Job summary
Please note:
- The advert will close at 09:00 on Monday 27th April 2026.
- Interviews will take place on Tuesday 5th May 2026.
We are seeking an experienced Director of Operations to join our Executive Team and provide senior operational leadership across a diverse portfolio including:
- Integrated Urgent Care (IUC) and Clinical Assessment Services (CAS)
- GP Out of Hours services
- Urgent Treatment Centers (UTCs)
- GP practice and community based services
The role
This is a Board level position with executive accountability for operational performance, quality, patient experience and workforce delivery. You will work closely with operational teams, corporate teams, clinical leaders, commissioners and system partners, ensuring services are safe, high quality, patient centered and delivered sustainably.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will be a visible, collaborative and people focused leader who values discussion and shared problem solving, while taking clear responsibility for decisions and outcomes. From time to time, you will deputise for the Chief Executive.
You will also act as:
- Nominated Individual for the CQC
- Deputy Accountable Emergency Officer
- Executive lead for Health & Safety
- Member of the Gold on call rota
About you
You will bring:
- Senior operational leadership experience within healthcare
- Strong knowledge of urgent and/or primary care (IUC / OOH experience highly desirable)
- A proven track record of driving performance improvement
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to translate complexity into clear, actionable messages
- A collaborative leadership style, with strong grip, pace and accountability
About us
Why LCW?
You'll join a values led organisation with a strong reputation for quality and innovation, working with committed clinical and operational teams and a supportive Executive Team. This is a rare opportunity to lead services that make a real difference to patients and communities.
London Central & West Unscheduled Care Collaborative
(LCW) is a social enterprise with nearly 30 years experience delivering urgent
and primary care services, 24/7, across North West, North Central and North
East London.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Role Responsibilities
Executive and General Responsibilities
- Attend and actively contribute to Board, Executive and senior management meetings
- Provide visible, compassionate and inclusive leadership across a 24/7 service portfolio.
This role is predominantly site-based, requiring the postholder to be present across services for most of the working week. Planned occasional evening and weekend engagement is an expected and integral part of the role, ensuring effective leadership, engagement and oversight of a 24/7 operational environment.
- Foster a culture of teamwork, shared accountability and continuous improvement
- Deputise for the Chief Executive as required
- Act as the organisations nominated Individual for the CQC and support the CQC Registered Manager/s,
- Fulfil responsibilities as Deputy AEO and member of the Gold On Call Rota
- Lead Health & Safety at executive level, ensuring robust governance and compliance
- Contribute to business development activity, including tendering and service growth
- Undertake other duties appropriate to an Executive Director role
Strategic Leadership
- Lead the operational delivery of LCWs strategy, strengthening relationships with primary care, federations and system partners
- Identify growth opportunities and support the development of high quality, credible bids
- Translate complex commissioning and contractual requirements into compelling service and delivery models
- Present business cases and performance information clearly and confidently to internal and external audiences
- Represent LCW externally with professionalism, clarity and integrity
- Lead contractual discussions and influence stakeholders through evidence based dialogue
Operational Leadership and Performance
- Provide clear purpose and direction to senior teams, ensuring consistent delivery across all services
- Drive sustained improvement in performance, productivity and patient outcomes, creating strong grip on plans, actions and results
- Lead innovation, service redesign and the adoption of new ways of working and technology
- Ensure services are delivered safely, effectively and within agreed financial and workforce plans
- Use data confidently to understand variation, identify risks and drive improvement
- Plan, mobilise and integrate new or reconfigured services effectively
- Proactively identify and manage operational risks, embedding learning and resilience
- Ensure high quality, timely reporting to Boards, committees and commissioners
- The postholder will actively foster a culture of integrated working, where operational, clinical and digital teams collaborate to solve problems and deliver services. There is a clear expectation that accountability is shared, with a focus on collective ownership rather than functional boundaries
Quality, Safety and Patient Experience
- Work in close partnership with the Medical Director and clinical leadership to embed strong clinical governance
- The postholder will champion a patient-first approach to decision-making, ensuring that quality, safety and patient experience are the primary drivers, alongside responsible and sustainable use of resources
- Ensure compliance with CQC, commissioner and regulatory requirements
- Promote a proactive approach to quality, patient safety and continuous improvement
- Lead and model a culture where patient experience is central to operational decision making
- Work with service and clinical teams to ensure continual CQC readiness.
