Interim Head of Improvement (Band 8C): Sponsorship Available

Job summary

As part of our productivity improvement journey, this is an exciting opportunity to oversee the Trust’s Operational Improvement Programme. The post is fixed-term until January 2028.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Head of Improvement will support Care Groups and engage with clinical departments to develop and ensure delivery of productivity improvement plans that align and support the successful achievement of the Trust’s strategic objectives.

This will involve proactively working with finance and operational teams to assimilate information from several sources to determine opportunities to improve the productivity of services, secure agreement on the prioritisation of these projects before coordinating operational, clinical, transformation, digital and quality improvement teams to implement improvement at pace.

The postholder will implement a robust standardised PMO framework for productivity improvement within the organisation, ensuring effective reporting and escalation to the Trust’s Improvement Group and onwards to its Finance and Sustainability Committee. The postholder will be an advocate in furthering the Trust’s culture of continuous improvement and will work closely with the Associate Director of Quality in the application of continuous improvement principles in major improvement programmes.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work collaboratively with teams across the Trust in the delivery of quality, financial and performance improvement objectives:

1) Service Improvement: Ensure clear service improvement priorities are defined and prioritised aligned to Trust strategic objectives and GIRFT opportunities. Use system management skills and project management expertise to bring together teams to produce improvement plans and projects. Design and embed monitoring and assurance systems to track progress and impact.

2) Quality Improvement: Work with the Associate Director of QI to ensure the Trusts Quality Improvement strategy is aligned to the Trusts strategic improvement objectives, develop plans, procedures, and processes to ensure a wider group of staff are empowered with skills in continuous improvement and use these skills to deliver measurable improvements.

3) Improvement Planning and Project Management: Leading on the development of the improvement plan, drawing on the operational and financial plan liaising with professional groups across the organisation to produce the plan. Create systems to monitor ongoing performance and delivery against the plan and report to the improvement group and FSC.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrate achievements in improving patient care, meeting NHS targets and managing within budgets.
• oExperience of delivering end to end change in a service or function with scale and complexity.
• oRecent evidence and experience of leadership skills and the ability to transform and lead a team to work effectively together.

Desirable

• oSenior management experience within the NHS: transformation, financial management, planning, performance management and improvement, and staff.
• oBuilding and maintaining external relationships across a range of organisations and stakeholders.

Qualifications

Essential

• oEducated to degree level and/or significant relevant experience.
• oManagement or Professional qualification at postgraduate level or equivalent relevant experience.
• oEvidence of continuing personal and professional development.

Desirable

• oAdvanced theoretical & practical knowledge

Skills, knowledge and competencies

Essential

• oA thorough understanding of the principles and techniques of process redesign and improvement including project management techniques and quality improvement.
• oDemonstrate sound financial management across multiple services
• oDemonstrate working knowledge of governance and risk.

Specific role requirements

Essential

• oAbility to prioritise own and others workloads effectively to meet tight deadlines whilst managing conflicting priorities
• oComputer literacy (Excel; Microsoft Word; PowerPoint; email) and well developed IT skills to manage reporting on complex performance including clear presentation skills.

Closing Date: 6 November 2026