Head of Operations St Mark's Hospital

Transformation Unit; Harrow; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust is recruiting a Senior Operational Leader to join the St Mark’s Hospital leadership team. You will lead excellence and drive operational performance in a world-renowned specialist hospital.

St Mark’s Hospital, part of LNWH, is internationally recognised for colorectal and intestinal care, and the Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy. This role focuses on transformational change, strategic oversight and delivering top-quality patient care.

Qualifications

• Masters-level education in a relevant field.
• Extensive senior leadership experience in a large NHS organisation.
• Proven track record delivering operational improvements and efficiency programmes.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational performance across St Mark’s Hospital and related services.
• Drive transformational change and trust-wide efficiency programmes.
• Collaborate with clinical teams to implement improvement opportunities.

Skills

Senior leadership

NHS experience

Operational improvement

Education

Master's degree in a relevant field

Job description

Employer London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Northwick Park Hospital Town Harrow Salary £100,493 - £114,951 per annum pro rata Inclusive of High Cost Area Supplement Salary period Yearly Closing 19/10/2026 23:59

London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWH) cares for the people of Brent, Ealing, Harrow and beyond.

Our team of more than 8,200 clinical and support staff serve a diverse population of almost one million people.

• Northwick Park Hospital: home to one of the busiest emergency departments (A&E) in the country. The hospital provides a full range of services including the country’s top-rated hyper-acute stroke unit and one of only three hyper-acute rehabilitation units in the UK
• St Mark’s Hospital: an internationally renowned specialist centre for bowel disease
• Ealing Hospital: a busy district general hospital providing a range of clinical services, as well as 24/7 emergency department and urgent care centre, and specialist care at Meadow House Hospice
• Central Middlesex Hospital: our planned care site, hosting a range of surgical and outpatient services and collocated with an urgent care centre.

We are a university teaching NHS trust, in recognition of the important role we play in training clinicians of the future and bringing the benefits of research to the public.

Find out more about our Trust and why you should join us #WeAreLNWH

Our vision at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust is to put "Quality at our HEART". Find out more about our ambitious strategy

We are clear that our vision can only be achieved by our staff, who are our most valuable asset.

Our vision is driven by our HEART values and behaviours which were developed together with our staff.

• H onesty
• A ccountability
• T eamwork

These values describe how we interact with each other and our patients and must underpin everything we do to achieve our vision.

LNWUH is a flexible working friendly organisation, we want you to be able to work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Please speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s job share, part time or another flexible pattern. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

We operate a joint recruitment hub across the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative Group. As part of this, your application and personal data may be shared with partner trusts within the group for recruitment and workforce purposes, in line with general data protection regulation (GDPR).

Right to Work

If you require sponsorship to work in the UK, please visit the Home Office website for information on sponsorship and visa requirements before completing your application.

Due to recent changes to the UK immigration rules affecting Skilled Worker Visas, Global Business Mobility routes, skill level requirements and salary thresholds, please ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria to live and work in the UK before applying. Further information is available via Visas and immigration - GOV.UK .

Job overview

Lead Excellence at One of the World’s Most Renowned Specialist Hospitals

Are you an inspiring operational leader ready for your next challenge? We are seeking an exceptional Senior Operational Leader to join the leadership team at St Mark’s Hospital and help shape the future of one of the world’s most respected specialist hospitals.

Managed by London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mark’s is internationally renowned for specialist colorectal and intestinal care. As a national and global referral centre, it brings together pioneering research, outstanding clinical expertise and a relentless commitment to delivering the very best patient care.

This is a rare opportunity to lead within an organisation renowned for innovation and excellence. The Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy at St Mark’s is one of 20 centres worldwide recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the World Endoscopy Organization, reflecting the exceptional standards that define our services.

As a key member of the senior leadership team, you will play a pivotal role in driving operational performance, leading transformational change and ensuring that patients continue to receive world-class care. If you are a strategic thinker, an influential leader and passionate about making a lasting impact, we would love to hear from you.

Please refer to the attached job description for further information about the role and an overview of the vacancy.

Main duties of the job

The duties and responsibilities of this role are outlined in further detail within the attached Job Description and Person Specification. Please review these documents for additional information about the vacancy and its requirements.

Working for our organisation

London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWH) cares for the people of Brent, Ealing, Harrow and beyond.

