Pathway Supervisor - Outpatients

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Pathway Supervisor who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

Are you looking for a dynamic and fast-paced role where you can make a meaningful impact?

This role offers variety, challenge, and the opportunity to contribute directly to patient care by ensuring the smooth and efficient coordination of outpatient services.

As an Outpatients Pathway Supervisor you will play a vital role in providing day-to-day supervision of an Outpatients Appointment Centre team, supporting the delivery of a high-quality, efficient, and patient focused appointment booking service. The post holder will assist with the operational management of booking processes and help ensure that clinic capacity is fully utilised in line with national waiting time targets and Trust policies.

At the heart of everything we do are our core values: Include, Respect, and Improve. We encourage you to embrace these values throughout the recruitment process and in your role with us.

Main duties of the job

The Pathway Supervisor will provide direct line management and supervision and support to the Outpatients Clerks and monitor team performance and escalate concerns to the Outpatients Appointment Centre Coordinators.

Provision of an efficient administrative support service to all aspects of the Outpatients service.

Provide leadership and support to administrative staff including rota management, delegation of tasks, and conflict resolution.

In accordance with the Trust Access Policy oversee the appointment booking process to ensure accuracy and timeliness.

Deal with any escalations in relation to bookings, cancellations, rescheduling of appointments, liaising with patients either by telephone or letter, as directed.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• GCSEs or equivalent in English and Maths (grades A–C / 9–4)
• Evidence of continued professional and personal development

Desirable criteria

• NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration, Customer Service or equivalent
• ECDL or equivalent IT qualification
• Leadership or management training

Previous Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience in an administrative or clerical role
• Experience supervising or supporting a team
• Experience dealing with patient or customer enquiries in a high-pressure environment
• Experience managing appointments or coordinating services
• Experience working within an NHS or healthcare setting
• Experience using hospital systems such as Lorenzo or ERS

Desirable criteria

• Involvement in service improvement or audit work

Skills and Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to organise and prioritise own and others’ workload
• Skilled in handling sensitive and confidential information
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office (particularly Excel and Outlook)
• Understanding of patient pathways, confidentiality, and data protection
• Problem-solving and conflict resolution skills

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of NHS access targets and RTT standards
• Familiarity with outpatient appointment policies and booking procedures
• Ability to analyse and interpret service data or reporting outputs

Personal Attributes

Essential criteria

• Professional and patient-focused approach
• Flexible and adaptable
• Able to work both independently and as part of a team
• Committed to providing high-quality service and continuous improvement

Desirable criteria

• Willingness to contribute ideas for service enhancements or innovation

Other Requirements

Essential criteria

• Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion
• Role model our Trust values every day
• Able to work with people at all levels of an organisation