Deputy Head of Operations

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Kettering; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Deputy Head of Operations who will report to the Head of Operations and oversee day-to-day business activities across multiple departments. You will support the planning, coordination, and execution of key operational strategies to ensure systems, processes, and teams align to meet organisational objectives.

The role requires a proactive, strategic thinker with a strong operations background, confident communication, and proven

Responsibilities

• Support the Head of Operations in managing core business functions, ensuring efficiency and high-quality service delivery.
• Lead operational teams to achieve performance targets and service standards.
• Monitor KPIs to drive continuous improvement and inform decisions.
• Coordinate cross-department projects and ensure timelines and goals are met.

Job description

Reporting directly to the Head of Operations, the Deputy Head of Operations will help oversee day-to-day business activities across multiple departments. You will support the planning, coordination, and execution of key operational strategies, ensuring that our systems, processes, and teams are aligned to meet organisational objectives., We are looking for a proactive and strategic thinker with a solid background in operations management. You should be a confident communicator and proven leader, capable of influencing at all levels and making data-driven decisions.

• Support the Head of Operations in managing core business functions, ensuring efficiency, compliance, and high-quality service delivery.
• Lead operational teams to achieve performance targets and service standards.
• Monitor and analyse key performance indicators (KPIs) to drive continuous improvement.
• Identify and resolve operational issues, streamline processes and implement new systems where appropriate.
• Coordinate cross-departmental projects, ensuring timelines and goals are met.
• Provide leadership, mentoring, and development to team leaders and staff.
• Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, company policies and best practices.
• Act as a key point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, representing operations in high-level discussions when required.
• Deputise for the Head of Operations in their absence
• This is a hands-on, leadership role that demands a strong operational mindset, excellent people management skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment.

We recognise that AI tools can support application writing; however, candidates are asked to keep their use to a minimum. Responses should reflect your own experience, skills and knowledge, as over-reliance on AI-generated content may result in generic answers that do not accurately represent your abilities.

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.