Director of Strategy & Business Development in Preston

Working closely with the CEO, Executive Team and Heads of Service, you will create new opportunities and strategically direct FCMS evolution and our vision for the future. You will be a leading figure in our organisation, and will be expected to plan, execute and deliver; we are a kinetic, fast paced organisation and you will be expected to be at the heart of business development activity, you will need to be able to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in!

Main duties of the job

The role requires entrepreneurial energy alongside a stronger social heart, working closely with partners to build trusted relationships and creating business growth, a willingness (and tenacity!) to pursue new ideas. All this, whilst always ensuring that FCMS continues to deliver high quality, reliable services to the populations we serve. A visible and approachable leader, your deep understanding of business development and ideally the NHS will allow you to leverage the established services and people within FCMS as a foundation for leading the ongoing and growth of FCMS.

As an Executive Board Member, you will share collective responsibility for the overall leadership, direction and long-term success of the organisation. Working collaboratively with fellow Board members, you will provide strategic leadership and constructive challenge to ensure the organisation delivers its why while upholding its values, culture and standards of governance. You will also play a key role in developing and supporting executive leadership, engaging with colleagues and external stakeholders, and safeguarding the organisation's reputation, sustainability and social impact.

About us

The ethos of FCMS as a social enterprise, health and wellbeing services provider is to be passionate in its drive to ensure that patients and callers remain the central focus of all that it does. Coupled with excellent and well-established clinical governance systems and extremely effective operational expertise, it has meant that the company has the ability to strategically visualise, develop, and implement award winning services.

Over many years we have invested in our staff so that we have a core team of highly trained individuals who can manage the needs of our patients and callers. Our staff are able to significantly improve the service delivery and user experience due to their considerable experience and commitment to what they do.

Come and be a part of our amazing team!

We offer:

• NHS Pension
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Career Development Opportunities
• Attendance Bonus
• Staff Benefit Scheme
• Free Tea & Coffee
• Eye Care Contributions

Job responsibilities

Executive Responsibilities

Strategic Growth & Business Development

• Define and lead the organisation's long-term growth strategy, ensuring alignment with NHS policy, Integrated Care Board priorities, and the organisation's social mission.
• Translate strategic objectives into deliverable corporate and operational plans that enable sustainable organisational growth.
• Identify, evaluate and respond proactively to changes in the external environment, including commissioning priorities, health policy, funding opportunities and market developments.
• Advise and support the Chief Executive Officer and Board on strategic direction, organisational growth and investment decisions.
• Provide executive accountability for the development and management of a robust pipeline of business opportunities across the short, medium and long term, ensuring a balanced and sustainable portfolio.
• Drive innovation through the effective use of market intelligence, data and performance insights to shape new service models and future opportunities.
• Identify unmet health and care needs where the organisation can deliver measurable impact and social value.
• Assess and mitigate strategic risks associated with growth, including market concentration, contract dependency and organisational capacity.
• Provide regular assurance to the Board through reporting on strategic opportunities, pipeline performance, organisational growth and associated risks.

Executive Stakeholder Engagement

• Build, maintain and strengthen strategic relationships with NHS commissioners, Integrated Care Systems, provider collaboratives, local authorities, delivery partners and other key stakeholders.
• Represent the organisation at executive-level forums, system partnerships and regional or national networks, positioning the organisation as a trusted and high-performing delivery partner.
• Influence commissioning intentions and future service design through early engagement, collaborative working and evidence-based insight.
• Develop and maintain the organisation's reputation as a credible strategic partner capable of delivering high-quality, innovative and sustainable healthcare services.

Strategic Partnerships & Commercial Collaboration

• Lead the identification, development and negotiation of strategic partnerships, alliances and consortium arrangements to maximise opportunities.
• Oversee partnership governance, ensuring commercial arrangements that support both organisational sustainability and social purpose.
• Evaluate collaborative opportunities that strengthen organisational position while maintaining operational excellence and values.
• Develop relationships with Acute and Community Trusts to explore and deliver partnership solutions.

