Job summary
London Central West Unscheduled Care Collaborative (LCW
UCC) is seeking an experienced Director of Operations to provide strategic and
operational leadership across LCWs urgent and primary care services. As a
Board-level role and member of the Executive Team, the postholder will ensure
delivery of high-quality Out of Hours, Urgent Care, and GP services, and will
deputise for the CEO when required. This job gives the postholder the
opportunity to play a key role in leading the delivery of urgent and primary care
in the context of an expanding range of services.
Main duties of the job
We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated
Director of Operations to join LCWs Executive Team at Board level. This
pivotal role will provide strategic and operational leadership across all LCW
services, including Clinical Assessment Services, GP Out of Hours, Urgent Care
Centres, GP practice services, and a range of community and ward-based
services.
The postholder will be responsible for ensuring the
delivery of safe, high-quality, and high-performing services, aligned with the
NHS 10-Year Health Plan, ICB priorities, and system transformation goals. They
will also lead and support the operational management team, including direct
line management of the Head of Urgent and Primary Care and North H&F PCN
management posts, while working collaboratively with clinical and system
partners.
As a member of the Executive Team, the Director of
Operations will deputise for the CEO when required, representing LCW externally
and providing continuity of leadership. The postholder will act as the
Nominated Individual for CQC, Deputy Accountable Emergency Officer, Health
& Safety Lead, and will participate in the organisations Gold on-call
rota.
This is an exciting opportunity for a confident and
visible senior leader, with excellent communication skills and a proven ability
to drive improvement and innovation, to play a central role in shaping the
future of urgent and primary care services across our community.
About us
London Central & West Unscheduled Care Collaborative
is a not-for-profit Social Enterprise, now in its 29th year of providing
high-quality services across a range of primary and urgent care contracts 24
hours a day, 365 days a year to 4.2 million patients in North West, North
Central and North East London. We pride ourselves on delivering safe,
effective, responsive, caring, and well led patient centred clinical services
as recognised by our Good CQC rating in all areas of our organisation.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job responsibilities
Key responsibilities for the Director of Operations
include:
Provide
strategic and operational leadership across all LCW services, ensuring safe,
high-quality, and high-performing patient care in line with NHS and CQC
requirements.
Act as a
visible and accountable senior leader, deputising for the CEO when required,
and serving as Nominated Individual for CQC, Deputy Accountable Emergency
Officer, and Health & Safety Lead.
Lead service
innovation, redesign, and integration, ensuring services meet contractual,
financial, and performance targets while driving improvements in patient
outcomes and operational effectiveness.
Build and
maintain strong relationships with commissioners, system partners, and primary
care providers, leading contractual negotiations, business development, and
high-quality tender responses.
Provide
clear leadership to senior managers, ensuring effective workforce planning,
supervision, and development, while fostering an inclusive and supportive
organisational culture.
Support
delivery of robust clinical governance, risk management, and quality assurance
in partnership with the Medical Director and clinical leadership team.
Ensure
effective financial management of LCWs service portfolio, including oversight
of budgets, business plans, and resource allocation.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job responsibilities
Key responsibilities for the Director of Operations
include:
Provide
strategic and operational leadership across all LCW services, ensuring safe,
high-quality, and high-performing patient care in line with NHS and CQC
requirements.
Act as a
visible and accountable senior leader, deputising for the CEO when required,
and serving as Nominated Individual for CQC, Deputy Accountable Emergency
Officer, and Health & Safety Lead.
Lead service
innovation, redesign, and integration, ensuring services meet contractual,
financial, and performance targets while driving improvements in patient
outcomes and operational effectiveness.
Build and
maintain strong relationships with commissioners, system partners, and primary
care providers, leading contractual negotiations, business development, and
high-quality tender responses.
Provide
clear leadership to senior managers, ensuring effective workforce planning,
supervision, and development, while fostering an inclusive and supportive
organisational culture.
