Assistant General Manager, Trauma & Orthopaedics

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 58,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is seeking an Assistant General Manager for Trauma & Orthopaedics to lead a busy, high‑performing service and work with senior clinical colleagues to shape direction and deliver meaningful improvements for patients and staff.

You will join a dynamic team, balancing priorities in a fast-paced environment, with strong leadership, communication and collaborative skills to support service development and sustainable change at UCLH.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience.
• Postgraduate qualification in healthcare management or business administration.
• Significant staff management experience in a large organisation.
• Proven service improvement and development experience.
• Experience in managing budgets and leading staff.
• Experience in trauma & orthopaedics or similar clinical service.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Trauma & Orthopaedics clinical service with the General Manager.
• Tackle operational challenges and deliver improvements for patients and staff.
• Balance competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Influence change and support teams to achieve best.
• Contribute to wider service transformation and improved patient care.

Skills

Staff management

Communication

Collaboration

Quality focus

Multidisciplinary

Resilience

Negotiation

Adaptability

Trauma/Ortho knowledge

Education

Degree level

Postgraduate qualification

Job description

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Assistant General Manager, Trauma & Orthopaedics

The closing date is 18 November 2026

We are looking for an enthusiastic, motivated and forward-thinking Assistant General Manager to join our Trauma & Orthopaedics team at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH).

This is an exciting opportunity to take on a key leadership role within a busy and dynamic department at one of the UK's leading teaching hospitals. Working alongside an experienced multidisciplinary team, you will play an important role in shaping services, driving improvements and ensuring we continue to deliver high-quality care and an excellent experience for our patients.We are seeking an individual with strong leadership skills, excellent communication and a proactive, solutions-focused approach. You will thrive in a fast-paced environment, enjoy working collaboratively and be passionate about supporting teams to deliver meaningful and sustainable improvements.

At UCLH, you will join a supportive and ambitious team where your ideas and contributions are valued. This role offers an excellent opportunity to further develop your operational management and leadership experience, influence service development and make a real difference to patient care.

Main duties of the job

As Assistant General Manager for Trauma & Orthopaedics, you will play a central role in the leadership and development of a busy, complex and high-performing clinical service. Working alongside the General Manager and senior clinical colleagues, you will help shape the direction of the department, tackle operational challenges and deliver meaningful improvements for patients and staff.

This is a varied and rewarding role requiring strong leadership, sound judgement and the ability to balance competing priorities in a fast-paced environment. You will need to be confident in making decisions, solving complex problems and building effective relationships with colleagues across different professional groups.

We are looking for a proactive, adaptable and motivated individual with excellent communication and organisational skills, a collaborative approach and a genuine commitment to improving patient care. You should be comfortable taking ownership of challenges, influencing change and supporting teams to achieve their best.

The role offers significant opportunities to develop your leadership experience, contribute to wider service transformation and make a tangible difference to the delivery of orthopaedic care at UCLH.

About us

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK, serving a large and diverse population. We provide academically led acute and specialist services, to people from the local area, from throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Our vision is to deliver top-quality patient care, excellent education, and world-class research.

We provide first-class acute and specialist services across eight sites:o University College Hospital (incorporating the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing)o National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgeryo Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitalso University College Hospital Grafton Way Buildingo Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicineo University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centreo The Hospital for Tropical Diseaseso University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street

We are dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of many complex illnesses. UCLH specialises in women's health and the treatment of cancer, infection, neurological, gastrointestinal and oral disease. It has world class support services including critical care, imaging, nuclear medicine and pathology.

We are committed to sustainability and have pledged to become a carbon net zero health service, embedding sustainable practice throughout UCLH. We have set an ambitious target of net zero for our direct emissions by 2031 and indirect emissions by 2040.

Job responsibilities

For the full Person Specification and more information regarding the main responsibilities of this role, please refer to the attached Job Description.

Come and be a part of the best NHS trust in England to work for, according to our staff*

* UCLH top trust to work at in England - In the most recent NHS staff survey UCLH had the highest percentage of staff who said they would recommend us as a place to work, out of all general acute or acute/community NHS trusts in England for the third year in a row.

UCLH recognises the benefits of flexible working for staff To find out more, visit: Flexible working.

To discover more about what makes UCLH a great place to work, visit: Why Choose UCLH?

Person Specification

Knowledge and Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience
• Postgraduate qualification in a relevant field (e.g. healthcare management, business administration)

Experience

• Significant experience of managing staff
• Significant managerial experience in a large and complex organisation
• Proven experience in service improvement and development
• Proven experience in effective monitoring of national target compliance
• Proven experience in effective management of budgets and effective leadership of staff
• A proven record of success in managing change while also developing and maintaining high standards of quality
• Proven experience in business planning and in the development and effective implementation of complex strategic and operational plans
• Experience of working within a trauma & orthopaedics or other similar clinical service

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent staff management skills including performance management and training
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including with senior levels within the organisation
• Ability to work co-operatively with other management teams and develop effective working relationships within the directorate
• Quality focussed, innovative approach and ability to solve complex problems
• Strong understanding of multi-disciplinary issues and commitment to multi-disciplinary working
• Ability to operate effectively under pressure, self-motivate and use own initiative
• Ability to negotiate and influence staff at all levels, including medical staff
• Ability to adapt rapidly to work with different services and teams
• Understanding of the specific challenges facing trauma & orthopaedic services

Communication

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate complex or sensitive information clearly to a range of audiences including clinicians, patients and senior managers
• Experience of presenting information effectively at senior management level
• Experience of leading on complaint responses or sensitive patient communications

Personal and People Development

• Experience of supervising and managing staff, including performance management, appraisal and development
• Commitment to own continuing professional development
• Experience of delivering training to staff

Specific Requirements

• Evidence of political awareness and sensitivity to the high profile of the Trust
• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of current issues and practices within the NHS
• Understanding of confidentiality and the Data Protection Act
• Flexibility to work occasional early or late hours to support service needs

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

£58,133 to £65,261 a yearPer annum inclusive of HCAS