National Programme Director for Elective Recovery

NHS England; Greater London; On-site; GBP 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS England is seeking an experienced, credible and resilient senior leader to drive the day-to-day delivery of the Elective Recovery Plan. You will lead a national programme team, maintain oversight of performance, quality and safety, and support systems to deliver sustainable improvements for patients.

This high-profile role involves governance, planning, assurance and delivery across elective care, coordinating with government, regional and local NHS leaders, clinicians and partners to reduce

Responsibilities

• Lead the national programme for elective recovery.
• Maintain oversight of performance, quality and safety.

Job description

The role

Lead the national delivery of elective recovery across the NHS. NHS England is seeking an experienced, credible and resilient senior leader to drive the day-to-day delivery of the Elective Recovery Plan. Working closely with the Executive Director for Performance and Delivery, you will lead a national programme team, maintain oversight of performance, quality and safety, and support systems to deliver sustainable improvements for patients.

The role

Lead the national delivery of elective recovery across the NHS. NHS England is seeking an experienced, credible and resilient senior leader to drive the day-to-day delivery of the Elective Recovery Plan. Working closely with the Executive Director for Performance and Delivery, you will lead a national programme team, maintain oversight of performance, quality and safety, and support systems to deliver sustainable improvements for patients.

The opportunity

This is a high-profile national leadership role with responsibility for programme governance, planning, assurance and delivery across elective care. You will work with government, regional and local NHS leaders, clinicians, patient groups and delivery partners to address variation, tackle long waits and improve operational performance. You will also provide clear, authoritative briefings to senior stakeholders, including Ministers, on progress, risks and priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and continually refine the national programme for elective recovery.
• Maintain robust oversight of performance, activity, long waits, quality and safety.
• Ensure effective governance, programme management, planning and assurance.
• Develop solutions with regional teams and integrated care systems, particularly where performance is most challenged.
• Join up interdependent programmes including finance, workforce, transformation, cancer, diagnostics, outpatients and specialised commissioning.
• Manage programme milestones, risks, budgets and reporting, providing timely advice to senior leaders.

NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.

Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.

If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.

Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.

We cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Cassie Absolom Job title: Chief of Staff Email address: [e-mail]