4449 – Deputy Chief Operating Officer

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the trust in a new role as Deputy Chief Operating Officer. The post holder will deputising for the Chief Operating Officer at board level and work closely with the Chief Operating Officer to support strategic delivery and leadership of Planned and Unplanned Operational Services, and ensure high quality clinical services and the delivery of Trust objectives.

As the Deputy Chief Operating Officer, you will play a pivotal role within the senior management team and gain valuable experience at Board level for candidates aspiring to an executive director role.

This will require a highly motivated, strategic thinking, innovative and experienced senior manager with evidence of a successful track record of achieving results and delivering against challenging performance targets in a senior leadership role in an NHS Trust.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will report directly to the Chief Operating Officer and work closely with other Executive directors and their teams. They will also provide support and guidance for, and work in partnership with the CBU leadership to deliver on Trust objectives and ensure the effective day to day running of the Trust.

The Deputy Chief Operating Officer will lead on the delivery of key national constitutional standards and assist the Chief Operating Officer in providing assurance reports to the relevant committees and boards. They will also undertake service redesign programmes as identified by the Chief Operating Officer, working closely with the CBUs, corporate teams and external stakeholders.

You must be able to lead by example, motivate and empower teams to ensure consistently high standards, with a focus on compassionate and inclusive leadership. You must also have the ability to rapidly gain insight into services and drive improvement where opportunities arise. Your values will be aligned to our Trust core values and you will demonstrate honesty and professional integrity.

Person Specification

Knowledge and awareness

Essential

  • Trust vision, values, strategic objectives and key work programmes
  • A good understanding of the changing NHS environment in particular up to date understanding of NHSE operational priorities
  • NHS Constitution
  • Ability to be intellectually flexible to look beyond existing structures, ways of working, boundaries and organisations to produce more effective and innovative service delivery and partnerships
  • Sound political judgment and astuteness in understanding and working with complex policy and diverse interest groups
  • A commitment to improving patient services through an ability to sustain a clear performance focus on achieving demanding goals

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of operating at 8D level as Operations Director/Associate Director in an acute NHS provider in the last 24 months.
  • Considerable operational and managerial experience in all aspects of acute hospital work (Planned and Unplanned Care), escalation processes and planning for increased and decreased capacity along pathways
  • Business Case writing.
  • Operational planning experience for NHSE planning submissions and Winter Planning
  • Demonstrable success in delivering change and performance with and through your management and clinical teams
  • Ability to analyse complex problems and to develop practical and workable solutions to address them
  • Ability to think and plan strategically, tactically and creatively and to prioritise work programs in the face of competing demands
  • Ability to manage and deliver to deadlines and within resources
  • Ability to collaborate constructively with internal and external partners to create the conditions for successful partnership working
  • Demonstrates an open honest commitment to doing right things for patients
  • Management multi-disciplinary teams and clinical services, with a focus on delivery

Qualifications

Essential

  • Masters level qualification or Postgraduate Qualification
  • Evidence of CPD including internal and external delivered courses in the last 24 months

Values based questions

Essential

  • Please describe in around 100 words an example of where you have helped to improve the service of a department., Please describe in around 100 words: How do you lead/manage a well functioning team?
  • Please describe in around 100 words what motivates you to do a good job?
  • Please describe in around 100 words: What Equality & Diversity means to you

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Closing Date: 1 August 2026

To apply for this job please visit www.jobs.nhs.uk.