Divisional Director of Operations - Community Services


Company:	St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Salary:	£112,782 - £129,783 per annum
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Prescot, L35 5DR
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	28 Jul 2026
Closing date:	27 Aug 2026

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Summary

A Vacancy at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to lead the newly established Community Services Division at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

This is a unique opportunity for an ambitious and experienced NHS operational leader to shape, develop and lead a newly formed Division serving communities across St Helens, Knowsley, Halton, Southport, Formby and West Lancashire.

The newly established Community Services Division brings together a broad range of services delivered closer to patients' homes and communities, creating a significant opportunity to strengthen integrated care, improve population health outcomes and develop innovative models of care with partners across health and social care.

At Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we are proud to deliver community services that support people to live healthier, more independent lives in their own homes and neighbourhoods. The Division will play a key role in delivering the ambitions of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, supporting the shift of care from hospitals into communities, with a greater focus on prevention, early intervention and integrated neighbourhood working.

Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, the Divisional Director of Operations will provide strategic and operational leadership for Community Services, working in partnership with the Divisional Director of Nursing, Divisional Medical Director and colleagues across the wider health and care system.

As a key member of the Trust's senior leadership team, you will lead the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality services whilst driving transformation, performance improvement and financial sustainability. You will build strong relationships with local authorities, primary care, voluntary sector organisations, neighbourhoods and NHS providers, ensuring services meet the needs of the diverse communities we serve.

Why this role?

This is more than a traditional Divisional Director of Operations post. As leader of a newly established Community Services Division, you will have a rare opportunity to shape the future direction of community healthcare across multiple places and partner organisations.

At a pivotal moment for the NHS, you will help lead the delivery of the national ambition to provide more care closer to home, strengthening neighbourhood-based services, supporting integrated models of care and improving the health and wellbeing of local communities.

You will help create a high-performing culture, strengthen integration across neighbourhoods and places, reduce health inequalities and improve outcomes for our patients and communities.

Interviews will be held on Monday 24thAugust 2026

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018

• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)

• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.

About you

You will be an experienced senior NHS leader with a successful track record of:

• Leading large-scale community services or operational portfolios.

• Delivering complex service transformation and change.

• Developing integrated working with local authorities, primary care and provider partners.

• Leading high-performing multidisciplinary teams.

• Delivering improvements in quality, performance and financial sustainability.

• Building effective relationships across organisational boundaries.

In addition to your operational and strategic expertise, you will embody the MWL Behaviour Framework and demonstrate accountable leadership in everything you do. You will be a visible and authentic leader who takes ownership for delivery, empowers others to succeed and fosters a culture of openness, inclusion and continuous improvement.

You will lead with compassion and integrity, building trust across teams and organisations, whilst supporting colleagues through change and transformation. Through your leadership, you will create an environment where people feel valued, empowered and accountable for delivering outstanding care and outcomes for the communities we serve.

This advert closes on Wednesday 12 Aug 2026

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