Job summary
- Main area
- Operational Readiness
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 9
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 990-NHP-18556-E
- Employer
- NHS England
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Any NHSE office base
- Town
- Nationally
- Salary
- £109,179 - £125,637 per annum (Exclusive of London Weighting)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 29/01/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Deputy Director of Hospital Operational Readiness
NHS AfC: Band 9
Our Organisation
The NHS is building a culture that is positive, compassionate and inclusive – and we all have our part to play.
As employers we are committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all our colleagues. This underpins our values as set out in the NHS Constitution and supports us to be an Employer of Choice, while helping our colleagues to deliver high quality services for our patients and communities.
As a flexible employer, we want to support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a ‘home’ office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
We are an accredited Living Wage Employer which means that every colleague working for our organisation and third-party contractors will earn a real Living Wage. We are one of over 15,000 organisations, who voluntarily chose to pay the real Living Wage.
Job overview
The New Hospital Programme is more than building hospitals, it’s a once in a generation opportunity to shape the future of healthcare in England. We’re delivering over 40 new hospitals that will be modern, sustainable and built around the needs of patients and staff. We’re looking for people who care about purpose, who thrive in complex environments and who want to help deliver change at scale for future generations.
Main duties of the job
We’re looking for a highly experienced individual with knowledge and experience at senior operational management level of acute hospital services to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of delivering healthcare in new facilities. Applicants should have experience of planning and successfully delivering clinical services operationally through a capital build programme in addition to experience of leading the safe operational activation of the new facility. As part of our forward-thinking Hospital Operations team, you’ll lead on key programmes that drive transformation, innovation, and value for money across operational planning, commissioning, and service delivery.
What you’ll do
- Provide operational expertise during design meetings, business case reviews, and operational readiness planning activities
- Develop guidance and support products for the New Hospital Programme in collaboration with stakeholders
- Work with the wider teams and build an evidence-based operating model for the new hospital
- Support the Hospital Operations Director to deliver the strategic and operational development of the New Hospital Programme operational readiness team, including business planning and resourcing.
- Support the complete hospital operations portfolio and deputise for the Hospital Operations Director
Working for our organisation
The NHS England board have set out the top-level purpose for the new organisation to lead the NHS in England to deliver high-quality services for all, which will inform the detailed design work and we will achieve this purpose by:
- Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities.
- Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential.
- Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
- Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
- Delivering value for money.
If you would like to know more or require further information, please visit https://www.england.nhs.uk/.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.
If successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the recruitment process.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
For more information on the NHP programme
Due to ongoing organisational change and developments, aspects of this role may be subject to change.
By applying for this position, you acknowledge and understand that NHS England is currently undergoing a consultation process to finalise its structure, which may impact this role.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Hold relevant qualifications in acute hospital care / operational delivery.
- Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior nurse operational level in specialist area
- Certified healthcare leadership qualification
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Have experience of a leadership role within a new acute hospital build programme, guiding the operational team / clinical department through build, commissioning and activation into new estate
- Extensive knowledge and experience at an operational senior level within an acute hospital setting. This would be at Deputy Director of near Board level
- Have extensive knowledge of operational readiness, including safely opening hospital and optimising operational performance
- Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy and appreciate the implications of this on engagement
- Have a working knowledge to problem solving for emergency situations and have managed critical / major incidents within an acute hospital environment.
- Experience of budgetary responsible, including budget setting with evidence of working knowledge of financial processes
Skills
Essential criteria
- Highly developed communication skills with the capability to analyse, review and make sense of highly complex, sensitive or contentious information across a diverse range of subjects relevant to post portfolio.
- Demonstrable skills in presenting complex concepts and information which may include difficult and controversial issues, across a wide range of audiences
- Ability to identify risks, anticipate issues and create solutions and to resolve problems in relation to project or service delivery
- Ability to understand a broad range of complex information quickly and making decisions where opinions differ/no obvious solution
- Interpreting national policy for implementation
- Experience of delivering against competing priorities and deadlines while also directing the work of teams/individuals
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Chloe Lincoln-Todd
- Job title
- Resourcing Business Partner
- Email address
- [email protected]
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