16 hospital management careers (plus salaries and duties)
Updated 19 October 2022
Hospital management offers a wide variety of rewarding careers for individuals who want to apply their leadership, administration and organisational skills to a career where they can make a difference. These include careers in human resources, accounting, finance, nursing and more. If you have a degree in healthcare management and want to explore the options available to you in the National Health Service (NHS), it might be helpful to learn more about these jobs. In this article, we list 16 hospital management careers, along with their national average salaries and primary duties.
16 careers in healthcare management
Hospitals are complex organisations that require many of the management specialities found in conventional businesses. Not all of these are directly related to healthcare, and there are many career opportunities in the NHS for human resources managers, financiers, accountants and others. Here are 16 hospital management careers that you can consider:
1. Administrative manager
National average salary: £28,648 per year
Primary duties: Administrative managers are in charge of the business side of a hospital's operations. The main duties of this role can vary based on seniority and location but often include supervising administrative staff, providing personal assistance to hospital executives, attending meetings, distributing materials, managing everyday office functions and acting as a point of contact for external entities. An administrative manager might also recruit and train junior administrative staff and handle the processing of expense claims.
Related: What does an administrative manager do? (Plus skills)
2. Estates manager
National average salary: £30,284 per year
Primary duties: An estates manager is responsible for maintaining clinical properties. Their primary goal is to ensure that the medical facilities under their control are clean, sanitary and safe for patients, medical professionals and families. These professionals set maintenance and cleaning schedules, plan and oversee building renovations, repairs and maintenance and may buy and sell property for clinical use. Estates managers often manage facility budgets and may also assist with the recruiting and hiring new staff members.
3. Medical staffing manager
National average salary: £35,267 per year
Primary duties: Medical staffing managers are senior HR professionals who oversee all hospital staff with the exception of medical students. These professionals are responsible for determining the staffing needs of their facility and recruiting the right people to fill vacant roles. They may also take a lead role in determining the selection criteria for new employees. Medical staffing managers may also educate employees on HR-related issues like workplace conduct and benefits.
4. Management accountant
National average salary: £36,462 per year
Primary duties: Management accountants are senior accounting professionals working in the medical field. They're often responsible for managing other accountants and collaborating closely with other managers, like the head of finance. You may assist with budgeting, prepare financial reports, ensure financial compliance in your institution and perform internal audits.
Related: How to become a management accountant: the ultimate guide
5. Facilities manager
National average salary: £37,396 per year
Primary duties: A facilities manager is responsible for providing the day-to-day amenities that hospital patients need for a comfortable and beneficial stay. They often lead a large team of employees and are in charge of services like catering, security services, cleaning and building maintenance and reception. A facilities manager's tasks include determining the needs of their hospital, creating and managing budgets, allocating resources, scheduling employees, recruiting new staff members and collaborating with other managers.
Related: What does a facilities manager do? (With salary and skills)
6. Hospital manager
National average salary: £40,331 per year
Primary duties: The primary job duty of a hospital manager is to organise the operations of a medical facility, develop staff schedules and issue job assignments. They develop plans to improve patient care, including changing company policies, such as patient intake procedures. Hospital managers may also act as liaisons between different departments in their organisation.
7. Human resources manager
National average salary: £41,699 per year
Primary duties: Human resources managers are in charge of all the employee-facing processes of a hospital or clinic. This includes leading a team of HR professionals, recruiting, interviewing and hiring new employees, managing payroll and benefits packages and assisting with schedules. A human resources manager might mediate conflict within the hospital staff, ensure legal compliance in hiring and compensation and handle disciplinary issues.
Related: What does a human resources officer do? (With skills)
8. Quality assurance manager
National average salary: £42,567 per year
Primary duties: Quality assurance managers are in charge of maintaining a high level of care in medical facilities. Their primary focus is medical education, and their goal is to ensure that medical providers in the NHS have the training they need to care for patients to a high standard. Quality assurance managers often work closely with universities and certification bodies, reviewing standards and practices to ensure that they meet the requirements of the medical profession. They may also introduce initiatives to improve the education and training of doctors and nurses.
