Operating Theatre Manager at Avenue Healthcare

Job Purpose

To plan, organize and coordinate all Theatre unit activities to deliver safe, evidence-based, patient-centred perioperative/postoperative care, ensure effective staffing and operations to deliver excellent patient experience, and ensure financial stewardship and compliance with hospital policies and regulatory standards.

Key Responsibilities

Clinical Leadership, Quality Care and Patient Safety.

• Provide visible clinical leadership across Theatre Services and ensure consistent adherence to perioperative/postoperative clinical pathways, escalation protocols, and nursing standards.
• Oversee high-risk case readiness: emergency response coordination for intraoperative emergencies and multidisciplinary coordination (surgeons, anaesthesia, PACU/recovery, ICU/HDU, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, blood bank, etc.), as applicable.
• Ensure strict compliance to safe perioperative/postoperative practices and sustained use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, including team communication, counts, specimen labelling and equipment concerns.
• Participate in the development of SOPs, lead implementation of SOPs, QIPs, clinical audits, and take corrective actions while tracking outcomes and closing any gaps.
• Ensure incident reporting is timely, complete, and used for learning by actively promoting reporting of near misses and ensuring feedback loops to staff.

Patient Experience and perioperative/postoperative/ Post-operative Care

• Drive a culture of respectful, dignified, and supportive patient care (privacy, consent, communication), aligned to quality and safety expectations for perioperative/postoperative services (documentation, investigations, consent, post-op handover to PACU/ward with clear recovery concerns and plans).
• Own patient complaints/compliments for the unit: investigate, resolve, and implement improvement actions; monitor service recovery and trends.
• Deliver patient satisfaction outcomes (including NPS) through service excellence, consistent communication, and streamlined perioperative/postoperative flow.

People Management, Staffing, Performance and Culture

• Lead and manage the Theatre team: onboarding/orientation, coaching, daily work allocation, mentorship, performance appraisal, consequence management, and talent development (competencies/ Training).
• Prepare and manage monthly duty rota; ensure safe coverage, skill-mix balance, leave planning, and productivity, while controlling overtime/locum utilisation. 
• Run regular staff meetings/huddles with documented minutes and follow-up actions; champion staff engagement and teamwork. 
• Support staff well-being and retention initiatives, recognizing the link between ward climate/staff experience and patient experience. 

Operations Management and Coordination

• Ensure efficient theatre operations and patient flow: list readiness, room utilisation, case sequencing, turnaround time, and escalation of delays/ capacity constraints to maintain safety and service standards.
• Ensure accurate shift handovers (structured handover), patient documentation completeness, confidentiality, and record integrity. 
• Coordinate multidisciplinary rounds and ensure primary nurse engagement with doctors and other providers regarding patients’ plan of care with emphasis on a team-based problem-solving approach.
• Maintain unit dashboard/ Report (daily/weekly/monthly) covering activity, outcomes, incidents, patient experience, staffing, overtime/locums, stock variance, and billing KPIs an managing theatre packages within limits
• Submit accurate reports within agreed timelines and use data to drive targeted improvement actions.
• Support approved marketing events and ensure service readiness and professionalism during activations.

Infection Prevention & Control (IPC), Risk and Emergency Preparedness

• Enforce IPC standards, theatre infection prevention bundles, hand hygiene compliance, aseptic practice, waste management, and outbreak preparedness.
• Ensure readiness for emergencies: resuscitation trolley checks, anaesthetic emergency preparedness (as applicable), drills/competency checks, and emergency medication/supply availability

Financial Stewardship, Billing Integrity and Resource Utilisation

• Deliver unit financial performance through cost control, productivity management, and resource optimization without compromising care quality. 
• Ensure timely and accurate billing, charge capture, documentation to support billing, and reduction of revenue leakage; monitor variances and address root causes. 
• Participate in budgeting for the unit equipment and service needs; justify and track utilisation. 

Inventory, Equipment and Asset Management

• Ensure appropriate inventory levels, standardization, safe storage, stock control, and monthly stock variance reviews. 
• Ensure equipment calibration, preventive maintenance, breakdown reporting, and asset register accuracy. 
• Coordinate CSSD/sterile processing to ensure instrument set readiness, safe reprocessing, traceability, and timely availability for theatre lists.

Governance, Compliance and Ethical Practice

• Ensure adequate knowledge of and compliance to all Avenue Healthcare policies, procedures, and systems, especially policies pertaining to the provision of medical services i.e. Admission & discharge, nurses’ reports, equipment and supplies, emergency protocols, etc.
• Adhere to Government and respective professional standards of care and treatment of patients as guided by the Nursing Council of Kenya.
• Support internal/external audits, implement audit recommendations, and uphold fraud prevention/ detection/ reporting expectations. 
• Perform any other related responsibilities as may be assigned by the supervisor from time to time.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Compliance with Clinical Quality & Patient Safety standards
• Accurate & Timely Documentation / Reporting
• Patient Experience & Communication
• Prudent Resource management & Financial Stewardship

Academic and Professional Qualifications

• Higher Diploma in Nursing (perioperative/postoperative). A Bachelor of Science in Nursing is an added advantage. 
• A valid nursing council of Kenya license
• Valid certification in BLS, ACLS or ATLS 
• 3+ years of perioperative/postoperative/theatre nursing experience and at least 2+ years of management experience
• Customer focus, results oriented, Strong interpersonal skills, team player, and strong communication skills.
• Experience in incident management, patient safety, quality improvement, and operational coordination.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Operational planning and organizational skills.
• Customer-focused and service-oriented.
• High level of integrity, accountability, and professionalism.
• Results-oriented with strong attention to detail.
• Proficient in hospital information systems and Microsoft Office applications.

Personal Attributes

• Ethical and reliable.
• Resilient and adaptable.
• Team player with collaborative leadership style.
• Professional demeanor and emotional intelligence.
• Committed to continuous learning and service