Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Band 9

The Methodist Church in Britain; Bradley Stoke; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

NHS pension scheme

Flexible working opportunities

Discounts at local shops and eateries

Discounted public transport

Two on-site nurseries

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a principal deputy to the Chief Operating Officer to oversee delivery across the four clinical divisions and corresponding corporate teams. The role includes ensuring capacity, patient flow and resilience across the hospital sites, with on-call duties and cross-system collaboration.

Candidates should have extensive, current experience in both planned and unplanned acute care, possess a Master’s degree or equivalent, and show ongoing

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent senior-level knowledge and experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• Extensive, recent senior operational leadership in a large or complex NHS provider.
• Delivery of national access standards, recovery plans and productivity improvement.

Responsibilities

• Act as principal deputy to the COO, representing the COO internally and externally.
• Deliver operational activity, trajectories and performance through the four clinical divisions.
• Provide professional leadership to the Directors of Operations.
• Lead corporate teams for RTT, cancer and DM01 diagnostic performance.
• Oversee Trust-wide operational on-call arrangements.
• Work with partners in the Gloucestershire Provider Partnership on operational priorities, capacity and patient flow.

Skills

Senior leadership

Operational resilience

Data-driven decisions

Education

Master's degree or equivalent senior-level knowledge and experience

Evidence of continuing professional development

Job description

Principal deputy to the Chief Operating Officer at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a senior operational leadership role across the acute provider. The post runs delivery through the four clinical divisions and oversees corporate teams for RTT, cancer, diagnostics, urgent care and hospital flow, alongside organisational resilience. It also carries a role in the Gloucestershire Provider Partnership and requires work across both hospital sites and the Director on-call rota. Candidates need extensive, current experience of both planned and unplanned care at scale.

What the job involves

• Act as principal deputy to the COO, representing the COO internally and externally
• Deliver operational activity, trajectories and performance through the four clinical divisions
• Provide professional leadership to the Directors of Operations
• Ensure divisions have information, expertise, infrastructure and corporate support, intervening early where off trajectory
• Lead corporate teams supporting RTT, cancer and DM01 diagnostic performance
• Lead corporate teams for urgent and emergency care, the Emergency Care Standard, and whole-hospital flow, capacity and discharge
• Lead corporate teams for operational performance, recovery and assurance
• Hold responsibility for the organisational resilience function, including emergency preparedness, business continuity and operational response
• Oversee Trust-wide operational on-call arrangements
• Provide senior operational leadership during significant operational pressure
• Work with partners in the Gloucestershire Provider Partnership on operational priorities, capacity and patient flow
• Contribute to the Deputy Executive Network on cross-cutting leadership, organisational development and delivery

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent senior-level knowledge and experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Experience

• Extensive, recent senior operational leadership in a large or complex acute NHS provider across planned and unplanned care
• Delivery of national access standards, recovery plans, productivity improvement and sustainable service change
• Proven delivery across RTT, cancer, DM01 and urgent and emergency care
• Significant experience of whole-hospital flow, capacity and operational escalation
• Significant budget, workforce and resource management, including efficiencies and value for money
• Experience of system working, complex negotiation, and working with Boards, Executive teams and system partners

Skills & knowledge

• Strong knowledge of patient safety, quality, risk, governance, regulatory requirements and operational resilience
• Translating strategy into deliverable plans and using complex data to drive action
• Presenting concise assurance to senior forums and negotiating across organisational boundaries

Other

• Visible, compassionate and inclusive leadership that builds engagement and accountability
• High integrity, resilience and sound judgement, with timely decisions under pressure
• Credibility to provide professional leadership to senior operational leaders
• Flexibility to work across both hospital sites and take part in the Director on-call rota
• Commitment to Trust values of dignity, respect, openness, accountability and collaboration

Nice to have

• Formal qualification in improvement, programme management or project delivery
• Experience leading organisational resilience, emergency preparedness or major incident response
• Experience of Board-level reporting and working with NHS England or other regulators

What’s offered

• Generous annual leave allowance
• NHS pension scheme
• Competitive bank rates
• Flexible working opportunities
• Exclusive benefits and discounts at local shops and restaurants
• Discounted public transport
• Two on-site nurseries
• Reward and recognition, plus health and wellbeing initiatives