Head of Digital Operations & Infrastructure - Band 8c

NHS Jobs; Gloucester; On-site; GBP 59,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Jobs in Gloucester seeks a strategic Head of Digital Operations & Infrastructure (Band 8c) to translate digital strategy into resilient, secure, cost-aware roadmaps and to lead service delivery across core infrastructure.

You will oversee server, network, data centre, service desk, telephony and IT administration; drive CIM, ITIL, governance, and workforce development, while maintaining close collaboration with clinical and operational partners.

Qualifications

• Strategic leadership and alignment with digital strategy.
• Governance and assurance for core digital infrastructure.
• Experience in risk, CIM and resilience governance.
• Track record in service transformation and ITIL maturity.
• Financial and commercial acumen for large digital budgets.
• Strong stakeholder management across clinical and operational partners.
• Workforce development for multi-disciplinary tech teams.

Responsibilities

• Direct the strategic and operational functions for Digital Infrastructure and Service Desk.
• Ensure availability, security and resilience of core infrastructure supporting clinical systems.
• Provide senior CIM leadership and manage major outage responses.
• Lead architecture reviews and long-term infrastructure lifecycle planning.
• Drive service transformation and adoption of modern tooling and automation.
• Governance: enforce CIM, PIRs, RCA and ITIL processes.
• Lead staff development, succession planning, and performance management.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Governance & assurance

Risk & resilience

Service transformation

Budget management

Stakeholder management

Workforce development

Job description

Head of Digital Operations & Infrastructure - Band 8c

KEY KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE

• Strategic Leadership and Alignment: Proven ability to work with the Director of Digital Operations / CTO to translate the Trust's overarching Digital Strategy into actionable, short- and medium-term Infrastructure and Service Delivery roadmaps, ensuring alignment with Trust and CIC goals.
• Infrastructure Governance and Assurance: Strong capability to advise on the strategic design and technical evolution of core Digital Infrastructure, assuring the Director/Board that solutions are resilient, future-proof, secure, and cost-effective for 24/7 clinical operations.
• Critical Risk and Resilience: Extensive experience in leading and governing Critical Incident Management (CIM) processes and possessing a strong understanding of digital risk management and governance frameworks.
• Service Transformation and Benefits Realisation: Demonstrated track record of leading service-led change, particularly in driving IT Service Management maturity and linking continuous service improvement outcomes (e.g., increased efficiency, improved user experience) to strategic objectives.
• Financial and Commercial Acumen: Proven ability to manage significant Digital Budgets (Revenue and Capital), develop compelling business cases for infrastructure investment, and deliver Cost Improvement Plans (CIPs) through effective supplier management.
• Collaborative Stakeholder Management: Excellent skill in building strong, collaborative relationships with a significant number of strategic stakeholders (clinical, operational, and external partners) to ensure productive partnerships and shared ownership of digital stability.
• People and Workforce Development: Experience in workforce planning and developing the capabilities of multi-disciplinary teams across technical infrastructure and service desk functions, ensuring long-term succession pathways.

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The post holder will provide professional, strategic, and operational leadership across the Digital Operations & Infrastructure portfolio, ensuring service continuity, driving technical capability, and leading cultural excellence.