Our team of more than 8,200 clinical and support staff serve a diverse population of almost one million people.

• Northwick Park Hospital: home to one of the busiest emergency departments (A&E) in the country. The hospital provides a full range of services including the country’s top-rated hyper-acute stroke unit and one of only three hyper-acute rehabilitation units in the UK
• St Mark’s Hospital: an internationally renowned specialist centre for bowel disease
• Ealing Hospital: a busy district general hospital providing a range of clinical services, as well as 24/7 emergency department and urgent care centre, and specialist care at Meadow House Hospice
• Central Middlesex Hospital: our planned care site, hosting a range of surgical and outpatient services and collocated with an urgent care centre.

We are a university teaching NHS trust, in recognition of the important role we play in training clinicians of the future and bringing the benefits of research to the public.

We operate a joint recruitment hub across the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative Group. As part of this, your application and personal data may be shared with partner trusts within the group for recruitment and workforce purposes, in line with general data protection regulation (GDPR).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Applicants are strongly encouraged to refer to the full Job Description and Person Specification for comprehensive details of responsibilities, requirements and role expectations.

• Interviews will take place week commencing 9th November 2026.
• Stakeholder panel will take place week commencing 9th November 2026.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

• Educated to master’s level in a relevant area or equivalent experience
• Evidence of post-qualifying and continuing professional development
• Expert and relevant knowledge gained through further post qualification specialist training or experience

Knowledge and Experience

• Substantial experience in a senior leadership role in a large NHS organisation
• Experience of developing and delivering large scale operational improvement and trust-wide efficiency programmes
• Strong background in operational management with proven track record of delivery across a range of specialities/service.
• Strong background in financial and analytical management demonstrating an understanding of current NHS structures and key policies affecting it
• Development of highly effective services
• In-depth understanding of current NHS plans and strategies and how to implement them
• Experience in delivering transformational change at a large scale.
• Evidence of translating complex concepts into key messages and writing clear reports and presentations
• Evidence of presenting complex concepts to different audience and assured messages are received
• Experience in working closely with clinical teams to develop and implement improvement opportunities
• Substantial experience of managing teams at all levels including those from a range of clinical disciplines

Skills, abilities, and attributes

• Ability to manage successful and sustainable improvement delivery during a period of change and transition
• Experience in making and advising on complex decisions involving financial and operational risk and sensitivities up to and including Board level
• Ability to influence and persuade others, creating successful and effective working relationships through strong , positive, professional interpersonal skills and excellent written and oral communication skills
• Outstanding organisational skills with an ability to prioritise, be flexible and always ensure that high quality, timely work is produced by yourself and those you manage
• Ability to offer expert opinion and judgement on a range of operational management scenarios
• Ability to provide advice and support across all disciplines clinical and non-clinical
• Ability to provide and receive, convey, and present highly complex, sensitive and /or contentious concepts to large groups, responding openly to questions to ensure full understanding and engagement, and dealing effectively with hostile or emotional responses
• Ability to interpret qualitative and quantitative data from a wide range of sources internal and external and present it so it is understood by all audience
• Demonstrate sound judgement in the absence of clear guidelines or precedent
• Ability to act with minimal guidance and set goals and standards for others

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We promote the wellbeing and safety of all our patients and carers by acting promptly on concerns, communicating effectively and sharing information appropriately, according to the standards determined by our policy and procedures. All posts working with vulnerable groups will be subject to an enhanced criminal records check upon appointment and staff will need to give their consent for the Trust to receive regular updates on their criminal records status throughout their employment.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive for certain posts, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications.After the closing date we strongly advise you check the email account which is registered. If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Our employment checking processes require that all shortlisted applicants provide the contact details of their current HR Department. If shortlisted you will be sent an email reminder to present the contact details of your HR Department at the interview.

Please note the Trust uses identity checking software for verifying the authenticity of identity documents provided by candidates.

As part of our commitment to the Equality and Diversity at LNWUH, we are encouraging applications from BME (Black ,Minority Ethnic) candidates as we seek to ensure our workforce structures are representative of the diversity of the communities we serve.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Name Norrita Labastide Job title Divisional Director of Operations Email address [e-mail] Telephone number 07949100246 Additional information

Professor Siwan Thomas-Gibson - Associate Medical Director Surgical & St Mark's Hospital Division.
[e-mail]
Tel: [phone] (personal)
Tel: [phone] (work)