Site Wedgwood House Town Bury St. Edmunds Salary £79,504 - £91,609 gross per annum/pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 20/10/2026 23:59
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience.
Please note due to the nature of our roles and patient demographic, you will be required to undertake physical intervention training and remain trained, as required by your role.
Job overview
This is a pivotal senior leadership role within Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, offering the opportunity to shape and deliver high-quality, responsive services across a complex and evolving system.
As Associate Director of Operations, you will work as part of a multi-professional leadership team to deliver safe, effective and high-performing services across your clinical network. You will be accountable for operational performance, quality, workforce, and financial delivery, ensuring services meet the needs of our population and align with Trust and system priorities.
You will lead with clarity and credibility, working across organisational boundaries to strengthen pathways, improve outcomes, and deliver sustainable transformation. This role requires someone who can operate confidently at scale, influence across systems, and bring together people, services and partners to deliver meaningful change.
Main duties of the job
The Associate Director of Operations will work closely with the Associate Director(s) of Nursing and Associate Medical Director(s) to ensure that high quality care is delivered within the Locality services and providing professional leadership to operational colleagues across the locality.
You will promote a culture of learning and openness and ensure clinical staff have the knowledge, capability, systems and support to deliver evidence based care and embed lessons learned in practice for the improvement of patient experience.
Working for our organisation
We are looking to appoint an individual who has a passion for our work and a track record of achievement in influencing colleagues and partners to deliver high quality care. We are seeking an inspirational and compassionate leader who will develop their teams to provide outstanding care. Previous experience working in a mental health operations setting is essential.
If you have a reputation for leadership, people development, quality and improvement alongside a passion for improving outcomes with a focus on equity and inclusion to ensure that mental health provision has parity across our partners, then please do consider applying for this role.
We are determined to create a safer, kinder and better organisation.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You will be an experienced senior operational leader with a strong track record of delivering improvement within complex NHS environments. You will be comfortable working in ambiguity, managing competing priorities, and leading through periods of change.
You will bring:
- Proven experience of delivering operational performance and service improvement at scale
- Strong system leadership and partnership working across health and care
- The ability to lead, influence and motivate multidisciplinary teams
- Experience of delivering transformation and embedding new ways of working
- A values-driven approach, with a clear focus on quality, safety and outcomes
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Person specification
Qualifications
- Degree level education supplemented by postgraduate study and management or clinical experience to master’s degree level or equivalent.
- Other professional qualifications relevant to the role
Experience
- Significant budgetary and staff management experience.
- Demonstrable experience of business planning, and the production of comprehensive and complex business cases
- Engaging with appropriate stakeholders to shape delivery of healthcare services
Knowledge
- Good understanding of current emerging health issues, commissioning systems and performance standards.
- In depth knowledge of the NHS, recent reforms including Health and Social Care Act 2012.
Please be aware that, due to the high number of applications for certain roles, this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised closing date. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.
YOUR APPLICATION
We can provide all our job application materials in alternative formats so that these are accessible to everyone. Should you require any documents within this job pack in an alternative format, please do not hesitate to contact us at recruitment@nsft.nhs.uk.
PLEASE NOTE: If you use a hotmail, msn or yahoo e-mail account, you will need to check your "junk" mail regularly as these email providers will divert any communication from this Trust/NHS JOBS straight into your " junk" inbox.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.
As a part of the Disability Confident Employer Guaranteed Interview Scheme we interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job vacancy (outlined in the Person Specification).. We encourage you to indicate your eligibility through TRAC jobs when applying.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post may be 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.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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Associate Director of Operations in Bury St Edmunds employer: Nsft.
Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is an exceptional employer, offering a supportive and inclusive work environment for Electricians in Norwich. With a strong commitment to employee wellbeing, we provide generous benefits such as a competitive salary, extensive annual leave, and access to professional development opportunities, ensuring that our team members can thrive both personally and professionally while contributing to vital mental health services in the community.
