Deputy Chief Operating Officer

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Sutton-in-Ashfield; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an experienced Deputy Chief Operating Officer to lead across emergency, elective and cancer pathways, ensuring safe patient flow and sustained performance.

The role requires collaboration with senior clinical and operational teams to deliver high-quality, patient-centred services, drive transformation, and champion a culture of safety and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Proven track record leading complex healthcare operations.
• Experience delivering safe, high-quality patient care at scale.
• Strong collaboration with clinical and operational teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across emergency, elective and cancer pathways.
• Lead service transformation and continuous improvement programmes.
• Drive performance against national targets, quality standards and financial plans.
• Collaborate with ICS and Provider Collaborative partners to improve services.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Operational excellence

Stakeholder engagement

Healthcare performance improvement

Education

MBA or MSc in Healthcare Management

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

We are seeking an experienced and inspirational leader to join our senior leadership team as Deputy Chief Operating Officer (DCOO). Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will play a key role in delivering safe, high-quality, patient-centred and financially sustainable services across the Trust.

Working closely with senior clinical and operational colleagues, you will lead operational performance, service improvement and transformation programmes, ensuring services remain responsive to the needs of patients, staff and local communities.

As a member of the Trust's leadership team, you will support the delivery of strategic objectives, drive performance across emergency, elective and cancer pathways, and champion innovation, quality and continuous improvement.

We are looking for a collaborative, values-driven leader with a strong track record of operational excellence in a complex healthcare environment. You will be passionate about improving patient outcomes, developing high-performing teams and fostering a culture of quality, safety and staff engagement.

This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of Sherwood Forest Hospitals and make a lasting impact on the care we provide.

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be invited to attend on 5th October 2026.

Key Areas Of Responsibility Include

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across emergency, elective and cancer pathways, ensuring safe, effective patient flow and delivery of performance standards.
• Act as Gold Commander in the absence of the Chief Operating Officer.
• Support and challenge divisional teams to deliver high-quality, safe, patient-centred services and achieve operational, quality and financial objectives.
• Lead service transformation, innovation and continuous improvement programmes to enhance patient care and organisational performance.
• Drive achievement of national targets, CQC standards, contractual requirements and annual operational plans.
• Work collaboratively with partners across the Integrated Care System (ICS) and Provider Collaborative to improve services and outcomes for patients.
• Promote a positive, inclusive and transparent culture that supports staff engagement, accountability, leadership development and continuous learning.
• Ensure effective business planning, capacity planning and resource management to support sustainable service delivery and financial efficiency.
• Develop high-performing teams through strong leadership, coaching and performance management.
• Support the delivery of the Trust's strategic objectives, translating priorities into actionable plans and measurable outcomes.

We are an award-winning NHS Foundation Trust working alongside health and social care colleagues across the county to provide acute and community healthcare services to more than 420,000 people across Mansfield, Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood, and parts of Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

We put the patient at the heart of everything that we do and it is our aim to make sure that every patient is treated as we would want a member of our own family to be treated. At the same time, we expect our staff to be caring, kind and courteous to each other and to look out for each other. We believe that we are truly a clinically-led organisation.

We are proud that our Trust colleagues have voted us the best acute Trust to work for in the East Midlands for seven years running in the National NHS Staff Survey, while the Care Quality Commission has rated our Trust as 'outstanding' for care and our King’s Mill Hospital as the only 'outstanding' NHS-run hospital in the East Midlands.

Role

Not all of our roles are eligible for sponsorship to find out which roles are eligible for sponsorship please refer to the shortage occupation list found here: Skilled Worker visa: eligible healthcare and education jobs - GOV.UK

Home Office guidance has changed as of the 9 th April, anyone that requires switching visa type may not be eligible for sponsorship even if the role is on the shortage occupation list.

Requests to speak with the Chief Operating Officer should be directed to Lindsay Brunt, PA, via email at [e-mail].

Name: Simon Illingworth Job title: Chief Operating Officer Email address: [e-mail] Telephone number: 07725 268727