Chief Operating Officer: Sponsorship Available

Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation TrustChief Operating OfficerLocation: West Park Hospital, DarlingtonSalary: Attractive VSM

As Chief Operating Officer, you will be a voting Executive Director and a key member of the Trust Board and Executive Team. Reporting to the Chief Executive, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across our clinical services, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, responsive and sustainable care. You will play a pivotal role in leading operational performance, quality improvement, transformation and recovery, while strengthening partnerships across the wider health and care system. This is a high-profile leadership opportunity at a critical point in the Trust’s journey, requiring a leader who can provide operational grip, pace and assurance whilst inspiring teams to deliver meaningful and lasting improvement.

Main duties of the job

We are seeking an accomplished operational leader with substantial experience in large and complex NHS or healthcare organisations. You will bring a successful track record of leading large-scale operational services and managing complex quality, workforce, financial and performance challenges. Experience leading across mental health, learning disability, autism, community services, or similarly complex pathways will be essential, alongside the credibility to influence at Board level and build strong relationships with clinicians, staff, partners and regulators. Above all, you will be a visible, values-led leader with the resilience, compassion and ambition to help deliver outstanding care and outcomes for our patients, carers and communities.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to master’s level, or able to demonstrate equivalent knowledge and experience gained through senior operational leadership, supported by evidence of externally accredited postgraduate leadership or management development
  • Degree or equivalent professional qualification
  • Evidence of significant continuing professional development

Skills

Essential

  • Highly developed leadership, communication, negotiation and influencing skills
  • Ability to communicate complex, sensitive and contentious information clearly and credibly
  • Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex operational, financial, workforce and quality information
  • Ability to make sound executive decisions under pressure
  • Ability to provide grip, pace and clarity in complex and ambiguous situations
  • Ability to build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders
  • Ability to lead through change with compassion, credibility and resilience
  • Ability to provide constructive challenge and hold senior leaders to account
  • Ability to translate strategy into operational delivery and measurable outcomes
  • Strong written and verbal presentation skills, including Board-level reporting

Knowledge

Essential

  • Extensive knowledge of NHS operational delivery within a large, complex healthcare organisation
  • Knowledge of mental health, learning disability, autism and community service delivery, including national priorities and operational challenges relating to access, urgent and emergency mental health care, crisis pathways, inpatient flow, discharge, safeguarding, restrictive practice, out of area placements, community transformation, health inequalities and partnership working
  • Significant understanding of NHS performance, quality, safety, regulatory and governance frameworks
  • Significant understanding of CQC requirements, NHS England oversight, national access standards and operational planning
  • Extensive knowledge of service transformation, performance recovery, productivity, efficiency and improvement methodologies
  • Knowledge of EPRR, business continuity, incident response and senior or executive on-call arrangements
  • Understanding of financial management, workforce planning, business planning and risk management
  • Strong understanding of partnership working across integrated care systems, local authorities, commissioners and provider collaboratives

Experience

Essential

  • Extensive senior operational leadership experience in a large, complex NHS or other healthcare organisation
  • Significant experience operating at or close to Board, Executive Director or equivalent senior leadership level within a large, complex organisation
  • Experience of leading operational delivery across mental health, learning disability, autism, community or similarly complex multi-service pathways
  • Proven experience of leading large-scale operational services and delivering measurable improvement
  • Track record of managing complex operational performance, quality, workforce and financial challenges
  • Experience of leading operational recovery, escalation and transformation in a complex environment
  • Experience of providing assurance to Executive Teams, Board committees or equivalent senior governance forums
  • Experience of working effectively with system partners, regulators, commissioners and external stakeholders
  • Experience of leading and developing senior leaders and multidisciplinary teams
  • Experience of managing significant risk, complexity and competing priorities

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: 19 October 2026

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