• Human Resources Management experience in an appropriate management role within a healthcare-related setting.
• Experience in providing and receiving highly complex, confidential and sensitive information.
• Evidence of leadership and accountability for performance management.
• Evidence of writing complex business, local delivery and strategic plans within the NHS.
• Experience of working closely and effectively with Divisional and Departmental teams.

Desirable

• Experience in managing complex change to services over a wide healthcare environment, to incorporate the National agenda for modernisation and service improvement.
• Experience of supporting the management of medical staff including rota management and job planning.

Skills

Essential

• Excellent HR, communication, analytical interpretive, financial and conflict management skills.
• Ability to make decisions, and implement changes to services, following details analysis, interpretation and synthesis of data and statistics.
• Evidence of previous record of collaborative working across a wider health/social care economy.

Desirable

• Experience with handling significant financial budgets and Cost Improvement Plans.
• Business management skills.

Knowledge

Essential

• In-depth, up-to-date knowledge of the NHS and Health Service Management, with evidence at degree or Masters level (or equivalent).
• Clear understanding and experience of working to high performance management standards.

Desirable

• Detailed knowledge of pertinent issues within the wider NHS.

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).

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.

How to Apply

If this opportunity interests you, head to the company’s official website for full details — click here to submit your application.