Deputy Chief Operating Officer | University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust

The interview selection process will take place on Friday 22nd May 2026. Please ensure you are available on that date. The scope. The scale. The opportunity. This role sits at the operational centre of UHD. You will be accountable for performance, flow and the delivery of safe, high-quality care across our sites. The complexity is real. So is the opportunity to make a difference that matters. You will lead:

• Operational delivery across all three hospital sites, setting the standard and holding it
• Urgent and emergency care performance and system resilience
• Rapid, decisive responses to operational pressure calmly and clear on priorities
• Care group accountability and alignment, driving consistency without stifling clinical leadership
• Trust-wide performance against national standards
This is a role with genuine authority, genuine accountability and genuine scope to shape how we operate. A transformation programme worth delivering Our £500m investment programme is already reshaping our infrastructure, our digital capability and our clinical models. The Deputy COO is central to making it land, translating strategic ambition into operational reality, at pace. You will drive:
• Trust-wide pathway redesign rethinking how care flows
• Integrated care models across Dorset ICS beyond organisational boundaries
• Step-change performance in flow, access and emergency care
• Modern, digitally-enabled operations fit for the future
£500m across multiple sites. One Deputy COO who can hold it all together and push it forward. Senior leadership that has your back Joining UHD at Deputy COO level means joining a leadership team that is serious, committed and works well together. We are building something together and we want people around the table who will push us to be better, not just agree with us. As a leadership community, we are collectively driving:
• A transformational chance in patient and staff experience
• The development of the next generation of operational leaders - investment in our staff is our priority
• Performance and quality through partnership across the Trust and across the system
• An organisation with a reputation that attracts the best and keeps them
We are not looking for someone to fill a seat. We are looking for someone who will make the seat mean something. We encourage applicants to review theJob Role Information Brochurewhich provides additional insight into the role, the service and our organisation, alongside the Job DescriptionandPerson Specification. Leading the Patient First way At UHD, Patient First is not just a programme. It is how we think. As Deputy COO, you will be one of its most visible leaders embedding improvement into daily operations, making data meaningful at ward level, and holding the organisation to a standard that does not drift when things get hard. You will champion:
• Operational teams empowered to lead improvement
• Data that drives decisions not just fills dashboards
• Frontline voices shaping the operational agenda from ward to
boardroom
• A culture where accountability is clear, learning is real and standards do not slip
You will not just manage operations. You will set a tone that others follow. Influence beyond the hospital The best NHS operational leaders understand that no acute Trust is an island. As Deputy COO, you will be part of our operational voice across the wider Dorset system. You will be a credible, active partner in shaping how care flows across boundaries, how pressure is managed collectively, and how the system moves forward together and supports the NHS 10 year plan. You will work with:
• Dorset ICS and ICB turning strategy into system reality
• Local authorities and community services
• Primary Care Partners and Voluntary sector
• SWAST, SCAST and emergency care partners
• Acute, community and mental health providers for integrated delivery
  
  You have spent your career learning how to run complex operational systems under pressure. You know what good looks like and you are hungry to deliver it at the highest level. We are ready for you., Disability Confident
About Disability Confident A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to .