• Direct the strategic and operational functions for Digital Infrastructure (Server, Network, Data Centre), Service Desk (1st/2nd line support), Telephony (Fixed and Mobile), IT Admin, and the Small Works / Projects pipeline.
• Ensure the availability, security, and resilience of all core infrastructure platforms that underpin critical clinical and corporate systems (EPR, PACS, etc.).
• Provide visible senior leadership in Critical Incident Management (CIM), commanding the response to major service outages to minimise clinical impact.
• Act as the strategic link between the overarching Digital Strategy and the operational delivery teams, ensuring all tactical workstreams and investments support the Trusts long-term goals.
• Leadership and Culture - Provide visible, compassionate, and collaborative leadership to all multi-disciplinary teams within the portfolio, fostering a high-performance culture that reflects the Trust values: Caring, Inclusive, Compassionate, Accountable.
• Act as a visible and inspiring leader, driving a service-led culture committed to first-time resolution and excellent user experience across all service desk and infrastructure teams.
• Champion a culture of openness, learning, and continuous improvement, ensuring staff feel empowered to contribute to service evolution.
• Strategy, Planning, Quality & Assurance - Develop and execute a strategic roadmap for both Service Delivery and Infrastructure renewal, ensuring technical investment aligns with operational capacity and long-term resilience requirements.
• Define, monitor, and report on critical Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Operational Level Agreements (OLAs), using performance data to drive service quality and maturity.
• Lead the architectural review of infrastructure platforms, ensuring they are scalable, highly available, and capable of supporting the Trust's evolving clinical informatics needs.
• Innovation, Research and Development - Champion the adoption of modern, innovative tooling and methodologies (e.g., automation, proactive monitoring, Cloud adoption principles) to drive operational efficiency and stability across the infrastructure estate.
• Lead service transformation initiatives, focusing on leveraging technology to enhance the staff digital experience and increase the efficiency of clinical and corporate workflows.
• Maintain an up-to-date working knowledge of leading-edge digital technology and services relevant to NHS operations and resilience.
• Communications and Working Relationships - Maintain strategic relationships with a significant number of stakeholders across clinical, operational, and corporate divisions, translating complex technical information into clear business terms for effective decision-making.
• Manage strategic relationships with third-party suppliers, ensuring high-quality delivery against contractual obligations and actively contributing to contract negotiation and performance reviews.
• Deputise for the Director of Digital Operations (CTO) as required, representing the Digital Operations function at senior clinical and executive forums.
• Planning & Organisational Skills - Lead the long-term planning for infrastructure lifecycle management (servers, network, hardware), ensuring appropriate resource allocation and capital investment planning.
• Design and implement governance processes for the intake, prioritisation, and resource allocation for minor IT works and small projects, balancing delivery with essential business-as-usual activities.
• Ensure robust operational planning exists for all services, including physical asset management, software licensing, and inventory control.
• Governance - Accountable for establishing and enforcing the Critical Incident Management (CIM) framework and ensuring timely Post-Incident Reviews (PIRs) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA).
• Lead the development, review, and assurance of all ITIL processes (Incident, Problem, Request, and Access Management) to maintain a robust and compliant service management framework.
• Accountable for infrastructure-level technical assurance and ensuring rigorous compliance with NHS standards, including the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) and mandatory testing of Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity plans.
• Training and Capability Building - Support the development of digital training strategies that support workforce capability and safe, confident, use of Trust technology.
• Drive user adoption of self-service tools and knowledge bases, contributing to the wider Trust goals for digital literacy and competence.
• Ensure technical staff receive appropriate and continuous professional development (CPD) to maintain expert knowledge across the evolving infrastructure and service delivery domains.
• Workforce - Lead the development and implementation of a long-term workforce plan for the Digital Operations and Infrastructure teams, focusing on critical skills identification and succession planning.
• Be responsible for the line management, development, recruitment, and performance management of senior staff and team leaders within the portfolio.
• Ensure appropriate operational leadership and management capability exists at all levels within the function to achieve strategic objectives.
• Other Responsibilities - To take part in regular performance appraisal.
• Other Responsibilities - Undertake any training required to maintain competency including mandatory training, e.g. Manual Handling.
• Other Responsibilities - Contribute to and work within a safe working environment.
• Other Responsibilities - Comply with Trust Infection Control Policies and minimise the risk of healthcare associated infections.
• Other Responsibilities - Abide by any relevant code of professional conduct and/or practice applicable to you.
• Other Responsibilities - Expected to be onsite regularly.
• Other Responsibilities - A member of the Digital Gold on call rota