Support
delivery of robust clinical governance, risk management, and quality assurance
in partnership with the Medical Director and clinical leadership team.
Ensure
effective financial management of LCWs service portfolio, including oversight
of budgets, business plans, and resource allocation.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree or equivalent knowledge and skills.
- Healthcare environment experience.
- Experience of working with/in primary care.
Desirable
- Urgent care experience at a senior level.
- Postgraduate qualification in health-related field or management.
Knowledge and skills
Essential
- Strong negotiation, influencing, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to challenge constructively and make sound decisions under pressure.
- Proven ability to provide strategic direction, lead business development, and deliver change within complex healthcare settings.
- Excellent analytical skills with the ability to interpret and present complex information clearly and persuasively to a wide range of audiences.
- Highly developed collaborative and relationship-building skills, working effectively with clinical leaders, multi-professional teams, and external stakeholders.
- Skilled in planning and prioritising across short, medium, and long-term horizons, with the ability to delegate, hold others to account, and manage competing demands.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, able to build consensus, inspire confidence, and tailor messaging for different audiences.
- IT literate, with proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (including Excel and PowerPoint).
Values and Other Attributes
Essential
- Flexible, adaptable, and resilient, with a calm and rational approach in challenging situations.
- Visible, compassionate, and inclusive leadership style, with a strong commitment to equality, diversity, and community-focused care.
- High levels of integrity, personal accountability, and credibility when working with both clinicians and senior leaders.
- Skilled at recognising and escalating risks appropriately, simplifying complexity, and enabling effective action across teams.
- Committed to LCWs core values: Patient First, Drive Change, Together, Belonging, and Community Focused.
Experience
Essential
- Senior-level experience within the healthcare sector, with a strong track record of operational and strategic leadership.
- Proven experience of leading teams, managing performance, and handling HR processes including recruitment, grievance, conduct, and performance management.
- Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, resources, and services effectively to deliver high-quality outcomes.
- Experience of service improvement, change management, and leading projects to develop or enhance healthcare provision.
- Skilled in developing, presenting, and implementing business cases, as well as mobilising new services.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree or equivalent knowledge and skills.
- Healthcare environment experience.
- Experience of working with/in primary care.
Desirable
- Urgent care experience at a senior level.
- Postgraduate qualification in health-related field or management.
Knowledge and skills
Essential
- Strong negotiation, influencing, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to challenge constructively and make sound decisions under pressure.
- Proven ability to provide strategic direction, lead business development, and deliver change within complex healthcare settings.
- Excellent analytical skills with the ability to interpret and present complex information clearly and persuasively to a wide range of audiences.
- Highly developed collaborative and relationship-building skills, working effectively with clinical leaders, multi-professional teams, and external stakeholders.
- Skilled in planning and prioritising across short, medium, and long-term horizons, with the ability to delegate, hold others to account, and manage competing demands.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, able to build consensus, inspire confidence, and tailor messaging for different audiences.
- IT literate, with proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (including Excel and PowerPoint).
Values and Other Attributes
Essential
- Flexible, adaptable, and resilient, with a calm and rational approach in challenging situations.
- Visible, compassionate, and inclusive leadership style, with a strong commitment to equality, diversity, and community-focused care.
- High levels of integrity, personal accountability, and credibility when working with both clinicians and senior leaders.
- Skilled at recognising and escalating risks appropriately, simplifying complexity, and enabling effective action across teams.
- Committed to LCWs core values: Patient First, Drive Change, Together, Belonging, and Community Focused.
Experience
Essential
- Senior-level experience within the healthcare sector, with a strong track record of operational and strategic leadership.
- Proven experience of leading teams, managing performance, and handling HR processes including recruitment, grievance, conduct, and performance management.
- Demonstrated ability to manage budgets, resources, and services effectively to deliver high-quality outcomes.
- Experience of service improvement, change management, and leading projects to develop or enhance healthcare provision.
- Skilled in developing, presenting, and implementing business cases, as well as mobilising new services.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
