Director of Strategy & Partnerships: Sponsorship Available

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

Shape the future of health and care across Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales

The Countess of Chester Hospitalis committed to delivering high-quality patient care whilst embracing innovation, partnership and continuous improvement. We are now seeking an exceptional leader to join our Board as Director of Strategy and Partnerships, a pivotal executive role that will help shape the future of healthcare for the populations we serve.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and working as a full member of the Board, you will lead the development and delivery of our strategic vision, ensuring the organisation is well positioned to respond to the opportunities and challenges facing the NHS. You will play a critical role in helping the Trust realise its ambitions through innovation, collaboration and meaningful partnership working across organisational boundaries.

This role offers a unique opportunity to influence healthcare at scale. Working closely with organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside, Welsh Health Boards, local authorities, the voluntary sector and wider system partners, you will lead our approach to strategic planning, population health, social value, sustainability and partnership development. You will help ensure that our services evolve to meet changing population needs whilst supporting the delivery of the NHS 10 Year Plan and wider system objectives.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for an inspiring and politically astute executive leader who can combine strategic thinking with practical delivery. You will bring significant leadership experience within a complex healthcare, public sector or similarly challenging environment, together with a proven ability to influence at Board level, build strong partnerships and drive strategic change. You will be experienced operating in an environment of complexity and ambiguity, using insight, evidence, relationships and collaboration to create shared purpose and deliver sustainable change.

You will also be committed to compassionate leadership and our values of being Safe, Kind and Effective, helping us develop an environment where colleagues feel supported, empowered and able to deliver outstanding care.

This is an opportunity to:

o Join a forward-thinking and ambitious Board.o Lead strategy and partnership development at Trust and system level.o Influence the future design of health and care services.o Build meaningful relationships across NHS, local authority, voluntary and community sectors.o Deliver lasting improvements for patients, communities and colleagues.o Play a leading role in population health, prevention and reducing inequalities.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to master’s degree or equivalent level of knowledge or experience.
  • Evidence of appropriate continuing professional and personal development, as a result of feedback, reflection and experiential learning.
  • Ongoing evidence of leadership and management development.

Desirable

  • Further professional or management qualification.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • You will be a talented senior leader with experience leading the development of strategy as well as experience of roles with accountability for budget, people management, communications and programme governance.
  • Senior leadership experience in a complex NHS organisation or equivalent with a deep interest in health and social care
  • You will possess excellent knowledge of the political and organisational structures that define the relationship between Government policy and NHS delivery.
  • Knowledge and experience of leading pan-organisation programmes of innovation
  • Experience of driving the strategic development of an organisation, entity or division shaping the vision and operation to enable effective delivery.
  • Demonstrable experience in engaging and leading meaningful collaborations with clinicians and multidisciplinary teams to build a culture of safety, learning, well-being and innovation
  • Evidence of building, leading, motivating and inspiring successful and effective senior teams within a complex organisation
  • Experience of dealing with a range of complex issues within a political and demanding stakeholder environment

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: 16 August 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.