Operating Theatre Manager

Role Overview

This role is responsible for the day-to-day clinical and operational leadership of the theatre unit, ensuring every surgical patient receives safe, evidence-based care from pre-operative preparation through to recovery. The incumbent will orchestrate multidisciplinary coordination, maintain rigorous safety protocols, and manage staffing, workflows, and resources to maximise theatre utilisation and patient satisfaction. Delivering consistent, high-quality perioperative services directly supports the hospital’s reputation for excellence and its commitment to positive patient outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide visible clinical leadership across theatre services, championing adherence to perioperative clinical pathways, escalation procedures, and nursing standards including sustained use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist.
• Lead multidisciplinary coordination for high-risk and emergency cases, liaising with surgeons, anaesthesia, PACU, ICU, laboratory, pharmacy, blood bank, and other departments to ensure seamless patient flow.
• Develop, implement, and monitor standard operating procedures, quality improvement projects, and clinical audits; track corrective actions and close performance gaps.
• Foster a culture of timely incident reporting and near-miss learning, ensuring feedback loops reach all team members and drive continuous safety improvement.
• Manage the theatre team including onboarding, coaching, daily work allocation, performance appraisals, talent development, and consequence management while promoting staff engagement and well-being.
• Prepare and manage monthly duty rotas to ensure safe staffing levels, appropriate skill mix, leave coverage, and productivity while controlling overtime and locum use.
• Oversee theatre operations: list readiness, room utilisation, case sequencing, turnaround times, accurate shift handovers, and escalation of capacity constraints or delays.
• Ensure billing integrity through accurate charge capture, documentation that supports revenue, and monitoring of variances; participate in unit budgeting and resource optimisation.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Higher Diploma in Nursing (perioperative/postoperative); Bachelor of Science in Nursing is an added advantage.
• Valid Nursing Council of Kenya license and current BLS, ACLS or ATLS certification.
• Minimum of three years’ perioperative/theatre nursing experience and at least two years in a management or supervisory role.
• Proven ability in incident management, patient safety initiatives, quality improvement, and operational coordination within a surgical setting.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and team-building skills with a customer-focused, results-oriented mindset.
• Competence in operational planning, organisational skills, and use of hospital information systems and Microsoft Office applications.
• High level of integrity, accountability, professionalism, and attention to detail.

What We Offer / Why Join

This is an opportunity to lead a dedicated theatre team within a well-established healthcare organisation that values clinical excellence and patient-centred care. The role provides exposure to multidisciplinary collaboration, continuous professional development, and the chance to drive meaningful improvements in perioperative services.