Chief Data and Analytics Officer

Help us build one of the most data-led hospital groups in the NHS. UHN is appointing its first Chief Data and Analytics Officer to shape what data can do for two hospitals, 11,500 colleagues and 900,000 people across Northamptonshire.

We want every decision at UHN to be driven by insight, with teams able to see how their services are performing in real time, spot problems before they reach patients, and know whether their changes are working. As a national Federated Data Platform incubator site, your work will also show the rest of the NHS what is possible.

You will set a bold vision for data at UHN and build the team, platforms and culture to deliver it, using AI and predictive modelling to anticipate demand and improve flow. You will bring our analytics, reporting, coding and data quality teams together into one Health Intelligence function that colleagues trust and use.

Main duties of the job:

• Oversee the quality, security, and lifecycle management of data across all Trust systems.
• Define the roadmap and oversee the implementation of organisational level data platforms, tools, capabilities and functions to ensure UHN is a leader in the uses of high quality 'real world data'.
• Ensure the timely submission of all statutory, regulatory data returns to the required data quality.
• Provide interpretation and initiate discussions with operational colleagues to ensure relevant new data requirements are met and that policies and procedures are updated accordingly.
• Support research, innovation, and academic partnerships by ensuring access to high-quality, well-curated data.
• Lead the development of advanced analytics capabilities, including AI and predictive modelling, to support population health and personalised care.
• Champion data literacy and foster a culture of data-driven decision-making across the Trust.
• Ensure effective coding services that enable accurate quality and income reporting.
• Drive innovation through leading our Federated Data Platform 'incubator' work.
• Leadership and line management, creating the environment for happy, motivated and highly-performing teams.
• Collaborate with partners to enable secure and ethical data sharing across organisational boundaries for the benefit of our patients.

About us:

University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs.

Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment.

Details:

• Date posted: 02 November 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 9
• Salary: £112,782 to £129,783 a year per annum / pro rata (Subject to banding)
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working
• Reference number: 264-8397281-COR
• Job locations: University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, Northamptonshire, Kettering, NN16 8UZ, United Kingdom

Person Specification:

Qualifications:

• Essential: Educated to Masters level education or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in leading business intelligence and analytical functions in a complex environment. Member of a relevant professional body.
• Desirable: Agile delivery qualification e.g. ScrumMaster, AgilePM. Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as Prince 2 or Managing Successful Projects. Post-graduate qualification in statistics, economics, operational research or other related area.

Experience:

• Essential: Extensive experience of leadership and achievement in analytics in a large, complex environment. Evidence of continuing professional development. Advanced experience of managing cloud-based analytics development (e.g., Azure DB). Advanced experience developing with Microsoft BI stack - including SSAS & Power BI (both cloud and an on-premises deployment). Experience of organisation-wide policy development, interpreting complex legislative and other requirements. Experience of successfully operating and delivering priorities in a partnership environment. Extensive experience delivering business intelligence and analytical functions in a large and complex NHS environment. Significant experience of leading major complex change programmes with entrepreneurialism in a challenging organisational environment, demonstrated by quantifiable metrics. Experience working with multiple organisational units with sometimes opposing objectives to gain consensus. Experience in the delivery of complex work, incorporating multiple inputs and stakeholders, management of fluctuating workflow and associated resource and budget management. Significant experience of managing and prioritising a large budget with solid knowledge of financial process requirements. Experience building, leading, motivating, managing and developing high-performing teams. Experience of strategic thinking at a senior level.
• Desirable: Experience of working in health organisations and awareness of NHS funding models, performance metrics and regulatory and reporting requirements. Experience of working with key external improvement agencies. Experience of the Federated Data Platform.

Knowledge:

• Essential: In depth and extensive specialist professional knowledge across several disciplines, insight and analysis, information development, data warehouse design, financial management, performance management, information systems, staff management acquired through training and experience over an extended period. High-level awareness of Board-level working in a complex and changing organisation. Ability to influence at all levels and a highly strategic thinker. Passionate and committed to bring our Dedicated to Excellence values to life, improving the way we work with each other, particularly focusing on empowerment, equality diversity and inclusion of our staff, patients and service users. Able to withstand frequent demands for support from colleagues who are emotionally impacted by change. Must demonstrate the Trust's values around both raising concerns at work, and how to treat others who raise concerns. Able to remain calm and considered when managing major incidents and service restorations. Deliver effectively. Demonstrate accountability. Display integrity.

Skills:

• Essential: Strong analytical leadership and ability to provide direction to analytical delivery team members. Ability to analyse and appropriately present often highly complex information, analytical methods and concepts, identify necessary action and make recommendations and follow these through to both technical and non-technical audiences, e.g. presenting at Board level. Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult or contentious issues where there may be several courses of action responding openly to questions to ensure full understanding and engagement. Ability to self-motivate and work on own initiative and organise own workload and that of the team to operate effectively. Ability to adopt an adaptive leadership style to deliver strategic programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment. Track record delivering presentations to large groups of stakeholders in often pressured and politically sensitive environments. Intellectual flexibility with the ability to cut through ambiguity and complexity and to shape and implement a vision that looks beyond existing structures, ways of working, boundaries, and organisations to produce more effective and innovative service delivery models. Excellent interpersonal skills, including high-level negotiation and influencing, development and coaching, and managing performance effectively. Ability to interpret reports, with often highly complex information and advise managers on likely problem areas using narrative and graphical presentations. Advanced verbal communication skills; ability to build rapport with a wide range of stakeholders at all levels and to develop wider networks. Advanced written communication skills; ability to convey highly complex information in a way that is understood by a range of target audiences. Advanced analytical skills to identify and prioritise key actions that will deliver greatest value in a business intelligence context. Sound political judgment and sensitivity when dealing with stakeholders at all levels, with a strong ability to influence where expert opinions differ and barriers to understanding and acceptance exist. Use of analytical skills while troubleshooting major incidents or conducting single point of failure analysis. Experience of dealing with novel and unique issues where no precedence is set or where professional opinion may conflict. Track record of effective engagement, negotiating and partnership working with senior internal and external stakeholders. Ability to lead innovation in AI, machine learning, and predictive analytics in a healthcare context.
• Desirable: Track record of communicating externally (blogging, Twitter, conference speaking) about your professional role and raising the profile of an organisation.