Chief Operating Officer

Healthcare is becoming more connected.

Patients move between hospitals, community services, primary care and specialist teams. Improving care increasingly depends on organisations working together rather than working alone.

As part of the St George's, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group, and working closely with partners across South West London, we're strengthening the way we deliver care for the people and communities we serve. Backed by significant investment, evolving partnerships and ambitious plans for the future, this is a pivotal moment in our journey.

We're looking for an exceptional Chief Operating Officer to help shape what comes next.

Working alongside our Managing Director and Executive Team, you'll provide strategic and operational leadership across our clinical services, ensuring patients receive safe, high-quality care today while helping shape how services are designed and delivered for the future.

This is a role that combines strategic thinking with practical delivery. One day you'll be leading operational performance across a complex acute Trust; the next you'll be driving transformation, strengthening partnerships and creating the conditions for colleagues to deliver their very best.

If you're up for the challenge and motivated by improving services, developing people and bringing people together around a shared purpose, you'll find an opportunity to make a lasting impact - for our patients, our colleagues and the communities we serve.

Main duties of the job

Operational leadership and performance

Lead the operational delivery of all clinical services, ensuring patients receive safe, high-quality and compassionate care. You'll drive performance against key national and local priorities while ensuring the Trust remains resilient, responsive and prepared for future challenges.

Quality, safety & patient experience

Work alongside clinical leaders to continually improve the quality, safety and experience of care. You'll champion a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring services meet the highest standards of governance and patient care.

Strategic leadership & transformation

Lead the Trust's operational strategy and major transformation programmes, helping redesign services, improve patient pathways and deliver lasting improvements that support the future of healthcare across South West London.

Partnership & system working

Build strong relationships across the South West London Integrated Care System, working with partners, regulators and local communities to improve outcomes, tackle health inequalities and deliver more joined-up care.

People leadership & culture

Provide visible, compassionate leadership that empowers colleagues to succeed. You'll develop high-performing teams, nurture future leaders and foster an inclusive culture where people feel valued, supported and able to thrive.

Financial stewardship

Ensure sustainable service delivery through efficient resource use, protecting quality, safety and patient outcomes., Our organisation is built on partnership. We work closely with local authorities, primary care, community providers and mental health services because we know that improving health doesn't begin and end at the hospital door.

As part of the St George's, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group, we're also strengthening the way we work across our hospitals, sharing expertise, developing services together and creating new opportunities to improve care for patients across South West London.

We're proud of what we've achieved, but we're equally focused on what comes next. Whether that's investing in our estate, improving operational performance or working more closely with partners across the system, we're committed to building services that meet the changing needs of our communities.

That's where this role comes in.

Like every NHS organisation, we're facing significant challenges. We're also fortunate to have committed colleagues, strong partnerships and a clear ambition to keep improving. We believe those things give us a strong foundation for the future, and an exciting opportunity for the person joining us as Chief Operating Officer.

We care for more than half a million people across South West London and Surrey, providing acute hospital services alongside a growing range of community and integrated care services. Every day, our colleagues deliver care that's safe, compassionate and centred on the needs of the people and communities we serve.