Deputy Chief Operating Officer

Deputy Chief Operating Officer

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) is excited to recruit a Deputy Chief Operating Officer to be based at Queens Hospital, Burton. This role offers a great opportunity for an ambitious and inspiring leader to join our organisation as we move forward on our transformation and operational improvement journey.

Closing date: 22 January 2026

Interview date: 05 February 2026

This is a critical post for the Trust, and you will contribute the highest level of strategic awareness, as well as the ability to work collaboratively to develop service models that will best meet the needs of our patients. The post will have specific portfolio responsibilities & be site based at Burton with the expectation to work at our other sites as required.

The successful candidate will report to the Chief Operating Officer and work closely with other members of the Operations Team, Divisional Management Teams as well as key external partners across the wider integrated care system. You should therefore have a track record of being able to lead and motivate diverse teams.

The Deputy Chief Operating Officer will have specific responsibilities and accountabilities across University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) including successful operational leadership and management across the Burton and Staffordshire Community Hospital sites, ensuring supportive and responsive operational management leadership of our hospitals to ensure a high quality of service to patients, visitors, and colleagues.

As a key member of the senior leadership team, the Deputy Chief Operating Officer will work collaboratively with all professions and the Divisional Management Teams across UHDB, to identify and implement opportunities for improved productivity, efficiency, and clinical quality ensuring that we deliver efficient services and effective patient care. You will be influential in ensuring that they represent our values, as well as setting the tone and culture across the teams, by driving inclusion and leading to make a difference, particularly for our colleagues who are traditionally excluded or left behind.

In terms of location, Derby and Burton offer excellent transport links to the rest of the country including major cities. We border the National Forest, and we are in easy reach of the Peak District, offering outstanding natural beauty.

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) is one of the largest NHS Foundation Trusts in the country. We have over 14,000 colleagues providing care across five hospitals and further sites across the region, caring for more than one million patients each year and serving a population of a similar size across South Derbyshire, Southeast Staffordshire and beyond.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients, and for you. We are committed to supporting flexibility and are open to discussion about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement.

We are proud to offer a portfolio of personal development and benefits for our staff. These include:

• Relocation package
• Leadership and Management programmes
• Coaching and mentoring opportunities
• A range of health and wellbeing initiatives
• A range of local and national staff discounts
• Range of salary sacrifice schemes including cars and cycles

Please see attached Job description and Person Specification. To apply please click APPLY FOR THIS JOB this link will take you to the TRAC Recruitment Site. You will need to register if you do not already have an account.

Following the recent update on UK immigration policy for those on a Health and Care Visa or Skilled Worker Visa, please click on the link to check your eligibility before applying for this post as we may be unable to provide sponsorship

Impacts of the changes to the UK immigration policy | NHS Employers

Your application (for shortlisting purposes) is assessed based on the Person Specification in the job advert (below).

• Significant experience of leading and directing senior clinical and non-clinical teams in a complex environment
• Successful track record in leading and supporting operational performance to achieve key performance indicators and challenging targets
• Highly developed financial and business management skills and acumen
• Significant proportion of senior management experience within the NHS
• Track record of leading complex operational/change management projects

• Educated to MBA in a healthcare/Business management or equivalent
• Educated to masters degree level

• Ability to create and shape innovative strategic vision and plans for the best possible long-term benefit of patients, the organisation and health and care systems.
• Demonstrate the ability to create constructive and patient and staff focused teams across…