Head of Digital Operations & Infrastructure - Band 8c

The Methodist Church in Britain; Bradley Stoke; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous annual leave

NHS pension scheme

Flexible working opportunities

Discounts at local shops and eateries

On-site nurseries

Discounted public transport

Reward and recognition scheme

Health and wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a senior leader for Digital Operations and Infrastructure. The role covers service desk, telephony, IT admin and the server/networks, with on-site presence and accountability for major outages.

The post requires Masters level qualification or equivalent, with strong experience in complex programmes and managing external suppliers. A focus on risk governance and continuous service improvement is essential.

Qualifications

• Masters level in a relevant area, or equivalent experience at a commensurate band.
• Additional management or specialist postgraduate qualifications, or equivalent experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to the role.

Responsibilities

• Direct the strategic and operational functions for digital infrastructure, service desk, telephony, IT admin and small works/projects pipeline.
• Ensure availability, security and resilience of core clinical platforms like EPR and PACS.
• Provide senior leadership in incident management, commanding major outage responses.
• Translate digital strategy into infrastructure and service delivery roadmaps.
• Define, monitor and report on SLAs/OLAs using performance data to drive quality.

Skills

Senior leadership

Budget management

Roadmap planning

IT service management

Stakeholder engagement

Staff development

Education

Master's degree or equivalent

Postgraduate management qualifications

Evidence of continuing professional development

Job description

This senior post sits in the Digital Operations and Infrastructure portfolio at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, reporting to the Director of Digital Operations (CTO). The role covers the service desk, telephony, IT admin and the server, data centre and network estate, including leading the response to major outages. Work splits roughly evenly between service delivery and infrastructure strategy, with regular onsite attendance and a place on the Digital Gold on-call rota. Fit depends on senior experience of managing complex programmes and commercial suppliers, and on a Masters-level or equivalent qualification.

What the job involves

• Direct the strategic and operational functions for digital infrastructure, service desk, telephony, IT admin and the small works and projects pipeline
• Ensure the availability, security and resilience of core platforms underpinning clinical systems such as EPR and PACS
• Provide senior leadership in critical incident management, commanding the response to major outages
• Translate the overarching digital strategy into infrastructure and service delivery roadmaps
• Define, monitor and report on SLAs and OLAs, using performance data to drive service quality
• Lead architectural review of infrastructure platforms for scalability, high availability and clinical informatics needs
• Lead long-term infrastructure lifecycle planning and capital investment
• Establish and enforce the critical incident framework, including post-incident reviews and root cause analysis
• Lead development and assurance of ITIL processes for incident, problem, request and access management
• Ensure technical assurance and compliance with NHS standards, including the DSPT and disaster recovery and business continuity testing
• Manage strategic supplier relationships, contract delivery and performance reviews
• Line manage senior staff and team leaders, and lead the workforce plan and succession planning

Qualifications

• Masters level in a relevant area, or equivalent experience at a commensurate band
• Additional management or specialist postgraduate qualifications, or equivalent experience
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to the role

Experience

• Evidence of working in this field at a senior level
• Significant experience of leading programmes of work across multiple sectors
• Experience of managing commercial suppliers to pre-approved service level agreements or contractsExtensive experience of managing highly complex programmes to agreed timescales and budgetsSignificant experience and understanding of digital and technology operating models

  Skills & knowledge

  • Managing significant revenue and capital digital budgets and developing business cases
  • Translating digital strategy into actionable short and medium-term roadmaps
  • Leading service-led change and IT service management maturity
  • Leading critical incident management and digital risk governance
  • Building relationships with clinical, operational and external stakeholders
  • Developing multi-disciplinary teams and succession pathways

  Nice to have

  • Change management, training or architecture qualification at foundation level, such as PRINCE2 or Agile, or equivalent experience
  • Training qualification in service improvement or innovation techniques
  • Experience of negotiating with other healthcare providers

  What's offered

  • Generous annual leave allowance
  • NHS pension scheme
  • Flexible working opportunities
  • Discounts at local shops and restaurants
  • Access to two on-site nurseries
  • Discounted public transport
  • Reward and recognition scheme
  • Health and wellbeing initiatives