Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Band 9


Company:	NHS Jobs
Salary:	£112,782 to £129,783 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Gloucestershire, GL1 3NN
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	20 Oct 2026
Closing date:	1 Nov 2026

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Summary

Extensive planned and unplanned care experience is essential A defining requirement of this appointment is extensive, current senior-level experience across both planned and unplanned care. Candidates must demonstrate a strong and evidenced record of delivering statutory, constitutional and national performance requirements across both portfolios, including: - RTT, elective recovery and waiting-list management - Cancer and diagnostic performance - Theatres, outpatients and elective productivity - Urgent and emergency care - Whole-hospital flow, capacity and discharge - Operational recovery and sustained performance improvement. The successful candidate will need to be equally credible across planned and unplanned care and able to demonstrate that they have personally led the delivery and improvement of operational performance at scale. Professional leadership A core part of the role will be providing professional leadership to the Directors of Operations across our four Clinical Divisions, creating a strong and consistent operational leadership community. You will work alongside Divisional teams to identify emerging risks early, ensure the right expertise and support is available, and establish consistent Trust-wide approaches to operational planning, performance and recovery. As the principal deputy to the Chief Operating Officer, you will also represent the COO internally and externally and provide senior operational leadership during periods of significant operational pressure. The person We are looking for an outstanding operational leader who brings:- - Substantial senior or sub-Board level operational leadership experience within the NHS - Extensive and current experience of both planned and unplanned care - A demonstrable record of delivering statutory and national performance standards across both - Proven delivery across RTT, Cancer, DM01 and urgent and emergency care - Significant experience of whole-hospital flow, capacity and operational escalation - Experience of leading complex performance recovery and improvement - The credibility to provide professional leadership to senior operational leaders - Experience of working effectively with Clinical Divisions, Executive teams, Boards and system partners - The ability to operate effectively across organisational boundaries and contribute to wider system leadership - Strong judgement, resilience and a collaborative, delivery-focused leadership style. Above all, we are looking for someone who understands how to translate plans and trajectories into consistent operational delivery and who can ensure that our Clinical Divisions have the leadership, infrastructure and support they need to succeed. For an experienced senior operational leader with proven delivery across both planned and unplanned care, this is an opportunity to have a significant impact on the performance and development of Gloucestershire Hospitals and the wider Gloucestershire health and care system. Interested in finding out more? If you would like to learn more about the role, the opportunities ahead and what we are looking for in our next Deputy Chief Operating Officer, I would be very happy to have an informal and confidential conversation. Please contact Al Sheward, Chief Operating Officer, to arrange a discussion. Please contact Suzanne White Executive Assistant suzanne.white7@nhs.net

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