Chief Operating Officer

As Chief Operating Officer, you will lead the delivery of operational services across Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, ensuring patients receive timely, safe and effective care while maintaining a relentless focus on performance, productivity and service excellence. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, you will be responsible for the day to day operational management of the Trust, driving delivery of national standards, improving patient flow and ensuring services remain efficient, sustainable and responsive to demand. This is an outstanding opportunity for an accomplished operational leader to influence the future direction of one of the region's largest healthcare organisations. You will lead ambitious programmes of transformation and service improvement, build a high performing culture founded on accountability and continuous improvement, and work in partnership with clinical, corporate and system colleagues to develop innovative models of care that improve outcomes and experience for the communities we serve.

Download the Recruitment Pack for further information.

The standard Trac process does not apply. Please send your CV and covering letter to:Iwona.Patterson@bedsft.nhs.uk. When submitting your application, please ensure that you include details of your current salary and notice period.

You will be contacted regarding next steps.

The interview process will take place week commencing 21st September 2026.

Job description

Corporate Role

Support the Chief Executive in identifying new opportunities for individual services within the Trust, arising from changes in the external environment or internal innovation. Additionally, identify any potential threats along with appropriate responses. Contribute to the development, communication and delivery of Trust strategy, priorities, values and behaviours.

Contribute to the successful overall performance of the Trust. At all times work to ensure optimum patient safety. Act as an advocate for the Trust and its contribution to the local health system by creating and maintaining effective partnerships and relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Support the CEO in ensuring that all statutory obligations are met and for ensuring regulatory and statutory compliance. Develop and support the Trust culture of integration, collaboration and commitment to delivering high quality services and outcomes. Work with sensitivity and an understanding of the issues facing those working to deliver care to the local population. Participate in the Executive Directors on call rota.

Operational Delivery

Maintain an overview of service delivery across the Trust, partly through direct line management of the Deputy Chief Operating Officer and General Managers/Heads of Department.

Ensure the effective operational management of the Trust on a day-to-day basis and, in turn, maintain achievement of the Trust's key performance indicators. Develop effective working relationships, including formal and informal networks, to ensure effective communication and escalation mechanisms are in place at all times. Accountable for writing and delivering the Trusts operational plans to deliver an operational performance plan that meets NHS England constitutional standards over the medium term. Work with colleagues across the Trust and in the wider health community to ensure that any barriers to effective patient flow are removed. Provide effective operational management systems and processes for clinical and other staff to deliver high quality clinical care, teaching and research within available budgets. Accountable Officer for all aspects of emergency planning on behalf of the Trust.

Performance Management

Exercise delegated authority on behalf of the Chief Executive to resolve day-to-day management issues within the Trust. Develop a culture of performance management, improvement and appraisal as a foundation for excellent organisational performance. Working with the Director of Finance to develop robust business intelligence and internal performance management systems which enable the Trust to adhere to or exceed plans, standards and targets.

Ensure appropriate management capacity at all levels operating within an organisational structure which delivers responsive, safe and reliable patient services. Ensure sufficient and appropriate data availability and analytic capability to monitor and track performance and to satisfy reporting requirements. Provide appropriate input and challenge to clinical and business plans, where necessary. Support the Deputy Chief Operating Officer, General Managers, Heads of Nursing and Clinical Directors to ensure the delivery of all key national and local operational performance targets. Identify key reasons for deviation from expected profiles, advise on the potential impact of these and work with the Clinical Service Lines to ensure the development and implementation of appropriate solutions. Support the Clinical Service Lines to develop plans that address performance in relation to access to ensure the delivery of high quality, safe, patient focused services.

Integration and Transformation

Lead on the integration agenda across health and social care across the hospital sites to ensure the patient pathway delivers the best patient experience possible. Lead on the continued development and implementation of clinical service re-designs to ensure that the Trust can continue to develop in line with changes to the external environment, whilst remaining at the forefront of clinical service innovation and service delivery. Promote a system-wide approach to managing fluctuations in demand through close working partnership with partners in the wider health system.

