Deputy General Manager, Surgery in Watford

Band 8a – Deputy General Manager, Surgery

Main area: General Manager

Grade: Band 8a

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time, Flexible working, 37.5 hours per week.

Department name: West Herts - General Staffing

Site: Watford General Hospital

Town: Watford

Salary: £59,798 - £67,020 pa inc HCA

Salary period: Yearly

Closing: 20/07/2026 23:59

Job overview: Ready to lead real change in a high-impact clinical portfolio? We are looking for an ambitious and driven Deputy General Manager to join our Surgical Division, leading Trauma, Orthopaedics and Pain services. This is a pivotal role for someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and wants to shape services that directly improve patient outcomes. At West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, you’ll be joining a high-performing organisation on an exciting transformation journey. We are proud HSJ Award winners 2025 – Trust of the Year and Performance Recovery, with national recognition for our improvement and performance in A&E waits. Alongside this, our major Acute Redevelopment Programme and investment in digital innovation are reshaping how care is delivered. You’ll work alongside inspiring clinical leaders and in a dynamic team to drive performance, innovation, and sustainable improvement. We’re looking for a confident, collaborative leader who can challenge constructively and deliver results. This role requires regular time on site (80%) and cannot be fully remote. The Trust is supportive of flexible working and requests will be considered in line with the needs of the service and working patterns across the team. Interviews will be held in person at the Watford site.

Main duties of the job:

• Lead the operational and business management of Trauma, Orthopaedics and Pain services, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, patient-centred care within available resources.
• Oversee day-to-day service delivery, driving performance against key targets including RTT, and leading recovery through effective demand and capacity planning.
• Work in close partnership with Clinical Leads and senior nursing colleagues to ensure services are responsive, efficient, and continuously improving.
• Provide line management to administrative managers and service managers within the specialties.
• Manage service budgets, including revenue, workforce establishment, and cost improvement programmes, ensuring financial sustainability alongside high-quality care.

Working for our organisation: With a new hospital planned for Watford, work underway to update theatres at St Albans City Hospital and plans for a neighbourhood healthcare centre in Hemel Hempstead, this is an exciting time to join us. We are building on the success of our award-winning virtual hospital and re‑imagining models of care, working closely with partners and making the most of advances in digital healthcare. Staff wellbeing and development are a priority, as is the role of innovation in improving clinical care, outcomes and patient experience. Our vision is Excellent patient care, together and our values are to be empowered, compassionate, professional and inclusive.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• Lead operational management of services to meet RTT, cancer, and performance targets.
• Develop and own action plans and strategies to improve performance, reduce waiting times and deliver excellent quality care.
• Manage budgets, resources, and performance against financial and activity plans.
• Drive service development, improvement projects, and cost efficiency programmes.
• Ensure robust governance, risk management, and quality standards.
• Provide visible leadership, manage staff, and support training and development.
• Use data and information systems to monitor, report, and improve performance.
• Foster effective communication and engagement with clinical teams and stakeholders.
• Represent the service/division and support cross-divisional working.
• Lead change programmes, motivating teams and ensuring delivery of service improvements.
• Lead on delivery of service KPIs, specialty strategies, and divisional business plans.
• Develop business cases, negotiate service agreements, and contribute to commissioning of services.

Person specification:

• Education to degree level within a relevant area e.g. management degree, clinical degree or equivalent experience.
• Post graduate management qualification or in the process of studying for.

• Strong understanding of the health and care sector including operational management.
• RTT management.
• Understanding of admissions and outpatient services and processes.
• Experience of both primary and secondary care organisations.
• Project management skills.
• Prior experience of working across two or more organisational boundaries.

• Previous NHS experience.
• Experience operating at a senior organisational level.
• Experience of using numerical analysis in problem solving.
• Experience of budgetary management.
• Experience of producing business cases.
• Experience of managing RTT targets and Cancer waiting times.
• Demonstrable operational management experience, with at least years managing large groups of staff.

West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust provides acute healthcare services to a core catchment population of approximately half a million people living in west Hertfordshire and the surrounding area. The Trust also provides a range of more specialist services to a wider population, serving residents of North London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and East Hertfordshire. As an employer of nearly 6,000 people the Trust is one of the biggest employers in the area and sees nearly a million patients each year.

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.