Executive Practice Director in London

The Partners are recruiting a senior non-clinical leader to sit at the heart of the senior management team, owning day to day operational delivery and the commercial performance of the practice. This is a decisive, high-trust role. The Partnership needs someone who thinks rationally and strategically, scans the horizon and stays relentlessly focused on what else is possible. You will bring intellectual rigour, independent judgement and the confidence to challenge constructively, while keeping the Partners fully involved in key decisions.

The successful candidate will stabilise and strengthen core operations, lead digital transformation, automation and technology innovation and build new internal and collaborative services across the wider primary care system. Reporting to the Partners, you will turn strategy into clear delivery plans, governance and measurable outcomes, protecting profitability and resilience, maintaining continuous inspection readiness and positioning the practice for sustainable, scalable growth.

As the senior non-clinical leader, you will provide commercially grounded, financially astute leadership that delivers clear outcomes while balancing quality, safety, experience and profitability. You will operate with strong executive presence, communicating clearly and confidently, and building credibility with Partners and teams through sound judgement and consistent delivery.

You will lead collaborative decision making, using structured discussion and co-design to create buy-in, align stakeholders and move work forward at pace. You will negotiate effectively and manage suppliers and contracts with strong attention to detail, disciplined follow-through and clear accountability. You will take a systems-led approach to improvement, simplifying complex operational challenges into measurable, repeatable processes and ensuring standards are embedded, monitored and sustained.

Your decision making will be rational and strategic, grounded in objective logic and options-based problem solving. You will also be future-focused and intuitive, spotting patterns early, anticipating risk and planning for long-term improvement rather than short-term fixes. You will maintain strong professional curiosity, staying current with best practice, technology and policy, and applying learning in practical ways.

About us

Practice context: Location: Deptford, South East London. Patient list size: Circa 13,000 and growing. Partnership: Three Clinical General Practitioner Partners. Practice profile: a leading training practice with an ambitious, aspiring workforce. The practice is highly effective both clinically and emotionally, with strong investment in supportive technology and innovation and clear career progression for all staff.

Commercial context: the practice is run as a highly efficient, effective and profitable business. This role is central to maintaining and improving profitability while protecting patient experience, safety, staff wellbeing and regulatory compliance.

Main duties of the job:

• Core focus: operational excellence, financial performance and profit protection, quality and compliance assurance, people leadership and digital transformation (including automation and practical use of Artificial Intelligence where appropriate).

Reporting, leadership and ways of working:

• Reports to: the GP Partners
• Leads: the non-clinical operational functions of the practice, including administration and reception services and other teams as defined in the organisational structure
• Works closely with: clinical leadership, PCN colleagues, federation partners, commissioners, training stakeholders and external suppliers and advisers
• Leadership model: collaborative matrix working with clear line management. The postholder will maintain visible leadership presence in the practice, build trust and respect with teams and Partners, involve Partners in key decisions and lead on creativity, innovation and change delivery
• Responsible for managing and mentoring a workforce with high potential.

Decision rights and authority:

• The post operates with delegated authority agreed with the Partners, including:
• Operational decision making to maintain safe, effective day to day services, including access, demand management, workflow design and escalation processes
• Budget management, cost control and procurement within agreed limits
• Workforce deployment, recruitment and performance management within approved establishment and policies
• Contract and supplier management, including negotiation and performance monitoring, with Partner sign-off where required by policy or financial thresholds.

Success profile, outcomes and indicators:

Success will be evidenced through clear measures and a delivery dashboard agreed with the Partners. The postholder will define targets, report performance and drive continuous improvement across quality, service, people and profit.

Key outcomes and typical indicators include (to be agreed):

• Profitability and financial control: budget variance, cash flow, cost per patient contact, procurement savings, income capture and optimisation (including contractual and enhanced service income) and measurable margin improvement
• Digital and automation impact: reduction in avoidable administrative steps, automation benefits realised, adoption of digital tools, reductions in error rates, improved data quality and measurable time released for patient facing activity
• Quality and performance: appointment utilisation, DNA rates, call answering performance, workflow cycle times, patient access and demand-capacity balance, patient experience metrics and complaint resolution timelines
• Workforce performance: mentoring and staff development, retention, absence, rota resilience, appraisal completion, mandatory training compliance, capability and performance improvements and leadership bench strength through succession planning
• Regulatory readiness and assurance: audit completion, evidence currency, policy review compliance, risk register quality and closure rates, action tracking to completion and preparation for Care Quality Commission inspections.

Digital transformation, technology, automation and Artificial Intelligence:

Technology is a core driver of efficiency and profitability. The postholder will lead digital transformation within the partnership strategic plan with a practical, outcomes-based approach, ensuring that investments in systems, automation and AI deliver measurable benefits, are safe and compliant and improve patient and staff experience.

