Head of Planned Care Projects
20 hours ago
Kettering
The closing date is 16 July 2026 This is a key period in the delivery of change for Planned Care, ensuring that services are resilient, sustainable and fit for the future. The postholder will be accountable for planning and delivering key operational change projects and service improvements in planned care which will drive improvements in performance, reduce inequalities, and deliver value for money, across the two sites. The role will ensure that operational change is evidence‑based, financially robust, co‑produced and aligned to national and local policy whilst delivering measurable improvements in access, experience, productivity and outcomes. The role will provide leadership and oversight to key operational change projects, working closely with the Divisions, Heads of Operations and Clinical Leadership to deliver against key objectives. The projects will include: • Creating strong procedural and operational foundations for delivery, ensuring that booking, appointment management and communication processes support effective delivery of care. This role will lead on the operational aspects of the rollout of an automated booking solution across the two Trusts., • UHN are developing a business case for an Elective Hub. This role will lead on the operational aspects of the development of the business case, working closely with the Surgery Division and the Hub multi‑disciplinary team to plan for and maximise the productivity opportunities in moving to a hub model for Trauma and Orthopaedics., • Support the oversight and assurance of performance, working with Divisions to track progress, activity and performance against plan., • Support to services in the development of cross‑site working and approaches, streamlining processes to support services to work more closely together., • Emerging Digital operational productivity projects, sharpening pilot approaches and leading on operational input to prioritisation. University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN) brings together Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust. As a group, we are committed to improving services for our communities through collaboration, modernising care delivery and striving for excellence. Working together enables us to share expertise, strengthen services and create greater opportunities, and there may be a requirement to work across sites depending on service needs. Our Excellence Values are Compassion, Accountability, Respect, Integrity and Courage. UHN welcomes applications from all backgrounds and is committed to an inclusive working environment. We are proud signatories of the Armed Forces Covenant and hold the Gold Award under the Employer Recognition Scheme. Candidates who identify as members of the Armed Forces community and meet the essential criteria will be guaranteed an interview. Day‑to‑day Leadership – Provide operational leadership to key projects, ensuring that they support measurable improvements in access, experience, productivity and outcomes. Champion a population health and inequalities focus, tackling unwarranted variation and ensuring equity of access, experience, and outcomes. Act as a visible and credible leader within the system, modelling collaborative, inclusive, and values‑driven leadership. Corporate Responsibilities – Deputise for the Deputy Chief Operating Officer (Planned Care) across the full range of their duties. Help set a supportive and high‑performing culture across UHN, contribute to the overall performance of the Trust, and work to ensure optimum patient safety. Manage Trust resources efficiently and effectively. Operational Delivery – Maintain an overview of service delivery across University Hospitals Northamptonshire in association with the wider health and social care community. Develop effective working relationships to ensure communication and escalation mechanisms are in place at all times. Performance Management – Develop a supportive culture of performance management, improvement and appraisal. Support managers and colleagues to deliver national and local operational performance targets and lead on the development and implementation of new projects such as the Elective Hub and the changes to the appointment booking process. Service Development – Support the Deputy Chief Operating Officer in managing service improvement projects, contributing to Trust‑wide projects within agreed timeframes and financial targets. Identify and implement suitable benchmarking opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency and clinical quality. Act as a change agent to facilitate patient‑centred redesign projects and ensure that improvement work is evidence‑based and evaluated. Leadership – Create a supportive organisational culture across the Trust. Take full line‑management responsibilities for individual team members, including managing sickness and absence, grievances, disciplinary issues and talent conversations. Digital, Data and Technology – Support continuous improvement of data and information quality. Enable the digital and data agendas as enablers of efficiency and quality and support the adoption of technology to enable operational improvement. Communicate with internal colleagues and external agencies to ensure compliance with performance targets and strategic objectives. Resource Management – Support the implementation of Trust‑wide cost‑savings schemes through service and productivity improvement. Monitor and control expenditure, investigate overspend and take corrective action. Hold full budget authority and sign off large financial spend at board level. Risk and Clinical Governance – Support the Deputy Chief Operating Officer with the implementation of systems, control processes and risk management arrangements. Ensure compliance with clinical governance standards, health and safety, and risk management policies. Participate in serious incident reviews and contribute to corporate policymaking. This job description is not exhaustive and may be reviewed in light of changing service needs and development. Any changes will be fully discussed with the post holder. The post holder will be required to carry out duties appropriate to the grade and scope of the post. • Ability to analyse complex problems and develop practical, workable solutions., • Strategic, tactical and creative thinking with prioritisation of competing demands., • Project and programme management experience., • Collaboration with internal and external partners to support partnership working., • Knowledge of NHS policy drivers, political judgement and understanding of complex policy., • Commitment to improving patient services with a clear performance focus., • Demonstrable success in delivering change and performance., • Understanding and experience of Elective Hubs, programme aims and key measures., • Experience of outpatient, theatre and diagnostic booking approaches., • Experience of digital change programmes and operational delivery of change., • Capability for clinical service management at senior level in a large, complex healthcare environment, including staff, financial, performance and change management., • Excellent communication skills at senior level., • Strong interpersonal and negotiating skills, able to build and sustain relationships., • Ability to communicate ideas, motivate and generate action., • Numeracy and IT literacy, able to use NHS information systems and interpret data., • Highly developed analytical and problem‑solving skills., • Ability to work within complexity and translate it into understandable knowledge., • Strong organisational skills, self‑motivation, drive for performance and improvement, flexibility., • Ability to prioritise and work within imposed deadlines, individually and in a team., • Commitment to openness, honesty and integrity., • Participation in senior manager on‑call rotas., • Equality & Diversity – absolute commitment to treating all individuals with dignity and respect., • Demonstrate behaviours consistent with the Trust’s values and behaviours., • Willingness to take on challenges and be comfortable with constructive challenge., • Seek opportunities for improving the service offered., • Respect, value and care for others., • Support learning and development of self and others., • Promote equality and diversity. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and a Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) is required. £94,356 to £108,814 a year pro rata #J-18808-Ljbffr