Employer East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust Employer type NHS Site Lister Hospital Town Stevenage Salary £109,179 - £125,637 Top of Band 9 plus £5,500 allowance pa Salary period Yearly Closing 14/12/2025 23:59 Interview date 09/01/2026
Director of Operations and Performance/Deputy Chief Operating Officer
NHS AfC: Band 9 (plus allowance)
Here at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust
Our mission is: Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities
Our vision to 2030 is: To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service
Our values - We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do. Our values are:
Include We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.
Respect We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.
Improve We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.
Job overview
We are inviting applications for the role of Director of Operations and Performance / Deputy Chief Operating Officer (DCOO) at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust.
This is a great opportunity for an energetic leader to support the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality operational services across the Trust
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and working closely with Lead Divisional Directors and senior leaders, the DCOO will:
* Provide clear and visible leadership across operational services trust-wide
* Ensure delivery of operational standards and support key priorities
* Drive improvements in patient flow, accessibility, and patient experience
* Lead critical operational project, including operational leadership for EPR implementation
* Maintain strong governance and performance frameworks
We seek a candidate who can demonstrate:
* Proven senior operational management experience in complex NHS settings
* Strong leadership, communication, and influencing skills
* Ability to work across divisions, clinical teams, and corporate departments
* A track record of delivering operational improvements
* Commitment to our values and enhancing patient outcomes
We offer the opportunity to work for a trust in segment 2 of the national oversight framework, implementing the East & North Herts Production System to drive continuous improvement. We will support your leadership development to be ready for an executive role.
Main duties of the job
The Director of Operations and Performance / Deputy Chief Operating Officer (DCOO) is a key role within the Trust’s senior leadership team. As the deputy to the Chief Operating Officer (COO), you will be responsible for day-to-day operational management, working with the site office, emergency department, divisions and system partners.
You’ll operate independently, overseeing daily management of operations, patient flow, emergency planning and site performance, including the delivery of standards, activity and productivity improvements. You’ll have delegated authority on behalf of the COO to ensure operational performance is optimised and services engage in continuous improvement, innovation and transformation.
A highly skilled and experienced individual, you’ll demonstrate a track record in transforming UEC flows, cross-organisational change and operational delivery across elective and urgent care. You’ll drive innovation and quality of care, working with colleagues across the Trust and partners.
You will support the COO in providing leadership throughout the Trust underpinning a caring, fair and open culture that enables staff to perform at their best. You’ll demonstrate compassionate and inspirational leadership and have a track record of promoting inclusivity. You will foster a patient-centred approach and reduce health inequalities.
You’ll work flexibly across sites and organisational boundaries and deputise for the COO in executive, Board and system discussions.
Working for our organisation
East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust was formed in 2000 from the merger of two NHS Trusts serving east and north Hertfordshire. It operates across four sites: acute services at the Lister Hospital; specialist cancer care at the Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC); and non-acute services at Queen Elizabeth II and Hertford County hospitals. A £150m reconfiguration centralised inpatient and complex services at the Lister.
The Trust provides acute inpatient, outpatient, diagnostic, ambulatory, and urgent care services, including emergency and maternity care, as well as regional services in renal medicine, urology, and plastic surgery.
The Trust is the highest performing acute trust in the East of England and 19th nationally among acute and specialist trusts, and shortlisted for the HSJ Trust of the Year Award.
With around 6,800 staff and 350 volunteers, and an annual turnover of £610 million, the Trust is committed to high-quality, patient-centred care. Key priorities include creating an environment where staff can thrive, continuous improvement, and maintaining strong performance despite operational, financial, and workforce pressures.
The Trust remains one of the highest performing in the country for activity levels and cancer waits.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer the attached applicant pack for further details including the Job Description and Personal specification for this post.
Person specification
Qualifications / Training
* Educated to degree level/equivalent professional qualification
* Evidence of extensive and recent commitment to continuing professional and personal development
* Postgraduate level qualification or equivalent in leadership, change management or quality improvement
Knowledge and Experience
* Significant management and leadership experience at a senior level in an NHS acute Trust
* Proven experience and ability in managing operational performance with tight financial constraints demonstrating effective budget management
* Experience of capacity planning and translating organisation strategy and vision into operational objectives
* Evidence of successfully leading significant organisational change in developing new models of healthcare delivery
* Demonstrable experience of building, maintaining and leveraging successful relationships with all staff especially clinicians within complex organisations
* An understanding of healthcare planning process and key national healthcare issues
* Demonstrable strong and credible leadership in being able to pull people together across systems and motivate them to deliver common aims and targets
* Demonstrable significant experience of situational leadership, human resource management, coaching and people development
Leadership and management skills
* Highly effective communication skills – must be able to both articulate complex issues to a wide range of recipients, both written and verbally
* Excellent presentation skills with the ability to engage and influence diverse audiences
* Strong interpersonal and negotiating skills, with the ability to engage, build, coach and sustain relationships both within the Trust and within external organisations
* Able to demonstrate sound financial management skills and understand business centred approach to healthcare provision
* Excellent organisational and time management skills to meet competing priorities
* Able to take tough decisions and calculated risks and see require action through
* Demonstrates strong commitment to action to achieve equality and diversity in the NHS workforce and for the community
* Excellent project management skills as project manager or sponsor. Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines
Other requirements
* Able to participate in the executive on call rota
* Personal resilience
* Demonstrates a coaching, compassionate and empowering leadership style
* Able to demonstrate behaviours consistent with the Trust’s values at all times and role model positive behaviours
* Experience and understanding of the quality, diversity and inclusion agenda. Able to actively support the development of a culture that recognises and promotes equality, values, diversity and actively leads by example in deploying these qualities
* Understands the impact on equality, diversity and inclusion issues in all aspects of services delivery and planning
When you apply...
Please note we do not offer visa sponsorship for roles unless clearly stated in our adverts. This means even if you have the right to work currently but will require a new sponsorship to work for our Trust your application will not be considered.
Vacancies may close earlier than the advertised closing date where a high volume of applications are received. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out on the opportunity to join the Trust or develop your career with us.
While we recognise that AI can support in drafting an application, you are encouraged to clearly demonstrate your personal skills, experience and behaviours that align with the role, and this is usually best done in your own words. We reserve the right to review all applications for the use of AI tools and where this is inconsistent with our values and standards of behaviour your application may be rejected.
All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.
Secondments/Fixed term
Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.
If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.
Committed to our Community
East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce.
We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.
We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh-tr@nhs.net
We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.
We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.
King's Trust Support
If you’re aged between 16 and 30 years-old, you can get FREE employability support from The King’s Trust. The King’s Trust will help build your CV and cover letter, offer advice and top tips for future interviews and support you with research about working in the NHS. Please contact Enquiries.H&SC@princes-trust.org.uk for support.
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