jobfacts

GP practice manager

Health care practice managers — SOC 2020 1231

Healthcare practice managers plan, organise, direct and co-ordinate the work and resources of medical, dental and other types of healthcare practice, including veterinary practices.

Also calledGP surgery managerGeneral practitioner practice managerManagerPatient services managerPractice managerDental practice managerand 11 more titles
Typical full-time pay£42,6002025 Provisional
People in the job27,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month506↑ 18%on last year · 263rd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time GP practice managers earn, 2025
£42,600 typical£34,300lowest 20%£36,30025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£34,300
25%£36,300
Median£42,600
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £42,600
South West!£55,200
Wales!£46,700
Scotland!£40,500
London!£39,500
North West!£37,200
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £42,600
South West£55,200 (small sample)
Wales£46,700 (small sample)
Scotland£40,500 (small sample)
London£39,500 (small sample)
North West£37,200 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £42,700
  • 2024 £40,600
  • 2025 Provisional£42,600
↓ 0.4% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 506 jobs for GP practice managers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026965
Jul 2026752
Jun 2026445
May 2026461
Apr 2026306
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026352
Jan 2026594
Dec 2025276
Nov 2025400
Oct 2025521
Sept 2025488
Aug 2025460
Jul 2025512
Jun 2025794
May 2025458
Apr 2025457
Mar 2025434
Feb 2025367
Jan 2025342
Dec 2024292
Nov 2024316
Oct 2024415
Sept 2024318
Aug 2024336
Jul 2024330
Jun 2024369
May 2024372
Apr 2024446
Mar 2024293
Feb 2024340
Jan 2024345
Dec 2023308
Nov 2023300
Oct 2023319
Sept 2023285
Aug 2023305
Jul 2023377
Jun 2023468
May 2023441
Apr 2023389
Mar 2023502
Feb 2023492
Jan 2023581
Dec 2022575
Nov 2022612
Oct 2022642
Sept 2022562
Aug 2022643
Jul 2022612
Jun 2022541
May 2022682
Apr 2022558
Mar 2022585
Feb 2022615
Jan 2022558
Dec 2021431
Nov 2021548
Oct 2021568
Sept 2021598
Aug 2021518
Jul 2021589
Jun 2021510
May 2021481
Apr 2021402
Mar 2021450
Feb 2021324
Jan 2021386
Dec 2020428
Nov 2020417
Oct 2020464
Sept 2020381
Aug 2020368
Jul 2020362
Jun 2020321
May 2020240
Apr 2020214
Mar 2020349
Feb 2020427
Jan 2020384
Dec 2019265
Nov 2019359
Oct 2019349
Sept 2019345
Aug 2019352
Jul 2019415
Jun 2019430
May 2019514
Apr 2019360
Mar 2019401
Feb 2019362
Jan 2019454
Dec 2018250
Nov 2018358
Oct 2018359
Sept 2018298
Aug 2018299
Jul 2018335
Jun 2018353
May 2018390
Apr 2018365
Mar 2018410
Feb 2018403
Jan 2018409
Dec 2017285
Nov 2017379
Oct 2017333
Sept 2017365
Aug 2017384
Jul 2017333
Jun 2017347
May 2017420
Apr 2017373
Mar 2017396
Feb 2017352
Jan 2017368
Is there a shortage of GP practice managers?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsAbove usual
  • Hours workedUsual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
24%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for other managers and proprietors, which includes GP practice managers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London203
Leeds28
Birmingham26
Cheshire West and Chester22
Sheffield19
Manchester19
Bristol, City of15
Wirral14
Bradford14
Liverpool13
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where GP practice managers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of GP practice managers
n/p
20%!
40%!
26%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
25–34Not published
35–4420% (small sample)
45–5440% (small sample)
55–6426% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent49%
Higher education below degree!17%
A levels or equivalent!11%
GCSEs or equivalent!20%
Other qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent49%
Higher education below degree17% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent11% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent20% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published

Main employers: other human health activities (24%), dental practice activities (16%), regulation of the activities of providing health care, education, cultural services and other social services, excluding social security (15%), other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores (12%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
49%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

Work your way up

You could start as an admin officer or assistant office manager in a health centre, GP surgery or hospital and do further training on the job to move into a management position.

Apply directly

You can apply directly to become a GP practice manager.

You'll need to have a business background and be an experienced manager with management qualifications.

Experience of working in a health or social care setting can be useful.

Other routes

You can do a training course, like a Level 5 Primary Care and Health Management, with the Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Administrators and Receptionists (AMSPAR).

AMSPAR level 5 courses are aimed at new and experienced managers in healthcare and are done online.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

You would be expected to have an understanding of how the NHS values would apply in your work.

Professional and industry bodies

You can join an organisation that offers professional development opportunities and career support, such as the:

  • Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM)
  • Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Administrators and Receptionists (AMSPAR)
  • Institute of Health and Social Care Management
Further information

You can find out more about becoming a GP practice manager from Health Careers.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for gp practice manager. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • plans work schedules, assigns tasks and delegates responsibilities of practice staff
  • oversees staff training and monitors training needs
  • takes responsibility for health and safety matters within the practice
  • negotiates contracts for services with other health care providers and purchasers
  • maintains patient files on medical history, consultations and treatment undertaken and/or drugs prescribed
  • organises duty rosters for professional and support staff in practice
  • takes responsibility for stock control of practice equipment, drugs, etc
  • liaises with relevant outside organisations (e.g. NHS trust, PCT, social services, drug companies, professional bodies)
  • responsible for budgeting, pricing and accounting activities within the practice

Skills

  • answer patients' questions
  • apply organisational techniques
  • collect healthcare user's general data
  • comply with legislation related to health care
  • maintain healthcare user data confidentiality
  • work in multidisciplinary health teams
  • identify patients' medical records
  • manage budgets
  • use electronic health records management system
  • handle paperwork
  • manage accounts
  • manage healthcare users' data
  • work in a multicultural environment in health care
  • accept own accountability

Knowledge

  • administrative tasks in a medical environment
  • medical informatics
  • medical terminology
  • professional documentation in health care
  • health records management
  • business law
  • business management principles
  • chiropractic terminology

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Helping and caring for people

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for other managers and proprietors, a group of 22 jobs that includes GP practice managers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 43%about 494,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.