General Manager

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Development opportunities

Employee assistance programme

Discounted gym membership

Job summary

The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a General Manager to lead the Acute Medicine Business Unit at Royal Derby Hospital, delivering high-quality services and driving improvements in urgent and emergency care.

You will partner with the Clinical Director and Matron to shape service plans, manage performance and governance, and champion staff wellbeing in a fast-paced, transformative environment.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in a senior management position.
• Experience of leading and directing senior clinical and non-clinical teams.
• Proven track record of managing change in a complex environment.
• Significant operational management experience in Urgent and Emergency Care.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day operational performance of the Business Unit and deliver quality, activity and financial objectives.
• Drive improvements in urgent and emergency care pathways and patient flow.
• Provide strong leadership to multidisciplinary teams and foster a culture of collaboration.
• Support development and delivery of strategic service plans in response to patient needs.
• Collaborate with clinical leaders to implement service improvements and transformational change.
• Ensure robust governance and performance management for sustainable delivery.
• Build relationships across the Trust and health system to support integrated urgent and acute care.
• Champion staff engagement, development and wellbeing.

Skills

Leadership

Financial management

Change management

Communication

Project management

Education

Degree or equivalent

Professional management qualifications

Job description

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

General Manager

The closing date is 25 October 2026

Are you an experienced NHS operational leader looking for an opportunity to make a real difference in Urgent and Emergency Care?

We are seeking an ambitious and collaborative General Manager to join the Acute Medicine Business Unit at Royal Derby Hospital. This is an exciting opportunity to work at the heart of a fast-paced and evolving service, leading operational delivery, driving improvement and shaping the future of acute and urgent care pathways.

As part of the Business Unit triumvirate leadership team, you will work in close partnership with the Clinical Director and Matron to provide visible, compassionate and effective leadership across the service. You will play a pivotal role in ensuring our patients receive safe, high-quality and timely care, while supporting staff to deliver their best every day.

This role offers the opportunity to influence strategic decision-making, lead transformational change and work alongside multidisciplinary teams to improve patient experience, performance and outcomes.

Whether delivering operational excellence, improving patient flow or supporting innovative models of care, you will be empowered to make a significant impact across one of the Trust's most important clinical services.

Main duties of the job

As General Manager, you will support the Divisional Director in providing strategic and operational leadership across the Acute Medicine Business Unit, ensuring the delivery of high-quality services that meet both local and national priorities.

Working collaboratively with clinical and operational colleagues, you will:

• Lead the day-to-day operational performance of the Business Unit, ensuring delivery of key quality, activity and financial objectives.
• Drive improvements in urgent and emergency care pathways, supporting patients to receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
• Provide strong, visible leadership to multidisciplinary teams, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement.
• Support the development and delivery of strategic service plans that respond to the evolving needs of our patients and communities.
• Work closely with clinical leaders to implement service improvements, redesign pathways and deliver transformational change.
• Ensure robust performance management and governance arrangements are in place to support sustainable service delivery.
• Build strong relationships with colleagues across the Trust and wider health system to support integrated approaches to urgent and acute care.
• Champion staff engagement, development and wellbeing, creating an environment where individuals and teams can thrive.

Closing date of applications : 25 October 2026

Interview date: 12 November 2026

About us

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, including both professional and leadership development
• On-going support through every step of the way from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• A variety of other staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts about our Trust:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments per day.
• We are the 4thbusiest 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.

Job responsibilities

We are looking for a credible and inspirational operational leader with substantial experience within NHS Urgent and Emergency Care, Acute Medicine or Unscheduled Care services.

You will bring:

• A proven track record of delivering operational performance and service improvement within complex healthcare environments.
• Significant experience of leading multidisciplinary teams and managing change in fast-paced clinical settings.
• Strong leadership, communication and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage, influence and inspire others.
• Experience of performance management, financial management and delivering against demanding operational targets.
• A collaborative approach and a commitment to working in partnership with clinical colleagues to achieve outstanding patient care.
• The strategic thinking and operational expertise needed to support both immediate service priorities and longer-term transformation programmes.

Most importantly, you will be passionate about improving services for patients, developing high-performing teams and helping shape the future of Acute Medicine at Royal Derby Hospital.

Please see attached Job description and Person Specification.

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 AIgenerated 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.

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

Person Specification

Experience

• Significant experience working in a senior management position
• Experience of leading and directing senior clinical and non clinical teams
• Successful track record of managing change in a complex environment
• Significant operational management experience in Urgent and emergency Care

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent knowledge gained through experience or professional qualification
• Professional management qualifications or equivalent

Skills

• Financial management and business management skills
• Highly developed problem solving analytical skills

Knowledge

• Experience and knowledge of the current NHS challenges
• Experience and knowledge of the current NHS challenges specific to Urgent and Emergency Care

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.

Employer name

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Address

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton