This is not a maintenance role. It is a defining one. You have spent your career learning how to run complex operational systems under pressure. You know what good looks like and you are hungry to deliver it at the highest level.
We are one of the most ambitious acute Trusts on the South Coast with three hospital sites, 750,000 patients, and a £500m transformation programme that is already changing how we work. We are looking for a Deputy Chief Operating Officer who will help us break new ground.
Role Overview
This role sits at the operational centre of UHD. You will be accountable for performance, flow and the delivery of safe, high‑quality care across our sites.
Key Responsibilities
* Operational delivery across all three hospital sites, setting the standard and holding it
* Urgent and emergency care performance and system resilience
* Rapid, decisive responses to operational pressure calmly and clearly on priorities
* Care group accountability and alignment, driving consistency without stifling clinical leadership
* Trust‑wide performance against national standards
* Trust‑wide pathway redesign rethinking how care flows
* Integrated care models across Dorset ICB beyond organisational boundaries
* Step‑change performance in flow, access and emergency care
* Modern, digitally‑enabled operations fit for the future
* Champion operational teams empowered to lead improvement
* Ensure data drives decisions not just fills dashboards
* Include frontline voices shaping the operational agenda from ward to boardroom
* Build a culture where accountability is clear, learning is real and standards do not slip
* Influence wider Dorset system through collaboration with Dorset ICB, local authorities, community services, primary care partners, voluntary sector, SWAST, SCAST and other providers
Why Join Us
* Authority, accountability and scope to shape how we operate
* Central role in a £500m transformation programme that is reshaping infrastructure, digital capability and clinical models
* Part of a senior leadership team committed to partnership and continuous improvement
* Opportunity to develop operational leaders and drive patient and staff experience
* Chance to influence operational strategy across the wider Dorset system
Equal Opportunities Statement
The University Hospitals of Dorset and the Isles NHS Foundation Trust (UHD) are an equal opportunities employer. We will not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, marital or family status, nationality, protected characteristic status or sexual orientation. We also commit to comply with all relevant UK legislation. For this role we are only looking at qualified candidates in the UK.
Benefits
* Competitive salary package
* Occupational health and wellbeing support
* Additional time off for major life events and affected by public holidays
* Right to access wide national services enjoyed by anyone in the NHS
* Business travel support as part of the role to support wider Dorset system engagement
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