Primary Care Programme Director - Transformation and Improvement

This post is Fixed term/Secondment for 12 months until 31/03/2026 to meet the needs of the service. This is an exciting opportunity to lead the strategic transformation agenda for primary care services in North Wales. The post holder is expected to work closely with senior colleagues across Primary Care and Community Care at both corporate and operational levels. The post holder will report to the Director of Primary Care / IHC Director for the West.

In partnership with the Director of Primary Care Contracting and Commissioning, the Associate Directors for Primary Care and Community Pharmacy Strategic Lead, the post holder will coordinate and lead the Health Board’s transformation agenda in response to national and local strategies, ensuring a coordinated approach to their delivery to ensure the effective and efficient use of resources to meet the health and well-being needs of the North Wales population.

We are looking for a well-organised, efficient senior leader with significant experience in primary care. They will have knowledge and understanding of the operation of the NHS in Wales and the Welsh Government’s key strategic policies and priorities for Primary Care. Experience of strategic planning and delivering care from across all areas of the health economy will be essential. The post holder will require excellent communication and negotiation skills to lead a team of people and work in partnership with our stakeholders.

The Primary Care Programme Director is responsible for the implementation of the allocated programme of transformation with primary care in line with the Welsh Government’s Strategic Programme for Primary Care across Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. They will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering complex healthcare programmes that impact the quality of patient care and service delivery in primary care settings across our organisation.

In developing and implementing the allocated programme, the role will be responsible for leading:

• Service transformation and design including digital
• Engagement, consultation and communication
• Service analysis and business case development
• Programme management
• Financial Management
• Workforce Development / Human Resources

The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this post; English and/or Welsh speakers are equally welcome to apply.

The post holder will ensure there is a clear vision for change, robust governance arrangements in place, and also develop and nurture strong, positive relationships with partners to ensure engagement and a co-produced approach to delivery. This will include interactions at system and place levels to ensure aims and objectives are suitably represented.

The post holder will be responsible for directing, overseeing and evaluating the design and delivery of key strategic system-wide programmes of work in relation to Primary Care service provision, leading and supporting with a particular responsibility around engaging and delivering on the pathways and value-based care. These programmes will be innovative and multifaceted transformation programmes, ensuring continuous improvements in the delivery of our primary care services, and supporting the delivery of the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board strategy and its wider ambitions.

The post holder will be required to interpret WG policy across a range of areas, including health, social care, and digital, estates, environmental, economic and social, to develop local responses in conjunction with our partners. In so doing, the post holder will need to use proven methods and evidence (gained through extensive research and development) that demonstrate improvements in safety and quality.

This will require the post holder to make sense of, and negotiate agreement to, often conflicting evidence and data in order to develop strategies that address local needs and build public confidence in services. The post holder will be required to regularly undertake research and development, formulating and undertaking surveys. Further research and development will involve reviewing NHS and Social Care data such as business and population intelligence both within and outside of North Wales to develop and implement strategies for service and population need specifically in relation to primary and community services.

The post holder will be required to ensure the effective and inclusive engagement of staff, service users, patient representatives, carers, community and political leaders together with partner organisations including WG, local authorities, voluntary sector, independent sector and other NHS organisations where appropriate. Provide briefings, presentations and formal written communications and represent the Health Board at a range of public and private meetings.

Effectively manage challenge, address hostile responses and through highly developed negotiation and communication skills, develop consensus and support for new models of care. The post holder will lead programmes of work to ensure the successful delivery of agreed outcomes that support the Health Board’s delivery of strategic objectives specifically in relation to primary care and in-year targets and improve services. This will include performance and responses spanning not only multiple departments within the Health Board but also partner organisations.

The post holder will be responsible for the development and management of the programme management function. This will include accountability for the management, supervision and professional development of staff and budgets and the performance of the department. There will be significant freedom to act within this role and the post holder will be expected to adjust to significant and sudden variations in workload.

The post holder will be part of the Health Board's senior management team and required to support the Executive Director lead (SRO) deputising as required. This will include representing the SRO on a range of local, regional and national committees, working groups and teams. The post holder will represent the SRO and the Health Board at meetings of external bodies and multi-agency committees.

Qualifications
Essential criteria: Specialist knowledge of health care systems, service analysis, service transformation and programme management together with knowledge of engagement, consultation and communication and senior (Board level) relationships with partner organisations.

Experience
Essential criteria: Extensive NHS senior management experience preferably at Board level in a public sector environment including in-depth knowledge of financial management, performance management information systems and staff management.