Job overview
Are you a bold, people-first leader ready to make a real impact?
We’re looking for an inspiring Divisional Director to help shape the future of care across one of our most vital divisions. This is your chance to lead from the front—driving improvement, supporting brilliant teams, and making sure our patients get the very best every single day.
If you are a strong leader, bring out the best in others, and have the passion to innovate and deliver high-quality care, we want to hear from you.
We’re looking for someone who’s highly motivated, action-focused, and ready to make a real impact. If you’re the kind of person who knows how to bring teams together, keep things moving, and get results — this could be the role for you.
In this role, you’ll work closely with the Divisional Medical and Nursing Directors to lead all clinical and non-clinical services within the Division. It’s a big job, but if you thrive on bringing people together, finding smart ways to improve how things work, and always keeping patients at the heart of what you do — you’ll love it here.
You’ll be the go-to person for delivering performance, supporting your teams to do their best work, and making sure everything we do aligns with our Trust values and goals. This role is about leading with purpose, listening and supporting your colleagues, and driving positive change that really sticks.
Main duties of the job
As Divisional Director, you’ll be at the heart of leading and shaping the day-to-day operations across the Division of Medicine—making sure they run smoothly, effectively, and always with patients at the centre. You’ll be the driving force behind high-quality, safe and compassionate care, ensuring that every service is performing at its best and continuously improving.
You'll take a hands-on approach to leadership, guiding your teams through the challenges of modern healthcare while embedding a strong culture of accountability and quality. From managing budgets and resources wisely, to delivering results against key targets, your influence will be felt across the whole Division.
Strategic thinking is just as important—you’ll help set the direction for the future, lead change programmes, and turn ideas into tangible improvements that benefit both patients and staff. You’ll empower and support teams to grow and thrive, nurturing a positive, inclusive and ambitious culture where people feel valued and inspired.
This is also an opportunity to invest in your own growth. We’re looking for someone who’s as committed to their personal development as they are to the organisation’s. You’ll stay curious, open to feedback, and eager to learn.
Whether it’s finding smarter ways to work, leading service redesigns, or forging new partnerships, you’ll play a central role in our journey of innovation and improvement—and help make a lasting impact on the future of healthcare in our community.
Working for our organisation
We’ve got around 10,000 amazing people working together to deliver great care to our patients. No matter what your role is, you’re helping look after 370,000 people in our local community — and providing specialist care to over 1.5 million people across Lancashire and Cumbria.
Being part of our team means knowing that what you do really matters. Every task, big or small, helps support patients and colleagues, and keeps us moving forward as a hospital that people can rely on.
There are loads of chances to grow here — from learning new skills and meeting brilliant people to doing things you might never have imagined. You’ll get to see how a hospital really works and connect with people from all kinds of roles.
You’ll make a real difference, be encouraged to try new ideas, and help us keep improving. At the heart of everything is patient care — and your part in that is something to be genuinely proud of.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. Take the lead in running the Division, making sure we’re using our time, people, and resources in the best way possible to deliver high-quality, efficient services.
2. Help shape the future direction of the Division by turning big-picture goals and health policies into clear, practical plans – and then leading the way in making those plans happen.
3. Build a positive and open culture where people feel confident to take initiative, work well as a team, and communicate openly.
4. Support and manage the Division’s team, helping everyone to do their best and grow in their roles.
5. Keep a close eye on the Division’s finances, making sure we’re spending wisely and staying on track with our budget.
6. Oversee governance in the Division, ensuring our services are safe, high-quality, and compliant with standards.
7. Make sure we’ve got the right people in the right roles, with good workforce planning to meet current and future needs.
8. Manage your own workload while making sure you’re available to support colleagues and help the wider team thrive.
Person specification
Qualifications & Education
Essential criteria
9. Education to Masters/Fellowship level or equivalent experience
10. Evidence of participation in continuing professional development
Desirable criteria
11. Post graduate Diploma in relevant field or equivalent clinical or professional qualification
Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria
12. Significant demonstrable experience of senior operational clinical services management of a group of services or specialties within the NHS
13. Detailed understanding and experience of the operation of acute hospital services
14. Proven ability to manage change, service activity and development within a large and complex organisation
15. Experience of planning and implementing strategic goals
16. Experience of managing large budgets and workforce
17. Experience of successful project management
18. Detailed knowledge of Clinical Governance and risk management
19. Comprehensive understanding and application of Department of Health Policy
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
20. Proven ability to manage change, service activity and development within a large and complex organisation
21. Well-developed analytical & problem solving skills with the ability to make decisions by determining key points from complex data and multiple informationsources
22. IT literate with well-developed skills for the use and application of information technology systems including file management, safe and effective internet use, Outlook, Word processing, PowerPoint, Access and Excel
23. Proven ability to achieve targets and objectives within a demanding and pressured environment against challenging deadlines
24. Well-developed leadership and motivational skills to facilitate working within and leading a large team
25. Proven ability to manage large groups of staff and implement human resource strategies