Director of Operations

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Basildon and Chelmsford

  • Location Basildon and Chelmsford
  • Sector Health
  • Client Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust
  • Job Type Permanent
  • Salary/Remuneration Agenda for Change Band 9
  • Reference GSe137158
  • Closing Date 9am Friday 13th November 2026

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS organisations in England, serving more than 1.2 million people across mid and south Essex through three acute hospitals and a broad network of community services. The Trust is on an ambitious improvement journey, focused on strengthening quality, performance, workforce experience and patient outcomes.

We are seeking two exceptional Directors of Operations to join the senior leadership teams at either Basildon University Hospital and Broomfield Hospital.

Reporting directly to the Hospital Chief Executive, you will play a pivotal role in the leadership of your site, providing visible operational leadership and ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality services for patients and communities. Working closely with clinical, operational and corporate colleagues, you will lead performance improvement, service transformation and workforce development across a complex and diverse portfolio of services.

These roles offer the opportunity to shape the future of significant hospital within one of the country's largest NHS trusts. Basildon is home to the internationally renowned Essex Cardiothoracic Centre, one of the UK's leading specialist heart and lung centres, alongside a broad range of acute and specialist services for the local population. Broomfield Hospital is a major acute hospital serving mid Essex and home to the internationally recognised St Andrew's Centre for Plastic Surgery and Burns, one of the leading specialist burns and plastics centres in Europe.

This is an exceptional opportunity for leaders who thrive on operational challenge and organisational improvement. You will bring significant operational leadership experience from within a large and complex acute healthcare environment, with a track record of delivering sustained improvements in quality, performance, productivity and patient experience. You will be collaborative, resilient and politically astute, capable of building trusted relationships and delivering results through others.

Improvement is already underway across Mid and South Essex, with investment in leadership, infrastructure, digital transformation and service redesign. There is real momentum across the organisation, but there is also much more to achieve.

This a rare opportunity to lead at scale, make a tangible impact and help shape the future of healthcare for the people of Essex.

Join us and help create a hospital where patients receive consistently excellent care and staff are supported to thrive.

 

For a confidential discussion please contact our advising consultants at GatenbySanderson

 

Julia St Clare, Senior Consultant

E: julia.stclare@gatenbysanderson.com 

T: +44 (0) 7807 631 564

 

Melanie Shearer, Partner

E: melanie.shearer@gatenbysanderson.com

T: +44 (0) 7785 616 548

 

 

 

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