Job vacancy: Associate Director of Digital Delivery, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, Reading

Job summary

Main area: DDaT
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8d
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 193-7247211COR

Employer: Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Royal Berkshire Hospital
Town: Reading
Salary: £88,168 - £101,677 pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 19/06/2025 23:59

Associate Director of Digital Delivery

NHS AfC: Band 8d

Royal Berkshire Hospital are pleased to announce that following our CQC inspection we have been rated ‘Good’ with inspectors reporting that we have made significant improvements. The Trust’s overall rating has also improved to ‘good’. This is a great opportunity to join our clinical or non-clinical teams to create a positive and motivating environment within our trust. Come and join our team in this exciting time of change as we pride ourselves, our staff and our services on excellence.

At the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust we put our patients at the heart of every element of health and care that we provide. The Trust works together as a community to deliver its vision which is “Working together to provide outstanding care for our community.”

We are Compassionate in our thoughts, words and actions

We are Aspirational and have a true desire to be dynamic and to innovate

We are Resourceful and responsible in the way we work and live

We are Excellent in our development, fairness and sharing best practice

Amazing things happen at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust; delivered by amazing people so why don’t you come and join us. We offer a range of learning and development for all employees may you be clinical or non-clinical.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

•Ensure that each project carried out within the Trust has a clear, consistent and rigorous project management methodology.
•Be responsible for effective programme management, through a formal and rigorous methodology; formal processes for risks and issues management; clear change-control policies; standardised reporting to convey clear messages to all stakeholder groups; as well as a standardised set of project deliverables.
•Ensure that all projects and programmes are supported with the appropriate governance structures and buy-in from the most senior stakeholders downward, including executive sponsors and steering committees. There must also be the technology to support the project methodologies that are defined (such as automation/document sharing).
•Be responsible for the provision of rigorous training for senior management and programme/project managers in order to understand and deliver best practice programme/project management. The Project Management dimensions cover governance, planning and budgeting, the project management office, quality assurance, risk and issue management and project leadership
•Work closely with the leadership provided by the Digital Hospital Committee to manage delivery and programme streams, in line with the “Top Ten” Digital Programmes and the priority Care Group Digital Projects.
•Scope, mobilise and deliver projects and programmes in conjunction with operational colleagues.

•Oversee the team’s delivery of technical work packages will be part of the operational framework and ensure that area leads take full responsibility for delivery of digital solutions.
•Constantly check the portfolio of programmes against affordability and capital limit envelopes and only commence projects when deliverability is assured.
•Make regular reports via the Digital Oversight Group and Digital Hospital Committee.
•Take overall responsibility for the progressive standardisation to a common set of lifecycles, approval gated and delivery tools.
•Work closely with the DCDIO to provide oversight and assurance of delivery through the revamped Trust Digital Governance, Programme Boards, PMO and DDaT management meetings.
•Have overall responsibility for monitoring portfolio progress and resolving workstream risks, issues & dependencies that may compromise delivery and benefits realisation.
•Overall responsibility for identification and realisation of benefits from digital projects/programmes in conjunction with the Benefits Manager.
•Develop transferable technologies supported by working with innovative suppliers and gain buy in from senior colleagues to implement within the Trust.
•works with senior Operations and clinical colleagues bringing digital solutions successfully into the Trust to improve patient services.
•It develops relationships with suppliers and Digital seniors in the wider System to share ideas and opportunities for new solutions and mutual benefit. As it applies to programmes and projects within the identified portfolio of work
•The post holder also has budget responsibility for digital solutions development and supplier contract management ensuring good supplier performance and value for money for the Trust.
•Responsibility to drive financial economies and develop tight professional capability for the digital projects and programmes for which the DDaT PMO and Portfolio teams are responsible (value for money).

•Identify opportunities through DDaT activities to create cost savings and income generation to support the Trust’s financial strategies. Support benefits achievement against all approved Digitally based business cases.
•The post holder is responsible for providing inspiring leadership to several areas of DDaT which are pivotal to the functioning of the Trust.

