Joint Associate Director - Facilities

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Dorchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Head of Service for Soft Facilities Management to provide leadership across DHC & DCH portfolios including Cleaning, Patient Catering, Portering, Security, Grounds, Waste, Linen & Laundry, Administration & Car Parking, Transport and Switchboard / Receptions.

You will translate strategy into a coherent operating model and annual plan, ensuring safety, experience, and resilience across sites.

Job description

Senior leadership of end-to-end Soft Facilities Management

across DHC & DCH portfolio—Cleaning, Patient Catering, Portering, Security, Grounds, Waste, Linen & Laundry, Administration & Car Parking, Transport and Car Parking and Switchboard / Receptions ensuring each service line operates to clear standards, unambiguous KPIs, and a robust governance framework that demonstrably supports clinical care, safety, patient experience, and operational resilience across all sites and settings.

The Head of Service

is accountable to the Joint Director Estates and Facilities for the provision of leadership, direction, health & safety and financial control for all Facilities operational services, contributing to and ensuring delivery of strategic and operational service objectives set by DCH & DHC Board and Executive Management Team

Translate corporate and clinical strategy into a coherent Soft FM operating model and annual plan People, Process, Technology, Commercials, Outcomes

Provide executive assurance

that DCH & DHC Soft FM operations meet statutory and mandatory requirements, are audit-ready at all times, and are supported by clear risk registers, incident learning loops, and forward plans that prevent recurrence and drive continuous improvement.

Lead transformation and innovation at scale

—reframing service delivery models, modernising methods, and embedding a culture of data-driven decision-making and measurable benefits realisation.

Act as the professional lead for Soft FM

, advising executives, Divisions and clinical boards, deputising for the Joint Director EFM where appropriate on Soft FM matters, and providing compelling, evidence-based briefings, options appraisals and recommendations for investment, disinvestment, or service re-design.

To role model

compassionate and inclusive leadership in order to shape the creation of a collective leadership culture within the trust. This means demonstrating a consistent leadership style which (a) engages, enables and empowers others (b) uses coaching to promote ownership of learning and quality improvement and (c) facilitates team working and collaboration within teams / departments and across organisational boundaries.

At DCHFT, we pride ourselves on the care we provide for our patients, and on the culture, we are creating for our staff. We work hard to create a fair, inclusive environment for our staff.

Our Mission is to provide outstanding care for people in ways which matter to them, and our vision is Dorset County Hospital, working with our health and social care partners, will be at the heart of improving the well-being of our communities.

We are a Trust that celebrates Diversity, and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from people in all under-represented groups.

We understand that AI can be a useful tool when completing your application. However, we are seeing an increasing over-reliance of AI tools, which can negatively affect your application as it reduces a candidate’s individuality, and makes it difficult for us to gain a clear and authentic understanding of your experience, skills, and in turn your suitability for the role.

All submissions must be truthful and if you do use AI, it should only be used to enhance your application and not create your supporting statement in its entirety. Your supporting statement should be in your own words and must accurately reflect your personal experience and achievements. Where we have concerns that AI has been used to generate content that misrepresents your experience and suitability for the role, we may withdraw your application.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: David McLaughlin Job title: Joint Director of Estates & Facilities Email address: [e-mail] Telephone number: 01305254112

Dave Hambidge

Joint Deputy Director of Estates & Facilities

[e-mail]