Job summary
- Main area
- Chief Operating Officer
- Grade
- Executives / VSM: Executives / VSM
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 346-CORP-123-26
- Employer
- Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- West Park Hospital
- Town
- Darlington
- Salary
- £100,000 - £200,000 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 19/10/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Chief Operating Officer
Executives / VSM: Executives / VSM
We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.
From education and prevention, to crisis and specialist care —our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.
We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.
We’re committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.
We won’t rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.
Job overview
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
Chief Operating Officer
Location: West Park Hospital, Darlington
Salary: Attractive VSM
As Chief Operating Officer, you will be a voting Executive Director and a key member of the Trust Board and Executive Team. Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across our clinical services, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, responsive and sustainable care. You will play a pivotal role in leading operational performance, quality improvement, transformation and recovery, while strengthening partnerships across the wider health and care system. This is a high-profile leadership opportunity at a critical point in the Trust’s journey, requiring a leader who can provide operational grip, pace and assurance whilst inspiring teams to deliver meaningful and lasting improvement.
Main duties of the job
We are seeking an accomplished operational leader with substantial experience in large and complex NHS or healthcare organisations. You will bring a successful track record of leading large-scale operational services and managing complex quality, workforce, financial and performance challenges. Experience leading across mental health, learning disability, autism, community services, or similarly complex pathways will be essential, alongside the credibility to influence at Board level and build strong relationships with clinicians, staff, partners and regulators. Above all, you will be a visible, values-led leader with the resilience, compassion and ambition to help deliver outstanding care and outcomes for our patients, carers and communities.
Working for our organisation
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health, learning disability and autism services to more than 2 million people across County Durham, Tees Valley, North Yorkshire and York. Our dedicated staff operate from more than 90 sites, working in partnership with patients, carers, communities and system partners to deliver high-quality care. Whilst we have made significant progress in improving our services, we remain rated ‘Requires Improvement’ by the CQC.
With a new Chair and Chief Executive, a refreshed Board, and a renewed focus on transparency, learning and improvement, we are committed to building a stronger, safer and more compassionate organisation. Guided by Our Journey to Change and our values of Respect, Compassion and Responsibility, we are determined to continue improving outcomes and experiences for the communities we serve.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We want our Board to be as inclusive and diverse as possible, and we are keen to attract candidates who can bring diverse perspectives. We warmly welcome expressions of interest from the widest possible range of backgrounds, particularly those who are under-represented at board level in the NHS.
To learn more about this incredible opportunity, please contact our recruitment partners at Gatenby Sanderson:
Laura Cubillo-Aparicio, Niamh Blair, or Robin Staveley via
We are working in partnership with Gatenby Sanderson to manage the recruitment process for this role. All applications should therefore be submitted directly through Gatenby Sanderson. Please be aware that applications submitted via TRAC will not be considered.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Educated to master's level, or able to demonstrate equivalent knowledge and experience gained through senior operational leadership, supported by evidence of externally accredited postgraduate leadership or management development
- Degree or equivalent professional qualification
- Evidence of significant continuing professional development
Skills
Essential criteria
- Highly developed leadership, communication, negotiation and influencing skills
- Ability to communicate complex, sensitive and contentious information clearly and credibly
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex operational, financial, workforce and quality information
- Ability to make sound executive decisions under pressure
- Ability to provide grip, pace and clarity in complex and ambiguous situations
- Ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders
- Ability to lead through change with compassion, credibility and resilience
- Ability to provide constructive challenge and hold senior leaders to account
- Ability to translate strategy into operational delivery and measurable outcomes
- Strong written and verbal presentation skills, including Board-level reporting
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Extensive knowledge of NHS operational delivery within a large, complex healthcare organisation
- Knowledge of mental health, learning disability, autism and community service delivery, including national priorities and operational challenges relating to access, urgent and emergency mental health care, crisis pathways, inpatient flow, discharge, safeguarding, restrictive practice, out of area placements, community transformation, health inequalities and partnership working
- Significant understanding of NHS performance, quality, safety, regulatory and governance frameworks
- Significant understanding of CQC requirements, NHS England oversight, national access standards and operational planning
- Extensive knowledge of service transformation, performance recovery, productivity, efficiency and improvement methodologies
- Knowledge of EPRR, business continuity, incident response and senior or executive on-call arrangements
- Understanding of financial management, workforce planning, business planning and risk management
- Strong understanding of partnership working across integrated care systems, local authorities, commissioners and provider collaboratives
Experience
Essential criteria
- Extensive senior operational leadership experience in a large, complex NHS or other healthcare organisation
- Significant experience operating at or close to Board, Executive Director or equivalent senior leadership level within a large, complex organisation
- Experience of leading operational delivery across mental health, learning disability, autism, community or similarly complex multi-service pathways
- Proven experience of leading large-scale operational services and delivering measurable improvement
- Track record of managing complex operational performance, quality, workforce and financial challenges
- Experience of leading operational recovery, escalation and transformation in a complex environment
- Experience of providing assurance to Executive Teams, Board committees or equivalent senior governance forums
- Experience of working effectively with system partners, regulators, commissioners and external stakeholders
- Experience of leading and developing senior leaders and multidisciplinary teams
- Experience of managing significant risk, complexity and competing priorities
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
- Gatenby Sanderson
- Job title
- Recruitment Partners
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0113 205 6071
- Additional information
We are working in partnership with Gatenby Sanderson to manage the recruitment process for this role. All applications should therefore be submitted directly through Gatenby Sanderson. Please be aware that applications submitted via TRAC will not be considered.
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