Job summary
- Main area
- Director
- Grade
- ESM2
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 990-LON-16499-E
- Employer
- NHS England
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- 10 South Colonnade
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £131,301 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 07/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Chief Operating Officer
ESM2
Our Organisation
The NHS is building a culture that is positive, compassionate and inclusive – and we all have our part to play.
As employers we are committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all our colleagues. This underpins our values as set out in the NHS Constitution and supports us to be an Employer of Choice, while helping our colleagues to deliver high quality services for our patients and communities.
As a flexible employer, we want to support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a ‘home’ office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.
We are an accredited Living Wage Employer which means that every colleague working for our organisation and third-party contractors will earn a real Living Wage. We are one of over 15,000 organisations, who voluntarily chose to pay the real Living Wage.
Job overview
NHS England - London Region is seeking a Chief Operating Officer to join the Regional Executive Team. This role provides strategic leadership for our work to improve performance standards and services across the health and care system in London, in line with national standards.
Our ambition is to improve access, experience, and outcomes for all Londoners. We are committed to achieving our shared vision to make London the healthiest global city in the world in which to receive health and care services, and deliver on the ambitions of the 10 Year Plan.
Main duties of the job
To achieve this the post holder will need to work in partnership with systems and providers to support them to improve performance across a range of standards through coordination of both general and targeted improvement resources.
This will require the development of strong working relationships across NHS providers, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), and other partners in London, as well with national teams in NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care.
The postholder will lead a change process internally to implement the Model Region blueprint (once published) for their areas of responsibility, including an increased regional role in performance management and oversight.
Externally, they will play a lead role in our Joint Transition Programme for London with ICBs, lead the implementation of the new National Oversight Framework in London, and help re-model our approach to oversight to enable the three shifts set out in the 10 Year Plan.
In addition, the postholder will play a key role in coordinating the regional response to Industrial Action and other operational issues that arise in London.
The successful candidate will lead a large Operations directorate, dedicated to continually improving services across London.
This is an exciting, demanding and high-profile role that needs to be filled by an exceptional candidate with a high level of experience and credibility in this field. For further information contact [email protected]
Working for our organisation
The NHS England board have set out the top-level purpose for the new organisation to lead the NHS in England to deliver high-quality services for all, which will inform the detailed design work and we will achieve this purpose by:
- Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities.
- Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential.
- Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
- Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
- Delivering value for money.
If you would like to know more or require further information, please visit https://www.england.nhs.uk/.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person.
If you are successful at interview, we will run an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) in the Electronic Staff Record system (ESR). This transfer gathers valuable information from a previous or current NHS employer to support the onboarding process, including; statutory and mandatory competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You will have the opportunity throughout the recruitment process to inform us if you do not consent.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
This post will lead the COO team in London. The purpose of the team is to lead on operational plans and delivery, to monitor performance against annual operating plans and constitutional standards; to support ICBs, providers and systems to optimise their overall performance, to reduce unwarranted clinical variation and to ensure the most effective and efficient use of resources across the health service. For the most challenged providers and health systems the COO team will work closely with other national and regional functions to mobilise intensive support to bring about sustained improvements in the quality, cost and efficiency of care.
The COO will be part of the senior management team for the region and will support the Regional Director in re-defining the oversight relationship with providers and systems by moving this relationship to one of genuine partnership working pro-actively to support autonomy as systems mature and grow in strength, in line with the 10 Year Plan.
The COO will also need to lead the implementation of the National Oversight Framework in London, play a key role in leading changes required both externally and internally to implement the new NHS operating model, and be central to our response to operation incidents (including Industrial Action).
The COO will lead the COO directorate team, supporting the development of credible plans, monitoring performance and variation, driving continuous improvements in quality of care and health outcomes and improvements in performance against NHS Constitution standards; as well as managing intensive support interventions in the most distressed providers or systems.
The post holder will also be expected to pro-actively shape and determine national priorities and the national support offer for local systems working closely with the corporate directorates and their teams.
The post holder will deputise for the Regional Director as required.
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- • Educated to masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in specialist area
Experience and Knowledge
Essential criteria
- • Educated to masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in specialist area• Experience of working with CEOs, system leaders and other senior figures.• Experience of leading reconfiguration programmes and/or the assurance of reconfiguration programmes • Experience of commissioning and/or provider regulation
Skills, Abilities & Attributes
Essential criteria
- • Credibility to engage and influence senior stakeholders in ALBs and local organisations, including councils and MPs, and ability to build relationships with senior leaders. • Organisational or leadership development and change management skills (including culture and behaviour change).
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Luke McCartney
- Job title
- Chief of Staff
- Email address
- [email protected]
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