Responsibilities include:

• Own the practice technology roadmap (with Lead Partner) aligned to the Practice Development Plan, including clinical and non-clinical systems, telephony, workflow tools and reporting
• Lead process redesign and automation, mapping end to end workflows, removing waste and standardising best practice across teams
• Introduce and govern appropriate use of AI to improve productivity and decision support, ensuring strong information governance, transparency and human oversight
• Develop performance reporting and dashboards that combine operational, financial and quality measures, enabling rapid, evidence-based decisions
• Work with external providers to ensure reliability, cyber security, business continuity and value for money.

Strategic model, values, vision and priorities:

The role will deliver against the partnership strategic model, aligning day to day decisions to agreed priorities and outcomes.

Values:

• Compassionate: we treat each other with respect and care, listen to patients and one another, respond thoughtfully and with compassion and act fairly and consistently
• Proactive: we act early with purpose, improve continuously and use resources wisely
• Sustainable: we use financial, environmental and staff resources responsibly for long-term resilience.

Vision:

To deliver exceptional, holistic care by constantly improving patient outcomes while creating the capacity to innovate and diversify our offer to patients for a resilient future.

Purpose:

To build trusted relationships with patients and one another, provide continuity of care grounded in the biopsychosocial approach and keep learning so we can meet changing expectations with resilience, hard work and continuous improvement.

Strategic priorities and expected results:

• Premises management (including ongoing strategies for usage)
• Governance and CQC readiness
• Optimising organisational structure and an engaged workforce
• Addressing health inequalities through targeted patient care

First 90 days expectations:

• Complete a structured diagnostic of operational performance, finances, workforce, compliance, technology and risks, with clear priorities and early quick wins
• Agree a twelve month operational and business plan with a delivery dashboard, milestones and a reporting cadence to the Partners
• Refresh the governance rhythm, including meeting structure, decision logs, risk register review and action tracking discipline
• Produce a digital transformation and automation pipeline, with quantified benefits, costs, dependencies and risk controls
• Develop a service development pipeline, including collaborative opportunities across the Primary Care Network and system partners

Key responsibilities:

• Operational leadership and service delivery
• Lead day to day operational delivery, ensuring safe, effective and patient-centred performance
• Design and run high-reliability operating systems for access, workflow, demand and capacity management
• Set standards, monitor performance and deliver against agreed targets and priorities
• Chair operational meetings, ensuring clear actions, owners, deadlines and follow-through.

Finance, business management and profitability:

• Hold overall responsibility for practice financial management, including budgeting, forecasting, cost control, cash flow and management reporting
• Maximise income and protect profitability through accurate claiming, performance delivery, contract management and proactive identification of new revenue opportunities
• Lead procurement and supplier management, negotiating best value and monitoring service performance
• Produce clear financial insights for Partners, including scenario modelling and recommendations that balance risk, quality and profit
• Identify and deliver measurable opportunities to reduce avoidable cost and waste, without compromising patient safety or experience.

Quality, governance and continuous inspection readiness:

• Maintain continuous CQC readiness with supporting evidence
• Own the practice risk register, assurance processes and action tracking to completion
• Ensure policy governance, version control and audit trails are robust and current
• Embed a learning culture through significant event review, complaints intelligence and improvement cycles.

People leadership, line management and performance:

• Provide visible leadership to the non-clinical team, setting clear expectations and standards
• Operate robust line management to maximise performance, including objectives, one to ones, coaching and early, fair performance management
• Oversee recruitment, induction, probation and development pathways building a resilient team with clear deputies and succession plans
• Ensure workforce planning and rota resilience, including short notice contingency for sickness and leave
• Maintain compliance with employment legislation and manage employee relations issues appropriately

Strategy, service development and system working:

• Provide strategic guidance to the Partners, presenting options and recommendations clearly and objectively
• Translate agreed strategy into delivery plans and measurable outcomes, including technology priorities for partnership approval
• Identify and deliver new internal services and collaborative services across the Primary Care Network and system partners
• Represent the practice externally as required, maintaining constructive relationships with stakeholders and commissioners

Information governance, technology and data:

• Oversee information governance, ensuring appropriate policies, training and compliance controls are in place and sustained
• Work with external support to ensure systems are secure, reliable and fit for purpose
• Ensure data quality and reporting discipline to support operational, clinical and financial decision making
• Ensure confidentiality and lawful information sharing, escalating specialist advice where needed.

Premises, health and safety and business continuity:

• Oversee premises and facilities management, maintenance planning and contractor management
• Be responsible for health and safety arrangements, risk assessments and compliance
• Maintain business continuity arrangements, ensuring readiness for disruption and change.

Person Specification:

Qualifications: Essential Graduate. Evidence of ongoing continuing professional development.