General Manager

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Dorchester; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Dorchester is seeking a General Manager to lead the Integrated & Holistic Care Group, overseeing a diverse portfolio including Frailty, Respiratory, Stroke, Therapies, Dietetics, Haematology, Oncology, Pharmacy, Palliative Care and Orthotics.

Working with Clinical Leads, Matrons and Managers, you will drive quality, performance and transformation, ensuring governance and financial sustainability while fostering a culture of continuous improvement

Qualifications

• Master's degree level or equivalent senior management experience.
• Evidence of leadership development and ongoing professional development.

Responsibilities

• Lead a diverse portfolio across the Integrated & Holistic Care Group.
• Collaborate with Clinical Leads, Matrons and Managers to deliver safe, effective and responsive services.
• Use data and operational intelligence to identify opportunities for improvement and support decision-making.
• Lead programmes of change and improvement that enhance patient pathways, staff experience and service sustainability.
• Represent the Care Group at Trust and system meetings, building strong internal and external relationships.
• Support services through periods of operational pressure, recovery and transformation.
• Provide visible leadership, coaching and support to managers and multidisciplinary teams.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Change management

Analytical skills

Financial management

Communication

Data-driven decisions

Resilience

Stakeholder management

Education

Master's degree

Senior management development

Job description

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

General Manager

The closing date is 25 November 2026

This is an exciting opportunity to join Dorset County Hospital as General Manager for our Integrated & Holistic Care Group.

Leading a diverse portfolio including Frailty, Respiratory, Stroke, Therapies, Dietetics, Haematology, Oncology, Pharmacy, Palliative Care and Orthotics, you will provide senior operational leadership across services that are central to patient care across Dorset.

Working alongside an experienced team of Clinical Leads, Matrons and Managers, you will drive quality, performance and transformation across a portfolio that includes our Stroke and Respiratory services, supporting pathways that extend beyond the Trust's traditional catchment and influence care across the wider region.

Main duties of the job

• Lead one of the Trust's most diverse portfolios, providing visible and effective leadership across the Care Group.
• Deliver excellence in quality, safety, operational performance and patient experience.
• Shape and deliver strategic priorities through transformation, innovation and service redesign.
• Ensure strong governance, regulatory readiness and organisational assurance.
• Lead financial sustainability, productivity and workforce improvement programmes.
• Work collaboratively with clinical leaders and system partners to improve pathways and outcomes for patients across Dorset.
• Develop a culture of high performance, continuous improvement and compassionate leadership.

UKVI Sponsorship: This role is eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). We welcome applications from individuals who require sponsorship to work in the UK. Sponsorship will be offered subject to meeting UKVI eligibility criteria.

About us

At DCHFT, we pride ourselves on the care we provide for our patients, and on the culture, we are creating for our staff. We work hard to create a fair, inclusive environment for our staff.

Our Mission is to provide outstanding care for people in ways which matter to them, and our vision is Dorset County Hospital, working with our health and social care partners, will be at the heart of improving the well-being of our communities.

We are a Trust that celebrates diversity, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from people in all under-represented groups.

We understand that AI can be a useful tool when completing your application. However, we are seeing an increasing over-reliance of AI tools, which can negatively affect your application as it reduces a candidate's individuality, and makes it difficult for us to gain a clear and authentic understanding of your experience, skills, and in turn your suitability for the role.

All submissions must be truthful and if you do use AI, it should only be used to enhance your application and not create your supporting statement in its entirety. Your supporting statement should be in your own words and must accurately reflect your personal experience and achievements. Where we have concerns that AI has been used to generate content that misrepresents your experience and suitability for the role, we may withdraw your application.

Job responsibilities

• Lead a diverse portfolio of integrated and specialist services across the Care Group.
• Work closely with Clinical Leads, Matrons and Managers to support the day-to-day delivery of safe, effective and responsive services.
• Use data, insight and operational intelligence to identify opportunities for improvement and support decision-making.
• Lead programmes of change and improvement that enhance patient pathways, staff experience and service sustainability.
• Represent the Care Group at Trust and system meetings, developing strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Support services through periods of operational pressure, recovery and transformation.
• Provide visible leadership, coaching and support to managers and multidisciplinary teams across the portfolio.

Person Specification

Education

Essential

• oEducated to Master's degree level or able to demonstrate equivalent knowledge and experience gained through senior management practice
• oEvidence of relevant leadership and management development and continuing professional development.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential

• Significant senior operational management experience
• Proven delivery of performance improvement and organisational change.
• Significant financial and budgetary management experience, including savings delivery.
• Experience of service development and transformation.
• Experience of partnership and cross-organisational working
• Understanding of quality, governance and regulatory frameworks.
• Leadership experience within the NHS or a complex healthcare environment.

Desirable

• Understanding of NHS priorities and direction.

Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Strong leadership and people management skills.
• Ability to translate strategy into operational delivery.
• Ability to lead and manage significant change.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Sound financial and budget management skills
• Ability to build effective relationships across professional and organisational boundaries.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and work effectively under pressure.
• Excellent communication, influencing and negotiation skills.
• Ability to use data and digital technology to support service improvement.
• Resilient, adaptable and able to work through ambiguity.
• Commitment to staff development and an inclusive, improvement focused culture.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .

Employer details

Employer name

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Williams Avenue

Dorchester

DT1 2XJ

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.dchft.nhs.uk/working-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)