Divisional Director of Operations for Surgery & Anaesthetics

Medway NHS Foundation Trust; Gillingham; On-site; GBP 109,000 - 126,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare organization in Gillingham seeks a Divisional Director of Operations for Surgery & Anaesthetics. This leadership role requires expertise in strategic planning, clinical governance, and managing operational performance. Candidates should be educated to Master’s level and have extensive experience in managing divisional-level operations within the NHS. Offering a competitive salary range of £109,179 to £125,637 annually, this role requires a commitment to enhancing patient care and operational excellence.

Benefits

Flexible working opportunities

Personal development programs

Qualifications

• Evidence of continued professional development.
• Professional management qualification or recognized professional development program.
• Extensive specialist knowledge in NHS and social care.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the development and delivery of strategic objectives.
• Support clinical governance compliance and assurance.
• Manage divisional-wide budgets and productivity.

Skills

Inter-agency communication and negotiation

Analytical skills

Leadership and vision

Strategic planning

Change management

Education

Educated to Masters level or equivalent experience

Job description

Divisional Director of Operations for Surgery & Anaesthetics

Acting Divisional Director of Operations for Surgery and Anaesthetics

Division: Surgery and Anaesthetics

Band: 9

Interview Date: 7th January 2026

The Surgery and Anaesthetics (S&A) Division at Medway NHS Foundation Trust is currently looking to appoint a Divisional Director of Operations (DDO).

The DDO will play an active role in contributing to the strategic direction of the Division and will have managerial accountability for the divisional triumvirate which includes the Divisional Medical Director and Divisional Nursing Director. The role reports to the Chief Operating Officer, and is responsible for the provision of high-quality services which are safe, efficient and cost effective. As a senior leader within the Division, the DDO will work closely with the senior Divisional team and care group structure leading the overall vision, direction and performance of the Division.

Main duties of the job

The DDO is a pivotal member of the Divisional team. The DDO will contribute to the development, implementation and delivery of the Trust's strategic and operational objectives to provide services that optimise patient care, ensure efficient use of resources and promote a culture that is progressive, inclusive and driven by a core set of values.

Key Responsibilities of the role are:

• Strategic Development
• Business Planning/Service Development
• Operational Performance
• Workforce Planning and Engagement
• Clinical Governance, Quality and Safety
• Leadership and Management

About us

Do you have the ambition and vision to deliver our mission of theBest of Care by the Best of People providing excellent care, every time?

Here at Medway, we pride ourselves on working together as one to ensure that our shared vision is achieved for our patients.

As a key partner in the healthcare of our local population, we are keen to deliver this as an outcome of our Trust-wide strategy - Patient First. Using an Operational Excellence approach to align our priorities and operational management structures, we are just over a year and half into our Patient First deployment. We are looking for creative, skilled people to join our Transformation Team and further support us on this journey.

Our culture and values define us here at Medway NHS Foundation Trust and are the heartbeat of who we are as an organisation.

Our BEST values underpin Patient First and are at the core of the care we give to our patients, the support we offer to our staff and our overall leadership approach:

B - Bold

E - Every person counts

S - Sharing and open

T - Together

Our Trust is a great choice for people who want to develop their career in an ambitious and dynamic environment; our employees are able to choose the coverage and supplemental benefits that best fit their needs and those of their families. This includes the promotion of flexible working opportunities across the Trust.

Job responsibilities

The role will also support aspects of clinical governance compliance and assurance related to the programme, ensuring safe and effective use of all resources.

We are committed to endorsing diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion; our policies/procedures ensure that all applicants are treated fairly at every stage of the recruitment process.

To contribute to our exciting future and become part of our team, apply today.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Educated to Masters level or equivalent experience
• Professionally trained managerially either via a recognised management qualification or a recognised professional development programme
• Evidence of continued professional development

Knowledge

• Knowledge of finance & HR Policies and Procedures in the NHS
• Clear understanding of transformation programmes and service development and improvement
• Extensive specialist knowledge of the NHS & Social Care, equivalenet to doctorate level, including infrastructure and arrangements at national, regional and local levels
• Up-to-date knowledge of NHS system reform policy and other key policy drivers. (Performance Management, operating Framework, capacity planning, payment by results, independent sector development and Foundation Trust issues)

Experience

• Extensive experience in effective and supportive people management
• Expert working knowledge of performance management techniques and of using Business Intelligence solutions to work within a performance management framework
• Demonstrable and extensive experience of working at a Divisional Management Director level
• Extensive and broad ranging experience leading multiple clinical services
• Demonstrable, significant experience in implementing innovative clinically led services
• Evidence to support programme of personal and professional development
• Proven experience of successfully managing divisional-wide budgets and delivery of Trust-wide productivity and efficiency programmes
• Proven experience of leading change through people, by effective and engaging leadership
• Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making.

Skills

• Demonstrable ability in inter-agency communication and negotiation; including collaborative working
• Ability to analyse highly complex and contentious issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources.
• Extensive demonstrable experience of strategic planning across divisions
• Ability to analyse numerical and written data, assess options and draw appropriate initiatives Leadership, vision, strategic thinking and planning with highly developed political skills
• Demonstrable ability in implementing change and evaluation (in complex and changing environments to deliver sustainable services)
• Ability to communicate highly complex, sensitive or contentious information orally and in writing, both internally and externally, to a range of audiences
• Ability to prepare and deliver presentations and reports to a high standard (Board level quality)
• Ability to analyse and interpret highly complex information and to make judgements regarding a range of highly complex management issues
• Ability to plan, manage, adjust and deliver complex projects, involving multiple agencies and individuals and a broad range of activities, to tight deadlines

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£109,179 to £125,637 a yearper annum/pro rata