Leadership

Set an example of inclusive, compassionate leadership, including fostering a culture that strives for excellence in delivery of patient care and patient experience. Work with the Director of Human Resources to oversee the workforce planning, recruitment, selection and development of all staff within areas of responsibility. Commit to driving up our performance in the annual staff survey through implementation of bespoke plans in the Clinical Service Lines. Ensure appropriate communication and staff involvement structures are in place for all staff within areas of responsibility. Ensure that all staff are appropriately managed and developed and that they are therefore efficient, effective, engaged and highly motivated to deliver the business plan and reform agenda whilst improving patient experience. Create a supportive organisational culture across the Trust in which people feel empowered and committed to high standards of care within the context of Trust's management culture.

Resource Management

Collaborate with Director colleagues in the development and implementation of Trust-wide cost savings schemes, through service and productivity improvement. Ensure financial and budget requirements for areas of responsibility are met, including the delivery of any cost improvement targets. Ensure all budgets (pay and non-pay) are managed within the Trust's Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions and relevant statutory provisions and national directives, and also in line with the annual financial plan. Develop and implement systems to monitor and control expenditure and investigate any areas of overspend and take prompt corrective action. To create a high performance culture where financial sustainability and excellence in quality and people are all consistently delivered. Further develop a learning organisation with a culture of openness and transparency where Everyone strives to make improvements and individual, organisational and system level. Support the continuous improvement of data, information quality, business intelligence and data analytics across the Trust.

Risk and Clinical Governance

Implementation of systems, control processes and risk management arrangements to support monitoring of compliance with clinical governance standards, other Trust-wide policies and processes and best practice requirements. Work as part of a triumvirate with the Chief Nurse and Medical Director to set and deliver key quality, experience and safety priorities. Ensure the implementation of the Trust's Clinical Governance, Health and Safety and Risk Management policies and plans within areas of influence. Lead the implementation of relevant national best practice controls assurance, to improve service delivery and patient safety. Ensure that the Trust responds to and develops sustainable solutions for issues highlighted by regulatory bodies e.g. CQC Work with the wider executive team to triangulate and prioritise areas of risk across operational delivery, finance quality and safety priorities. To ensure the implementation of all Trust policies, procedures and guidelines.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• oDegree level education or equivalent
• oEvidence of continued personal and professional development

Experience

Essential

• oComprehensive knowledge and understanding of the dynamics and complexities of a changing NHS environment
• oSound political judgement and astuteness in understanding and working with complex policy, and diverse interest groups
• oRecent experience of working at Board level as a Director in a complex, challenging environment
• oExtensive experience as a senior operational manager in a large, complex acute hospital environment, including track record of staff management, financial management, performance management and change management
• oDemonstrable success in delivering large scale strategic and service change and performance improvement with and through management and clinical teams within an NHS organisation

Other

Essential

• oWillingness to take on challenges and comfortable with constructive challenge
• oSeeks out and takes opportunities for improving the service offered
• oA strong sense of personal and team accountability coupled with a clear understanding of the boundaries around delegated authority, responsibility and accountability
• oA commitment to improving patient services through an ability to sustain a clear performance focus and achieving demanding goals

About the employer

With over 9,000 passionate and dedicated staff, Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides a full array of acute and some community services to the local communities of Bedfordshire. Serving a diverse population of over 620,000 people, we are proud to be rated "Good" by the CQC, having successfully merged Bedford and Luton & Dunstable hospitals to create our Trust six years ago.

We have undertaken significant investment into our infrastructure and people in recent years, including the £168 million Acute Services Block build that opened in July 2026, and have created a shared set of values for our organisation, THRIVE, to unify the organisation and give a clear mission and pledge to those we serve. We have an annual turnover of £800 million, and as an anchor organisation and a very important employer within Bedfordshire, we are committed to combatting health inequalities and deprivation to support local education training and job opportunities.

We are a key partner within the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes which forms part of Central East ICB and we work closely with a range of health and social care partners to improve and better deliver outstanding care and reduce ill health through preventive measures. The health and wellbeing of our staff remains a fundamental priority within our strategic developments, and we recognise their commitment, passion and dedication to our patients and local population.