Director of Operations in Nottingham

2026 will be an exciting year for Nottingham University Hospitals as we continue our improvement journey in UEC, Planned Care and Cancer, and launch the next phase of our People First Strategy that will drive the reconfiguration of key services across our sites and embrace the digital transformation opportunities offered by our new Electronic Patient Record systems.

Two significant leadership opportunities have arisen to join our Operational Leadership Team. As Directors of Operations, you will be part of a strong triumvirate or quadrumvirate, led by a Clinical Director and ably supported by a Director of Nursing and Professions and, in Family Health, by the Director of Midwifery. If you are looking to expand your experience and demonstrate your ability to deliver a complex agenda on a career path to Chief Operating Officer, then our Director of Operations roles are the perfect next step for you!

Main duties of the job

• The Care Group Director of Operations will have specific responsibilities and accountabilities across their Care Group for successful operational leadership and management across our sites, ensuring supportive and responsive operational management leadership of our hospitals.
• The post holder will play a key role in business planning, quality improvement and delivery and will help lead the development of a high performing and supportive culture across NUH.
• They will play a key role in ensuring the Trust delivers on the full range of performance targets.
• They will work autonomously to ensure a high quality of service to patients, visitors and colleagues, including management of clinical governance, healthcare standards and risk.
• The post holder will work closely with all professions across NUH, and will work to identify and implement opportunities for improved productivity, efficiency and clinical quality.

Working for our organisation

With over 19,000 staff, we are one of the biggest employers in the city with a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of our local population. We play a leading role in research, education and innovation. Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career! We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Operational Leadership and Management – Lead and manage all services within the Care Group, ensuring efficient, high-quality patient care across multiple hospital sites. Oversee the achievement of performance, quality, finance, and workforce KPIs. Work closely with clinical and non-clinical teams to improve productivity, efficiency, and clinical quality.
• Strategic Planning & Business Development – Contribute to the development and implementation of the Trust’s vision and strategic priorities. Lead the development of strategic and annual operating plans for Care Group services. Formulate business cases for service and capital development, and lead capital expenditure plans.
• Performance & Financial Management – Achieve and sustain all waiting time targets and patient standards. Deliver a balanced budget, address underperformance, and ensure effective management of financial resources. Develop a culture of performance management and improvement, holding others accountable for targets. Provide inspirational leadership, fostering a culture of openness, innovation, and improvement. Maximise staff engagement, manage staffing levels, and ensure appropriate training and development. Take full line management responsibility, including handling sickness, absence, grievances, and disciplinary issues.
• Quality Improvement – Identify and implement benchmarking opportunities for improved productivity and clinical quality. Ensure quality improvement initiatives are evidence-based and robustly evaluated. Work collaboratively with other Care Groups, clinicians, and external partners to improve patient pathways and service delivery. Engage with commissioners, local authorities, health regulators, and other NHS Trusts.
• Governance, Safety & Compliance – Ensure adherence to infection control, safeguarding, information governance, and health and safety standards. Participate in governance activities to uphold the highest standards of care and business conduct. Support the investigation of complaints and incidents, and chair hearings as appropriate.
• Trust-wide Initiatives – Lead Trust-wide projects and participate in the Silver on-call rota. Contribute to the overall improvement of patient care across Nottinghamshire and beyond.

Person specification

• Training and Qualifications – Professional knowledge acquired through degree, supplemented by specialist training to doctorate or equivalent level, management qualification or equivalent experience.
• Experience – Significant experience within the Healthcare sector at very senior manager level including responsibility for strategic planning and budgetary control for group of complex clinical care pathways. Proven track record of achieving challenging healthcare targets. Knowledge and experience of support services in general and the multi-professional teams within the Specialist Clinical Services portfolio.
• Analytical and Judgement Skills – Innovative thinker with the ability to cut through barriers to change with experience of leading and delivering significant programmes of change within an NHS setting. Excellent problem‑solving skills including ability to critically analyse highly complex financial and clinical data sets and to make appropriate judgements, using team.
• Communication – Excellent communications skills, written and oral with proven negotiating skills and ability to communicate in an emotive atmosphere. Ability to build successful teams, influence and motivate staff. Ability to work collaboratively with partner organisations with sensitivity to clinical and political demands.

Applicants are kindly requested to refrain from using AI at any stage during the recruitment process.

Closing Dates: Please submit your application form as soon as possible to avoid disappointment; we reserve the right to close vacancies prior to the published closing date if we receive a sufficient number of completed application forms.

Communication: All communication related to your application will be via the email address you have provided. Please ensure you check your email account including your junk email regularly.

Easy read application: If you have a disability and find online job applications difficult, you can use an easy read application form instead. NUH are now able to offer application completion support and interview preparation support.