9. Clinical governance manager
National average salary: £42,590 per year
Primary duties: A clinical governance manager is a leadership professional responsible for ensuring quality throughout a healthcare facility. These managers require an in-depth understanding of the standards that govern medical facilities across many disciplines and expertise in clinical best practice. A clinical governance manager's primary role is to ensure that all patients receive the highest standard of care and maintain compliance with industry regulations.
10. Purchasing and contract manager
National average salary: £44,065 per year
Primary duties: A purchasing and contract manager is responsible for ensuring that hospital staff have the necessary supplies to perform their duties. Common tasks for purchasing and contract managers include managing a large contract portfolio of suppliers, procuring necessary medical supplies, medication and equipment, organising product tests, identifying cost-saving measures, awarding contracts and reporting on logistics issues. This position requires extensive knowledge of medical supply chains and information management.
Related: What is a contract manager? (Plus tips on becoming one)
11. Project manager
National average salary: £44,815 per year
Primary duties: Project managers are responsible for ensuring the successful completion of various initiatives. This role is common in many industries, including the medical field. While duties vary by project, a project manager usually supervises a team and develops goals, strategies, budgets and timetables for their initiative. They're then responsible for ensuring its on-time completion and controlling costs.
Related: What does a project manager do? (And how to become one)
12. Lead nurse
National average salary: £45,034 per year
Primary duties: A hospital's lead nurse is an experienced medical professional responsible for supervising nursing staff. This position requires many years of nursing experience, along with leadership and administrative expertise. The primary duties of this position include acting as liaison between nurses and hospital administrators, assigning tasks, creating schedules, interviewing and recruiting new nurses, resolving conflicts, handling complaints and ensuring compliance with clinical regulations.
Related: Levels of nursing training (with careers and salaries)
13. Head of risk management
National average salary: £49,830 per year
Primary duties: A hospital's head of risk management is a governance professional responsible for protecting the institution from risk. This includes designing and implementing clinical governance and risk management systems for the hospital in collaboration with other managers. A head of risk management also conducts risk assessments, identifies threats to the hospital, implements protective infrastructure and ensures compliance. This position usually requires a university degree in a relevant field and a deep understanding of clinical governance.
Related: How to become a risk manager and boost your career
14. Clinical audit manager
National average salary: £49,989 per year
Primary duties: Clinical audit managers are professionals responsible for planning and executing clinical audits, usually in hospitals. A clinical audit is a data collection, review and recommendation process that aims to improve the performance of a medical facility. The audit manager usually leads a team of auditors and may be responsible for selecting the different members it contains. During audits, managers identify what information to collect, ensure that it's gathered properly, direct analysis and draft recommendations. This position usually requires at least three years of clinical audit experience.
15. Financial planning manager
National average salary: £58,537 per year
Primary duties: A financial planning manager is responsible for developing a long-term financial strategy for the institution. In the medical field, these professionals often work as part of an NHS trust or a clinical commissioning group. A financial planning manager's primary tasks include leading a team of financial planning experts, developing growth and sustainability strategies, allocating resources, determining budgets and setting financial priorities.
Related: How to become a financial manager (including skills)
16. Head of finance
National average salary: £63,345 per year
Primary duties: The head of finance is a senior manager responsible for the financial well-being of their hospital or clinic. Their primary goal is to make sure that doctors and nurses have the resources they need to serve patients. The head of finance role often includes developing and managing budgets, preparing and reviewing financial reports and allocating resources to various departments. At senior levels, these professionals may be part of an NHS Trust or a clinical commissioning group and provide financial leadership across a broad set of medical initiatives.
Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at the time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location. Please note that none of the companies, institutions or organisations mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.
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