Chief Operating Officer: Sponsorship Available

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

Lead operational excellence. Deliver transformational change. Improve lives.

We are seeking an exceptional Chief Operating Officer (COO) to join our Executive Team and Board (non-voting), playing a critical role across the Trust, the BSW Hospitals Group and the wider Integrated Care System.

This is a high-impact opportunity to shape strategy, drive performance and help deliver high-quality, equitable and sustainable care for our population. Working across organisational boundaries, you will turn ambition into delivery, strengthen collaboration and create the conditions for consistently safe and effective patient care.

As our Chief Operating Officer, you will provide visible, strategic Board-level leadership across performance, governance and service delivery. You will lead capacity, patient flow and service performance across all specialties, working closely with clinical, operational and finance colleagues to meet key standards and deliver sustainable, high-value services.

Main duties of the job

In this key leadership role you will:

  • Deliver operational excellence and performance against national and local priorities,improving performance, access, patient flow and productivity.
  • Lead transformation at scale, redesigning services and pathways to improve quality, efficiency and patient outcomes.
  • Deliver sustainable financial improvement, including agreed cost improvement and transformation programmes.
  • Turn strategy into delivery, leading the Trust’s annual and three-year business plans and providing clear operational accountability.
  • Strengthen collaboration across the BSW Hospitals Group and wider system, developing shared pathways and models of care. Delivering operational alignment and service optimisation across the Group, supporting consistent standards, shared workforce, and efficient use of resources
  • Build organisational resilience and continuous improvement, ensuring robust operational, emergency preparedness and performance arrangements. Overseeing business continuity and emergency preparedness

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Masters level qualification or equivalent experience
  • Evidence of continuing professional development

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of executive leadership in a complex healthcare organisation
  • Experience leading large-scale transformation and improvement
  • Board experience in an Acute Trust
  • Demonstrable experience of system leadership, partnership working and delivering outcomes across organisational boundaries

Skills

Essential

  • Detailed knowledge and understanding of financial, management and clinical issues associated with an Acute Trust
  • Knowledge and understanding of NHS performance targets, the safety agenda, financial procedures and statutory regulations
  • Sound knowledge of corporate governance and risk management
  • Knowledge of national NHS policy and strategy

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: 8 November 2026

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