Job summary
- Main area
- Digital Services - Innovation
- Grade
- Band 7
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (from start date)
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 390-NR-COR-SO-5836
- Employer
- Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Southend
- Town
- Southend-on-Sea
- Salary
- £49,387 Per Annum (Pro Rata for Part Time)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 28/10/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 16/11/2026
Employer heading
(**) AI Agent Developer
Band 7
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is the only acute hospital provider in the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS), which is a system of health and care partners working together for our local population.
Within Mid and South Essex there are 149 GP practices, operating from over 200 sites, forming 27 Primary Care Networks and one Ambulance Trust. There are also three main community and mental health service providers who work together through a community collaborative.
We collaborate with other valuable partners, including three Healthwatch organisations, nine voluntary and community sector organisations and three top tier local authorities, with seven district, borough and city councils, as well as our local universities.
Job overview
We are seeking experienced and innovative AI Agent Developers to join our growing Automation and AI team at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust.
This is a 12-month fixed-term opportunity funded through an approved investment to establish and grow the Trust's internal AI delivery capability. As part of this programme, the Trust has identified an initial pipeline of AI use cases designed to improve productivity, reduce administrative burden and support staff in delivering high-quality patient care.
Working with Microsoft Copilot Studio and the wider Microsoft Power Platform ecosystem, you will design, build, test and deploy AI-powered agents and intelligent automation solutions that help transform the way clinical and corporate services operate. From supporting frontline teams with routine administrative activities to helping services access information more effectively, your work will contribute directly to improving the experience of both staff and patients.
This role forms part of a newly established nine-person multidisciplinary team responsible for delivering end-to-end AI solutions. There are three AI Agent Developer positions available, offering a unique opportunity to join at the beginning of an exciting new journey. Successful candidates will help establish the technical foundations, reusable components and development standards that will shape how AI capabilities are delivered and scaled across the Trust in the years ahead.
Main duties of the job
Be responsible for delivering AI agent solutions throughout the full development lifecycle, from discovery and requirements gathering through to design, build, testing, deployment and ongoing support. Working within the Trust's AI governance framework, develop AI agents, integrations and automated workflows using Microsoft Copilot Studio, Power Automate, Dataverse & related Microsoft technologies.
The role requires close collaboration with stakeholders across clinical, operational and corporate services to understand business challenges, analyse existing processes and identify opportunities where AI can deliver meaningful improvements. You will produce technical specifications, development documentation, testing evidence and deployment records, whilst ensuring solutions meet information governance, cyber security and data protection requirements.
Support implementation and release activities, monitor the performance of deployed solutions, investigate issues and deliver enhancements where required. In addition, contribute to the development of reusable components, technical standards and governance artefacts that support the wider Automation and AI function.
Work alongside business analysts, solution designers, change specialists & other developers, you will play a key role in establishing a sustainable internal AI capability and delivering innovative solutions that improve the experience of both staff and patients.
Working for our organisation
We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
For full details about this varied and rewarding role, please see attached job description.
We look forward to your application.
Please be aware that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a suitable number of applications.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology or equivalent relevant experience
- Evidence of continuing professional development in AI, automation or Microsoft technologies
- Microsoft Power Platform or Copilot Studio certification (PL-100, PL-200, PL-400 or equivalent)
- Microsoft AI Fundamentals (AI-900) or Azure AI Engineer (AI-102) certification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience building and deploying Microsoft Copilot Studio or Power Virtual Agents solutions in an enterprise environment
- Experience developing solutions using Microsoft Power Platform including Power Automate, Dataverse and M365 integrations
- Understanding of AI agent lifecycle management including discovery, design, build, test, deploy and operate phases
- Experience working across multiple tenant environments with differing governance and data handling requirements
- Knowledge of information governance, data protection and cyber security principles relevant to AI and automation solutions
- Experience of developing agents on the NHS central shared tenant
Desirable criteria
- Experience integrating Power Platform solutions with NHS clinical or corporate systems such as EPR, PAS, eRS or ESR
- Experience using Azure AI services including Azure OpenAI, Language Understanding or Document Intelligence
- Familiarity with Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), Managed Environments and deployment pipelines within Power Platform
Employer certification / accreditation badges
.png "NHS Rainbow badge")
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- stephen whittle
- Job title
- Head of Automation & AI
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07769577795
List jobs with Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in Administrative Services or all sectors