Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Service Improvement Team’s main focus within the Wessex Cancer Alliance is to support the transformation of the patient’s pathway within the hospitals, from referral to diagnosis and treatment, for patients referred via an urgent suspected cancer pathway. We aim to improve experience and outcomes for patients whilst focused on delivering the national cancer waiting times performance standards.

You will be part of the wider Wessex Cancer Alliance team, which together provides expertise and support for all facets of cancer services across stakeholder groups locally, and also works with regional and national colleagues as part of the wider cancer agenda. Our purpose is to lead and inspire innovation and improvement in cancer care for all people in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The role is full-time, 37.5 hours per week.  The role is hybrid with a minimum of two on-site days per week (Southampton or Dorchester).

You will be required to attend meetings across Dorset, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, in order to fully engage with teams, understand the pathways and support the development of plans to implement improvements.

If you have strong experience in data analysis, project management and delivering pathway improvements, with an enthusiasm to improve quality, safety and better outcomes for our patients, then we want to hear from you.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

This is an exciting opportunity to review and improve cancer pathways across the whole of Wessex and make a real difference to patient outcomes. You will use your project management and data analytical expertise to lead and be responsible for specific quality improvement projects, working end-to-end on pathway improvement work from scoping and discussion with teams, data analysis, producing meaningful reports and insights, collating plans and then supporting Trust teams to see these through to delivery and evaluation. 

You will be able to encourage and enthuse others to implement change at many levels, from local department improvements to broad implementation of national initiatives and directives. You will liaise with multi-disciplinary teams to help ensure sustainable improvements are monitored, achieved and fully delivered. Developing positive and effective relationships and building trust will be a key part of being successful in this role.

You will ensure that the patient and our population at large remain at the heart of all the improvement work you do, explicitly seeking feedback, co-designing and collaborating with the public and the WCA patient and public group to shape the pathway work.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

You will need to have expert knowledge and experience in data analysis & interpretation, the application of quality improvement and service redesign tools and techniques, and be able to successfully apply these to a range of different projects. 

You will be able to work with a high degree of autonomy and minimal direction, shaping improvement projects and ensuring goals are realised.

You will be a strong leader, with a sense of vocation and a strong value set, driven to improve cancer services for our population. 

You will have a high degree of personal resilience when working with our stakeholders and be able to proficiently navigate challenging discussions and mitigate risks and issues working with our partners. 

You will need to be able and happy to travel as part of this role, as working on site with our service delivery teams to research, design and implement improvements is a core part of this role. This means working across the breadth of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Additional information

Interviews will be held on Wednesday, 15th July 2026, in person (Oakley Road in Southampton)