Deputy General Manager

NHS; Burton upon Trent; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Development opportunities

Leadership development

Staff benefits including EAP

Discounted gym membership

Onsite fitness classes

Car schemes

Job summary

UHDB is seeking an experienced, forward‑thinking and motivated operational leader to join our dynamic Site Capacity and Flow team. The Deputy General Manager Operations plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safe, effective and efficient management of patient flow, capacity and demand across the organisation.

Working closely with operational, clinical and divisional teams, the post holder supports the delivery of key operational objectives, national performance standards, financial targets and

Qualifications

• Lead operational management of patient flow, capacity and escalation.
• Collaborate with clinical, operational and corporate teams.
• Deliver service improvements and meet performance standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead the operational management of patient flow, capacity, demand and escalation processes across the Trust.
• Coordinate responses to operational pressures including bed management and discharge processes.
• Support achievement of national and local performance standards through monitoring and improvement.
• Act as a key link between clinical, operational and corporate teams.
• Provide visible leadership to operational teams and participate in on-call rota.
• Develop and implement operational policies and service improvement programmes.
• Analyse data and performance metrics to identify trends and risks.

Skills

Leadership

Operational management

Communication

Tools

Data analysis tools

Job description

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together.

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

With over 14,000 members of staff, you can expect huge variety and new opportunities every day! Our staff go above and beyond and take pride in caring for our patients.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust are fully committed to promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and human rights in employment and delivery of its services. The Trust is committed to providing an environment where all employees, patients, carers and visitors experience equality of opportunity by means of understanding and appreciating the value of diversity.

As a Trust we promote an inclusive environment and welcome applications from a diverse pool of talent and backgrounds. All individuals are valued and given every opportunity to succeed based on merit.

The Trust actively encourages applications from members of our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. These groups are under‑represented in our organisation, and it’s important to us that our workforce reflects the diversity of our communities as much as possible.

Armed Forces and Disability Confident guaranteed interview scheme

To further support the pledges in the Armed Forces Covenant and to make a positive contribution to support ex‑armed forces personnel (veterans) make the transition to civilian life, the Trust has introduced a Guaranteed Interview Scheme for veterans who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification, to help them overcome barriers to find civilian employment. The scheme will operate for all external recruitment.

The Trust is a Disability Confident Employer and committed to both employing and retaining people with disabilities. This commitment is to guarantee an interview for any candidate that has disclosed a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and who meets the essential criteria set out in the person specification. Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 will be considered upon request.

if you are blind or visually impaired and require application material in an alternative format- such as Braille, large print, audio or accessible electronic formats or you require support/adjustments with your application please contact the recruitment team on 01332 788466

The Trust is proud to be a signatory of the Care Leavers Covenant and is committed to supporting care‑experienced people into employment.

Applicants who identify as a care leaver and who meet the essential criteria for the role, as detailed in the person specification, will be guaranteed an interview.

If you wish to be considered under this scheme, please indicate this within your application.

Join us and help make a real difference to our Trust.

Here’s more about the role and what we’re looking for;

Job overview

An excellent opportunity has arisen for an experienced, forward‑thinking and motivated operational leader to join our dynamic and dedicated Site Capacity and Flow team

The Deputy General Manager Operations plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safe, effective and efficient management of patient flow, capacity, demand across the organisation. Working closely with operational, clinical and divisional teams, the post holder supports the delivery of key operational objectives, national performance standards, financial targets and service improvement initiatives.

The role provides senior operational leadership both during normal working hours and through participation in the Senior Manager On‑Call rota, ensuring robust escalation processes, effective communication and coordinated responses to operational pressures.

Closing date of applications - 16 November 2026

Interview date - 30 November 2026

Main duties of the job

• Leading the operational management of patient flow, capacity, demand and escalation processes across the Trust to support timely access to care.
• Coordinating responses to operational pressures, including bed management, discharge processes and emergency care performance.
• Supporting the achievement of national and local performance standards through proactive performance monitoring and service improvement.
• Acting as a key link between clinical, operational and corporate teams to ensure effective communication, collaboration and decision‑making.
• Providing visible leadership and management to operational teams, fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement and patient‑centred care.
• Participating in the Senior Manager On‑Call rota and providing operational leadership during periods of significant escalation, major incidents and business continuity events.
• Leading and contributing to the development and implementation of operational policies, procedures and service improvement programmes.
• Analysing operational data and performance metrics to identify trends, risks and opportunities for improvement, ensuring informed decision‑making.
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including clinical teams, system partners, commissioners and emergency service providers.
• Deputising for the General Manager as required, representing the service at internal and external meetings

Working for our organisation

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In return we will offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
• On‑going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England – an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day – 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see attached Job description and Person Specification.

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).

• the points‑based immigration system
• the EU settlement scheme
• eVisa

During the course of its employment activities, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust collects, stores and processes personal information about prospective, current and former staff.

Our Privacy Notice includes applicants, employees (and former employees), workers (including agency, casual, honorary and contracted staff), volunteers, trainees and those carrying out work experience – please refer to our Privacy Notice available on our Trust website: https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/information-governance

UHDB is committed to fair and transparent recruitment. We welcome authentic applications that reflect your own skills, experience and motivations for the role. While we understand that candidates may use AI tools for grammar, formatting or accessibility purposes, applications that appear to be substantially AI‑generated may be subject to additional review. If this applies to your submission, we will let you know and may ask for clarification. Please ensure your application accurately represents your experience and is written in your own words.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

If you have problems applying, contact

Address Recruitment Team, Workforce Management
Training Centre
Rehab Block, Level 3
Royal Derby Hospital
Derby
Derbyshire
DE22 3NE
Telephone [phone]

Name Jemma Phillips Job title General Manager Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07989441621