Executive Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership to the Business Development and Commercial Support function, contributing to high-performing, commercially focused and values-driven teams.
• Foster strong collaboration across operational, clinical, finance and corporate functions to ensure organisational readiness for growth and successful mobilisation of new services.
• Embed a culture of accountability, service innovation and continuous improvement across the organisation.
• Ensure strategic priorities are clearly communicated and consistently aligned across all support functions and operational teams.
• Lead the organisational goal to be revolutionary, evolutionary and visionary in relation to service delivery.

Organisational Impact & Reputation

• Champion the organisation's social value proposition by ensuring impact, outcomes and community benefit are evidenced, measured and effectively communicated.
• Enhance organisational profile through thought leadership, speaking engagements, publications and active participation in health and care system development.
• Strengthen brand recognition and influence across the NHS and wider health and social care sector.
• Ensure all growth activity enhances organisational reputation, supports long-term sustainability and remains true to the organisation's mission, values and commitment to improving population health.

Our key behavioural expectations are:

• Self-awareness; living authentically
• Adaptability; being ready to adjust depending on the situation
• Openness; What you see is what you get
• Tenacity; you need to be able to get the tough jobs done!
• Positivity with a real sense of being able to strive for the impossible
• Generosity of spirit; Everyday should be an opportunity to act with kindness and compassion
• Ability to have fun; Taking the role seriously, whilst being yourself

Our Why: To nurture an environment of inspiration, innovation and disruption so this people in our world receive exceptional healthcare for this generation, and the next.

Values: Our organisational culture is very important to us, so it is vital that the successful candidate lives and breathes complimentary values and behaviours that are in line with our values which form part of our Company DNA:

• Fun: People rarely succeed unless they are having fun. Happiness is healthy!
• Awesome: We aren't here to be average, we're here to be awesome!
• Humble: We're here to make a difference to the lives of others, NOT to see how important we can become
• Brave: We challenge the norm. We have the courage to get the difficult jobs done
• Oompf: We have natural oompf! It's infectious!
• Go-getting: We are intuitive to changing needs and respond quickly which we do with energy, ideas, and positivity

Disability Confident Employer: As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

DBS: This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exemption Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. This will require three forms of valid ID to be produced and verified. The onboarding process is also subject to an Occupational Health check, suitable professional references and eligibility to work in the UK (with the requirement to provide relevant documentation as evidence). For Driver positions you will also be required to undertake a Driver check.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Essential: Educated to degree level or equivalent experience (3 years in Senior Leadership Role)
• Desirable: Postgraduate qualification in healthcare management, business, public health or a related field.

Experience

• Essential: Significant senior leadership experience in strategy, business development, service development or transformation within health, social care or a related sector.
• Demonstrable experience of developing successful business cases, partnerships, bids or service innovations.
• Experience working within or alongside the NHS or a complex public sector commissioning environment.
• Strong understanding of the current NHS operating environment, including commissioning, provider collaboration and partnership working.
• Understanding of Primary Care and/or Community Care service delivery models.
• Awareness of emerging trends in population health, integrated care and community-based services.
• Strong commercial and strategic thinking with the ability to identify and develop new opportunities.
• Experience developing compelling business cases and proposals.
• Ability to translate complex system changes and policy developments into clear strategic opportunities.
• Skilled at developing long-term organisational strategies while delivering practical outcomes.
• Desirable: Experience working in a social enterprise, not-for-profit or mission-driven organisation.
• Experience of working at system level within Integrated Care Systems or multi-organisation partnerships.
• Knowledge of NHS contracting frameworks and procurement processes.
• Experience of developing services aligned to Urgent and/or Emergency Care / Prevention / Community Health / Integrated Care.
• Strong understanding of the structure, priorities and commissioning landscape of the NHS.
• Knowledge of the financial, regulatory and governance considerations involved in developing new services.

Personal Qualities

• Essential: Ability to live authentically and have fun whilst doing so
• A visible and approachable leadership style
• Entrepreneurial energy and a willingness to pursue new ideas
• Passion for improving health services and patient outcomes
• Compassion and genuine care about people the quality of services delivered
• Self-awareness and humility, recognising the value of collective leadership
• Courage to positively disrupt thinking
• Integrity and selflessness in decision making
• Resilience and optimism in navigating a complex healthcare system
• Highly effective communicator with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and persuasively.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.