Person specification

Education, Qualifications & Training

Essential criteria

Masters degree in a relevant discipline with significant experience in a senior managerial and leadership role, including IM&T services development, informatic provision in a health environment, and leadership of diverse teams delivering enterprise-wide functions
PRINCE2 Practitioner or similar project management qualification, with experience of leading large complex projects.
Managing Successful Programmes or similar programme management qualification

Other

Essential criteria

Demonstrates the Trust values
Advanced interpersonal skills, with the ability to identify & overcome resistance to change.
Highly developed negotiation & conflict management skills.
Highly collaborative with strong & inspirational senior leadership capability
Able to work under pressure, dealing with peaks and troughs in workload, managing unpredictable demands
Able to work as part of a team, co-operating to work together and in conjunction with others and willing to help and assist wherever possible and appropriate appreciating the value of diversity in the workplace
Able to develop, establish and maintain positive relationships with others both internal and external to the organisation through challenging negotiations
Highly motivated and reliable
Has a strong degree of personal integrity; able to adhere to standards of conduct based on a culture of equality and fairness
Results and output orientated
Willingness to work to a flexible working pattern if necessary

Experience

Essential criteria

Successful track record of successful delivery of major NHS digital healthcare projects.
Managing highly complex competing priorities and delivering on time with restricted resources
Co-operative working with suppliers to develop innovative solutions
Managing & evaluating clinical, business solutions, to ensure delivery of required benefits.
Significant experience in benefits realisation.
Effective communication (verbal and written) at Board level and in the wider Health economy to influence & inform.
Partnership working across NHS & supplier boundaries.
Developing and interpreting NHS system specifications and requirements.
Clinical adoption of technology to improve patient care & safety
Track Record of success in a strategic or corporate management role.
Significant experience of team working and of working across team and sector boundaries.
Working with and influencing external bodies.

Desirable criteria

Senior digital role in a healthcare setting

Skills, Knowledge & Abilities

Essential criteria

Comprehensive understanding of NHS strategic objectives and drivers.
Comprehensive understanding of the NHS structure, organisations & management.
In depth knowledge of healthcare workflows & underlying business requirements across all components of an acute NHS Trust and wider health sectors.
Knowledge of budget planning, tracking and forecasting of multimillion pound projects.
Technically expert in healthcare systems
Significant skills in supplier management and contract negotiations.
Highly articulate and numerate with skills in analysing & evaluating information to stimulate performance and financial improvements via the use of technological solutions.
Ability to apply intense concentration especially to complex reports, business planning and balancing complex requirements within resource constraints
Business acumen with skills in strategic planning & development.
Problem solving ability, both technical & process and able to draw upon problem solving techniques.
Analytical and logical thinking.
People management skills.
Ability to work in an autonomous role and able to cope well with ambiguity.
Strategic planning and programme management for large projects.

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care System or similar

Staff Benefits

Flexible working opportunities and a strong emphasis on your work, life balance
Annual leave – 27 days for new starters, plus bank holidays. Increasing to 29 days after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years NHS service. Pro rata for part time staff
NHS pension scheme
Employee Assistance Programme
Money Advice Service
Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave for eligible staff
On-site nursery (based at RBH)
Full educational library services
Cycle to work scheme, lockable storage for cycles
Bus to work scheme
Excellent rail and bus links
A huge range of Health Service Discounts at hundreds of big brands from holidays to gadgets and restaurants to retail.

After applying via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred Third party recruitment system (TRAC). All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through the NHS Jobs website, and furthermore, that as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any e-mails sent to us via the NHS Jobs website.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are appointed to a post information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

Appointment to any position is conditional on the satisfactory completion of the core NHS Employment Checks Standards. Information disclosed in your application will be checked and any offer of appointment may be withdrawn if you knowingly withhold information or provide false or misleading information. All new appointments to the Trust, with the exception of executive positions, are subject to a 6 month probationary period.

The Trust may close any vacancy prior to the advertised closing date due to the high level of responses we receive for some of our vacancies.

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is committed to improving the health of its staff, patients and the wider community by providing a smoke free environment. A smoke free policy is in operation and smoking is not permitted on any of the Trust’s sites.

The Trust is also committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults and requires all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults.