Director General for Performance & Delivery
Every day, we work to improve the health and wellbeing of citizens across the nation. This is both a privilege and a responsibility. The dedicated staff across the NHS and the civil service have achieved remarkable things in recent years - from the extraordinary response to COVID-19, to record numbers of general practice appointments, to cancer survival in England being at an all-time high - demonstrating incredible resilience, expertise and commitment.
We are now building a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) for the future - an organisation better equipped to provide publicly accountable leadership across health and care that truly serves our communities better. This new Department of Health and Social Care will incorporate the role of NHS England to create a new accountable and agile centre. This will be a new model of leadership for the health and care system and it will require compassionate, determined and focused leadership.
We are seeking an exceptional leader to take on the role of Director General for Performance and Delivery. This is one of the Department's most senior advisors, currently reporting into both the Permanent Secretary and the NHS Chief Executive. They will be a core member of the new Joint Executive and senior leadership team. In addition, they will serve as Deputy Chief Executive of NHS England.
Main duties of the job
As the senior accountable individual for NHS performance and delivery, the role leads the primary interface between the central department and regional teams responsible for NHS performance and delivery, creating a clear chain of accountability for performance which flows from the system into regions, and up to national level. You will be responsible for the overall framework for managing NHS performance, delivery and improvement, including the approaches to monitoring NHS delivery of national plans, major initiatives and associated performance data, and identifying areas for improvement and intervention. As Deputy Chief Executive of NHS England, you will act as a deputy to the Chief Executive, supporting the overall leadership of the organisation and representing the Chief Executive where required.
We are looking for individuals who can bring strategic insight, collaborative leadership, and a commitment to public service to help us deliver on our mission to provide the highest quality, most compassionate health and care system in the world. If you share our passion, thrive at delivering large-scale change and believe in the future we will build for our citizens and our communities, then we look forward to receiving your application.
About us
NHS England's purpose is to create the conditions for an ambitious and high quality NHS. We empower our people and partners to solve problems, provide outstanding care for every patient and improve the nation's health.
Our 7 regional teams work directly with systems and NHS providers across the country. Each region acts as the interface between national strategy and local delivery, overseeing performance, supporting improvement and enabling transformation at scale.
In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.
Diversity and inclusion
Diversity is vital to the success of this role. We actively welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds, with different experiences and perspectives, and we are committed to ensuring that we work in an inclusive way that means everyone in the Civil Service can perform at their best.
Person Specification
Knowledge & Experience
* Proven delivery of system wide performance improvement - A strong, evidenced record of leading large and complex systems through measurable performance gains, with clear interventions you have personally driven from problem diagnosis to outcome.
* Executive level leadership with a delivery mandate Substantial senior leadership experience at board and executive level where you have set strategic direction and ensured execution, making mission-critical decisions and leading major delivery functions or organisations through significant change.
* Ability to build and enforce delivery focused system accountability Demonstrated experience establishing and embedding clear accountability structures that drive consistent performance from national to local level, ensuring expectations are understood and delivered against.
* Proven leadership of high performing teams during delivery challenges A track record of leading teams through ambiguity and operational pressure, building an inclusive, resilient culture that enables people to perform and deliver at pace.
* Exceptional judgement and crisis leadership grounded in real delivery experience Proven capability to lead incident or emergency responses, applying sound judgement, resilience and integrity to stabilise situations and ensure continued delivery of critical services.
* Stakeholder influence that secures delivery outcomes across boundaries Evidence of working with senior stakeholders across organisational boundaries to resolve barriers, align priorities, and secure the conditions needed to deliver results in politically and operationally complex environments. Experience of working across government, the NHS and wider health systems will be an advantage.
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 to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Depending on experience per annum (Starting from £161,601)
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