Reporting directly at board level, the COOwill own the organisational management agenda, lead and support development ofthe senior management team andsite leads, and delegate effectively enabling the Board and clinicaldirectors to maintain strategic oversight without routine operationalinvolvement. The COO is the primary operational voice to the Board, providingclear, timely, and data-driven assurance. The successful candidate will beconfidently digitally enabled fluent across modern primary care platforms,business intelligence dashboards, and AI-supported productivity tools andable to harness data and technology to drive efficiency, decision-making, andlive operational assurance.
Main duties of the job
Hold full, visibleaccountability for operational performance across all 12 Willows Health practice sites, withauthority to act on behalf of the organisation in day-to-day matters.
Lead daily operationaldelivery, managing capacity, demand, and patient access effectively across allsites.
Strengthen andstandardise operational processes and standards across reception,administrative, digital, and clinical support functions.
Ensure operationalalignment with Willows Healths clinical leadership, digital strategy, andwider organisational priorities.
Build and maintain astructured knowledge managementand operational continuity framework ensuring institutional knowledgeis systematically captured, maintained, and distributed across the senior team.
Establish clear,documented delegation frameworks enabling site and functional leads to operatewith confidence and accountability.
About us
Willows Health is the largest provider ofNHS primary care services in the East Midlands, delivering high-quality,patient-centred care across 12sites to over 65,000 patients. As an organisation at the forefront ofinnovation in general practice with a digital-first patient access model, agrowing Urgent Care Service, and the Willows Health Academy, we are seeking anexperienced Chief Operating Officer to provide decisive, accountableoperational and strategic leadership across the whole organisation.
Job responsibilities
Hold full, visible accountability for operational performance across all 12 Willows Health practice sites, with authority to act on behalf of the organisation in day-to-day matters.
Lead daily operational delivery, managing capacity, demand, and patient access effectively across all sites.
Strengthen and standardise operational processes and standards across reception, administrative, digital, and clinical support functions.
Ensure operational alignment with Willows Healths clinical leadership, digital strategy, and wider organisational priorities.
Build and maintain a structured knowledge management and operational continuity framework ensuring institutional knowledge is systematically captured, maintained, and distributed across the senior team.
Establish clear, documented delegation frameworks enabling site and functional leads to operate with confidence and accountability.
Translate Board-levelstrategic priorities into clear, measurable operational plans with definedmilestones, owners, and accountability.
Lead digitaltransformation programmes including telephony improvement, digital patientaccess, AI-enabled triage (SystmConnect), and patient communication pathways.
Be personally digitallyenabled confident working across SystmOne, Microsoft 365, Power BI /operational dashboards, AI-assisted productivity tools, and emerging primarycare technologies and use these tools fluently to drive efficiency,evidence-based decision-making, and real-time operational assurance.
Support service growth,site expansion, and integration of new services maintaining operationalstability throughout periods of change.
Maintain operationaloversight, ensuring that planned and existing activities are coordinated andreviewed to avoid unplanned implications for site capacity, patient access, oroperational delivery.
Support the drive forcontinuous innovation in service delivery to ensure Willows Health remains atthe forefront of sustainable, modern primary care.
Serve as the primary operational reporting lead tothe Board and clinical directors providing structured, data-drivenupdates on performance, risk, and workforce at each board cycle.
Oversee performanceagainst all contractual KPIs, including QOF, local enhanced services, andpatient experience indicators.
Act as the designatedexecutive owner for CQC compliance and operational governance across all 12Willows Health sites personally accountable to the Board for sustaining andbuilding on the organisations Good rating, and directing the operational andcompliance leads responsible for the Provider Information Return (PIR), theevidence library, and all inspection readiness activity.
Ensure a live,site-by-site CQC self-assessment framework is in place across the organisation,mapped against the five Key Questions (Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive,Well-led) and the underpinning Quality Statements directing the governanceand site leads responsible for evidence capture, gap analysis, mockinspections, and remediation, and holding them to account for delivery.
Line-manage and developour senior management and site leadership team establishing clearaccountability structures with robust performance oversight.
Lead workforce planning,recruitment, retention, and professional development for all our non-clinicalstaff groups alongside our HR lead.
Support effectivemulti-disciplinary team deployment, including ARRS and clinical support roles,in collaboration with clinical leads.
Model and embed WillowsHealth values across all aspects of leadership, building a high-performing,inclusive, and psychologically safe organisational culture.
Champion staff wellbeingand professional development as enablers of sustainable performance andexcellent patient care.
Work with our FinanceLead and Board to manage operational budgets and contracts.
Support incomeoptimisation through high-quality delivery of all national and local servicecontracts.
Work with our EstatesLead to ensure facilities, procurement, and resource allocation across allsites.
Represent Willows Healthin relationships with the ICB, PCNs, local authority, third-sector partners,community providers, NHSE, and CQC acting as a credible, trusted ambassador for the organisation.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience demonstrating the intellectual capability required for executive leadership.
* Postgraduate leadership qualification, NHS leadership programme, or equivalent senior leadership training.
Experience
* Substantial senior operational leadership in primary care, community health, NHS, or a comparably complex public services organisation with personal accountability at executive or near-executive level.
* Proven track record of leading multi-site or geographically distributed services at significant scale (5+ sites or equivalent operational complexity).
* Experience operating as the most senior operational leader, or very close to it, within an organisation demonstrating high autonomy and self-direction without frequent managerial guidance.
* Experience building and leading a senior management or site leadership team, with clear delegation, accountability structures, and performance management.
* Track record of taking on roles where significant institutional knowledge was held by a predecessor and systematically building and distributing that knowledge for organisational resilience.
* Experience presenting and reporting to a board of directors, trustees, or equivalent including preparing written board papers and managing board-level governance.
* Experience in a large GP super-practice, PCN, or primary care at-scale environment.
* Senior CQC compliance experience, including preparation for and management of inspection processes.
Knowledge
* Knowledge of primary care contracts (GMS/APMS), performance frameworks (QOF), and regulatory requirements (CQC).
* Understanding of workforce frameworks for primary care, including ARRS roles, multi-disciplinary teams, and non-clinical staffing structures.
* Familiarity with digital platforms used in primary care: clinical systems (SystmOne), telephony, digital access tools, and patient communication platforms.
* Working knowledge of NHS financial governance, budget management, and cost improvement planning.
* Understanding of integrated care system architecture, ICB relationships, and system-level primary care development.
Personal Attributes
* High degree of personal accountability and decisiveness takes clear ownership, delivers on commitments, and makes sound judgements under pressure without requiring frequent upward direction.
* Resilient, adaptable, and composed in a fast-moving, high-growth environment maintains performance standards through ambiguity and change.
* Collaborative and enabling as a leader leads through others rather than around them; builds empowered teams rather than centralising decision-making.
* Patient-first orientation every operational decision tested against its impact on patient access, safety, and experience.
* Inclusive and culturally aware builds high-trust, psychologically safe cultures that attract, retain, and develop diverse talent.
* Proactive and forward-thinking anticipates challenges, identifies solutions, and progresses work without waiting for direction.
Skills
* Exceptional written and verbal communication including the ability to prepare and present confidently at board and to clinical directors, non-executive members, and external stakeholders.
* Proven ability to lead transformational and digital change programmes in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
* Demonstrated skill in building, motivating, and holding accountable large, diverse teams through periods of growth and change.
* Risk management capability able to identify, assess, and escalate operational and strategic risks in a timely and appropriately framed manner.
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 (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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