Head of Community Services Operations

PRINCIPAL MEDICAL LIMITED; Bicester; On-site; GBP 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

PRINCIPAL MEDICAL LIMITED in Bicester is seeking a Head of Community Services Operations to provide senior operational leadership across our community services. The role sits between the Executive Team and service leads to translate strategic priorities into stable delivery, with clear accountability and governance.

You will oversee workforce planning, financial performance, and contract delivery, champion service development, clinical governance, and assurance reporting for the Board.

Qualifications

• Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience in operations, healthcare, or business-related field.
• NMC or GMC registered professional
• Formal management, leadership, quality improvement, project / programme management or healthcare operations qualification
• Significant operational leadership experience in healthcare, community services, primary care, urgent care, neighbourhood / integrated care, or a comparable regulated service environment.
• Proven ability to lead multiple services or operational teams through service stabilisation, performance improvement, workforce change and governance scrutiny.
• Strong people leadership skills, including line management of managers / leads, setting objectives, holding accountability, supporting development and managing performance issues fairly.
• Strong financial and commercial literacy, including experience interpreting budgets, P&Ls, contract income, workforce establishment, forecast variances and service cost drivers.
• Experience of working on service redesign, same day access, complex care or integrated care models.
• Able to operate with calm authority in ambiguous or pressured situations, with the ability to keep delivery moving in difficult environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce concise reports, governance updates, business cases and stakeholder briefings.
• Understanding of NHS commissioning, ICB relationships, primary care networks, neighbourhood health policy and multi-neighbourhood provider development.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day operational leadership across Community Services.
• Line manage and support service leads / operational leads, ensuring services have clear objectives, escalation routes, action ownership and timely follow-through.
• Maintain service continuity and resilience, escalating material operational, workforce, quality, finance or contract risks through the agreed route.
• Own the Community Services performance rhythm, ensuring monthly service outputs are completed, reviewed and converted into useful assurance for Exec, Corporate Governance and Board reporting.

Skills

Leadership

Operations management

Healthcare experience

Governance and reporting

Financial literacy

Education

Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience

Job description

We are looking to hire a Head of Community Services Operations on a full-time basis, in Bicester.

The salary is circa 70k depending on experience.

About Us

PML is a successful not-for-profit, GP-led organisation providing various NHS community and primary care clinical services to patients across Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire. We have evolved as a NHS healthcare provider since 2004 and in the last few years have grown significantly, now employing around 300 staff with a turnover of circa £16m. PML holds GMS contracts, as well as being a GP Federation representing circa 50 GP practices covering approximately 650,000 patients.

We welcome applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds and circumstances and people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010

Position Purpose

This position exists to provide operational leadership, performance grip and integration discipline across Community Services, ensuring services are safe, contractually controlled, financially understood, and aligned to PML's neighbourhood / community development priorities. The postholder will provide the management layer between the Executive Team and Community Services leads, translating strategic and assurance priorities into stable service delivery, clear accountability, disciplined follow-through and proportionate governance.

Key Responsibilities

Operational leadership and service delivery

• Provide day-to-day operational leadership across Community Services.
• Line manage and support service leads / operational leads, ensuring services have clear objectives, escalation routes, action ownership and timely follow-through.
• Maintain service continuity and resilience, escalating material operational, workforce, quality, finance or contract risks through the agreed route.
• Own the Community Services performance rhythm, ensuring monthly service outputs are completed, reviewed and converted into useful assurance for Exec, Corporate Governance and Board reporting.

Workforce

• Work with Finance, People & Culture, BI and service leads to maintain a clear view of funded, approved, filled and usable establishment across Community Services.
• Support the development of service-level capacity and demand baselines, including workforce constraints, flexible-working implications, mileage / travel impact and cost of delivery.
• Ensure workforce changes, new posts and service developments are supported by clear role purpose, affordability, governance and implementation plans.

Finance, contracts and commercial discipline

• Work with Finance to understand and explain the Community Services cost base.
• Support service leads to understand contract requirements, activity assumptions, deliverables, risks and the operational implications of changes in commissioner expectations.
• Monitor performance against financial and operational targets, identifying variances and supporting corrective actions.

Service development and integration

• Lead the operational development of Community Services priorities agreed through the Exec route, including CCT frailty / Ageing Well opportunities, neighbourhood integration, Community Gynae sustainability, UTC contract matters and OCNS service assurance.
• Translate strategic priorities into service development ideas and controlled implementation plans with clear risks, milestones, owners, benefits and governance route.
• Represent PML in delegated operational / commissioner discussions where appropriate.

Clinical governance

• Work closely with the Medical Director, Quality Director and clinical leads to ensure operational arrangements support safe scope of practice, clinical escalation, supervision, safeguarding, incident learning and CQC readiness.

Person Specification

Essential Qualifications

• Relevant degree or equivalent professional experience in operations, healthcare, or business-related field

Desirable Qualifications

• NMC or GMC registered professional
• Formal management, leadership, quality improvement, project / programme management or healthcare operations qualification
• Significant operational leadership experience in healthcare, community services, primary care, urgent care, neighbourhood / integrated care, or a comparable regulated service environment.
• Proven ability to lead multiple services or operational teams through service stabilisation, performance improvement, workforce change and governance scrutiny.
• Strong people leadership skills, including line management of managers / leads, setting objectives, holding accountability, supporting development and managing performance issues fairly.
• Strong financial and commercial literacy, including experience interpreting budgets, P&Ls, contract income, workforce establishment, forecast variances and service cost drivers.
• Experience of working on service redesign, same day access, complex care or integrated care models.
• Able to operate with calm authority in ambiguous or pressured situations, with the ability to keep delivery moving in difficult environments.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce concise reports, governance updates, business cases and stakeholder briefings.
• Understanding of NHS commissioning, ICB relationships, primary care networks, neighbourhood health policy and multi-neighbourhood provider development.

There will be a chemistry call for successful applicants, and interviews will be held on site in Bicester on the 19th November.

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.