(**) Director of Operations - Basildon and Broomfield

VerseOne Group; Basildon; Hybrid; GBP 113,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Job summary

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust in Basildon is seeking an exceptional Director of Operations to join the Senior Leadership Team. You will provide strategic and operational leadership across a large, complex healthcare portfolio and drive performance, with accountability for clinical services and patient care.

Reporting to the Hospital Chief Executives, you will lead major service improvements, develop high-performing teams, and ensure governance and regulatory compliance while promoting

Qualifications

• Educated to Degree standard (or equivalent).
• Educated to Doctorate Level or advanced theoretical or practical knowledge.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across a large and complex healthcare portfolio.
• Lead high-performing operational and clinical teams to deliver exceptional patient care.
• Foster accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement across services.
• Drive delivery of organisational objectives, performance targets and transformation programmes.
• Champion quality, patient safety and experience in service delivery.
• Build partnerships with Clinical Directors, commissioners and external stakeholders.
• Ensure robust governance, risk management and regulatory compliance.

Skills

NHS senior management

Strategic leadership

People management

Education

Degree (or equivalent)

Doctorate or advanced knowledge

CPD evidence

Job description

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is one of the biggest trusts in the country, following the merger of Mid Essex, Basildon and Southend hospitals in April 2020.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is the onlyacute hospital provider in the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS), which is a system of health and care partners working together for our local population.

Within Mid and South Essex there are 149 GP practices, operating from over 200 sites, forming 27 Primary Care Networks and one Ambulance Trust. There are also three main community and mental health service providers who work together through a community collaborative.

We collaborate with other valuable partners, including three Healthwatch organisations, nine voluntary and community sector organisations and three top tier local authorities, with seven district, borough and city councils, as well as our local universities.

(**) Director of Operations - Basildon and Broomfield

Band 9

Main area Senior Management Grade Band 9 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week Job ref 390-NR-COR-MSE-5826

Site Basildon Town Basildon Salary £112,782 - £129,783 Salary dependent on experience Salary period Yearly Closing 29/10/2026 23:59

Job overview

We are seeking an exceptional Director of Operations to join our Senior Leadership Team, We have a vacancy available at each of our sites, Basildon and Broomfield. Reporting to the Hospital Chief Executives, you will provide strategic and operational leadership, driving performance, service transformation, and the delivery of high-quality patient care.

Working closely with clinical, corporate, and system partners, you will lead operational performance across the division, ensuring compliance with national standards, regulatory requirements, and financial objectives while championing continuous improvement.

At MSE, we are committed to developing our future leaders and are dedicated to investing in your professional growth and development.

This is an excellent, unique opportunity for an experienced, values-driven leader to make a significant impact on patients, staff, and services across one of the largest NHS organisations in the country.

If you're ready to use your operational experience to make a real difference and help drive positive change across our organisation, we'd love to hear from you.

Main duties of the job

Provide strategic and operational leadership across a large and complex healthcare portfolio.

Lead, inspire, and develop high-performing operational and clinical teams to deliver exceptional patient care.

Foster a culture of accountability, empowerment, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Drive delivery of key organisational objectives, performance targets, and transformation programmes.

Champion quality, patient safety, and patient experience in all aspects of service delivery.

Work in partnership with Clinical Directors and multidisciplinary teams to improve outcomes and operational effectiveness.

Lead major service improvement and productivity initiatives to enhance efficiency and patient access.

Build strong relationships with system partners, commissioners, local authorities, and external stakeholders.

Ensure robust governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance across operational services.

Use performance data and insight to drive informed decision-making and continuous service improvement.

Act as an ambassador for the Trust's values, vision, and long-term strategic objectives.

Working for our organisation

Our ambition is to deliver excellent local and specialist services, to improve the health and well being of our patients, and provide a vibrant place for staff to develop, innovate and build careers.

We aim to make the most of our skills and experiences so we can become the best we can be. As one organisation we will recruit the finest and retain more specialist staff due to more employment opportunities across our Trust.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Are you looking for an exciting role using your unique qualities, then we want to hear from you.

For full details about this varied and rewarding role, please see attached job description and review the Job Pack on the below link.

https://canva.link/jxpq9bbn0mnac44

We look forward to your application.

Please be aware that we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive a suitable number of applications.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Educated to Degree standard (or equivalent)
• Educated to Doctorate Level or advanced theoretical or practical knowledge
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Experience

• Experience of working at a senior managerial level within the NHS
• Experience of applying national best practice standards for UEC
• Broad experience of leading large teams of professional staff within a performance management culture
• Evidential success of leading teams within an acute hospital to high performing clinical services
• Experience of working with other statutory and voluntary organisations and the development of joint projects
• A record of achievement in leading and managing the delivery and improvement of clinical services – an acute hospital
• Experience with conflict resolution and management

Please be aware as per the new Immigration guidelines we cannot sponsor candidates with a salary (full time or pro Rata) under the current minimum threshold.

Please note, the selection processes at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right skills and values, please be advised that the use of AI in applications are monitored. We remain vigilant against candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills, and you will be required to declare on your application if AI has been used before submitting your application.

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.

Name Julie Smith
Job title Managing Director
Email address [e-mail]
Telephone number 03004432027
Additional information

Contact should be arranged through Eliana Franky - Executive Assistant: [e-mail]