Employer Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Royal United Hospital Town Bath Salary £100,000 – £200,000 According to experience in line with Band C of the VSM framework Salary period Yearly Closing 08/11/2026 23:59
Chief Operating Officer
VSM
Job overview
Lead operational excellence. Deliver transformational change. Improve lives.
We are seeking an exceptional Chief Operating Officer (COO) to join our Executive Team and Board (non-voting), playing a critical role across the Trust, the BSW Hospitals Group and the wider Integrated Care System.
This is a high-impact opportunity to shape strategy, drive performance and help deliver high-quality, equitable and sustainable care for our population. Working across organisational boundaries, you will turn ambition into delivery, strengthen collaboration and create the conditions for consistently safe and effective patient care.
As our Chief Operating Officer, you will provide visible, strategic Board-level leadership across performance, governance and service delivery. You will lead capacity, patient flow and service performance across all specialties, working closely with clinical, operational and finance colleagues to meet key standards and deliver sustainable, high-value services.
Main duties of the job
In this key leadership role you will:
- Deliver operational excellence and performance against national and local priorities,improving performance, access, patient flow and productivity.
- Lead transformation at scale, redesigning services and pathways to improve quality, efficiency and patient outcomes.
- Deliver sustainable financial improvement, including agreed cost improvement and transformation programmes.
- Turn strategy into delivery, leading the Trust’s annual and three-year business plans and providing clear operational accountability.
- Strengthen collaboration across the BSW Hospitals Group and wider system, developing shared pathways and models of care. Delivering operational alignment and service optimisation across the Group, supporting consistent standards, shared workforce, and efficient use of resources
- Build organisational resilience and continuous improvement, ensuring robust operational, emergency preparedness and performance arrangements. Overseeing business continuity and emergency preparedness
Working for our organisation
We are proud to be part of BSW Hospitals Group – a formal partnership between the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. With a combined workforce of over 17, 600 colleagues, and budget of 1.6 billion the Group is united by a common purpose to deliver the best possible care to over 1 million people.
We are creating a health and care system that works with the people we care for, reducing the differences people currently face in access, experience and outcomes, improving the experience of our colleagues and tackling shared challenges like sustainability and finances. Every improvement we make across our Group will be guided by what creates the greatest benefit for our colleagues, our patients, our communities and our partners.
By working together, we make a real difference for our patients, each other, and our community. Every role matters in delivering the exceptional, person‑centred care we’re proud of.
We’re committed to a compassionate, inclusive culture where kindness is championed, differences are valued, and diversity makes us stronger.
We want to support you to thrive, taking your career to its full potential. We prioritise staff wellbeing – and yes, we even have a pool!
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You will be a proven senior leader with:
- A strong track record of operational delivery in complex healthcare environments
- Experience leading large-scale transformation and improvement
- Credibility at Board and system level
- A collaborative, values-driven leadership style that inspires and empowers teams
- Demonstrable experience of system leadership, partnership working and delivering outcomes across organisational boundaries
Please see attached job description and candidate information pack for further information about this opportunity.
Person specification
Qualifications
- Evidence of continuing professional development
Experience
- Experience of executive leadership in a complex healthcare organisation
- Experience leading large-scale transformation and improvement
- Board experience in an Acute Trust
- Demonstrable experience of system leadership, partnership working and delivering outcomes across organisational boundaries
Skills
- Detailed knowledge and understanding of financial, management and clinical issues associated with an Acute Trust
- Knowledge and understanding of NHS performance targets, the safety agenda, financial procedures and statutory regulations
- Sound knowledge of corporate governance and risk management
- Knowledge of national NHS policy and strategy
Please note – Due to recent changes in UK immigration and visa rules applicants who do not currently have the right to work in the UK may not be considered unless an alternative right to work solution can be provided. Candidates requiring sponsorship (or will need sponsorship at the end of a current visa e.g. those with graduate visa’s) should reviewthe eligibility criteria on the gov.uk website before applying: Prove your right to work to an employer: Overview – GOV.UK
Employer certification / accreditation badges
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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