People Leadership and Culture
- Ensure colleagues at all levels understand organisational priorities and how their roles contribute to patient outcomes
- Create an environment where people feel engaged, supported and empowered
- Lead with empathy and fairness, holding people to account while supporting development
- Promote inclusive leadership, diversity and belonging across services
- Oversee performance management, appraisals and development, providing timely feedback and coaching
- Champion effective multidisciplinary and multiprofessional team working
- The postholder will ensure there is robust workforce planning across all service lines, securing the capacity and capability required for safe, effective and sustainable service delivery
Financial Management
- Take executive responsibility for delivering services within agreed financial plans
- Work closely with finance colleagues to ensure robust operational and financial planning
- Support the development of business plans and financial sustainability
Job description
Job responsibilities
Role Responsibilities
Executive and General Responsibilities
- Attend and actively contribute to Board, Executive and senior management meetings
- Provide visible, compassionate and inclusive leadership across a 24/7 service portfolio.
This role is predominantly site-based, requiring the postholder to be present across services for most of the working week. Planned occasional evening and weekend engagement is an expected and integral part of the role, ensuring effective leadership, engagement and oversight of a 24/7 operational environment.
- Foster a culture of teamwork, shared accountability and continuous improvement
- Deputise for the Chief Executive as required
- Act as the organisations nominated Individual for the CQC and support the CQC Registered Manager/s,
- Fulfil responsibilities as Deputy AEO and member of the Gold On Call Rota
- Lead Health & Safety at executive level, ensuring robust governance and compliance
- Contribute to business development activity, including tendering and service growth
- Undertake other duties appropriate to an Executive Director role
Strategic Leadership
- Lead the operational delivery of LCWs strategy, strengthening relationships with primary care, federations and system partners
- Identify growth opportunities and support the development of high quality, credible bids
- Translate complex commissioning and contractual requirements into compelling service and delivery models
- Present business cases and performance information clearly and confidently to internal and external audiences
- Represent LCW externally with professionalism, clarity and integrity
- Lead contractual discussions and influence stakeholders through evidence based dialogue
Operational Leadership and Performance
- Provide clear purpose and direction to senior teams, ensuring consistent delivery across all services
- Drive sustained improvement in performance, productivity and patient outcomes, creating strong grip on plans, actions and results
- Lead innovation, service redesign and the adoption of new ways of working and technology
- Ensure services are delivered safely, effectively and within agreed financial and workforce plans
- Use data confidently to understand variation, identify risks and drive improvement
- Plan, mobilise and integrate new or reconfigured services effectively
- Proactively identify and manage operational risks, embedding learning and resilience
- Ensure high quality, timely reporting to Boards, committees and commissioners
- The postholder will actively foster a culture of integrated working, where operational, clinical and digital teams collaborate to solve problems and deliver services. There is a clear expectation that accountability is shared, with a focus on collective ownership rather than functional boundaries
Quality, Safety and Patient Experience
- Work in close partnership with the Medical Director and clinical leadership to embed strong clinical governance
- The postholder will champion a patient-first approach to decision-making, ensuring that quality, safety and patient experience are the primary drivers, alongside responsible and sustainable use of resources
- Ensure compliance with CQC, commissioner and regulatory requirements
- Promote a proactive approach to quality, patient safety and continuous improvement
- Lead and model a culture where patient experience is central to operational decision making
- Work with service and clinical teams to ensure continual CQC readiness.
People Leadership and Culture
- Ensure colleagues at all levels understand organisational priorities and how their roles contribute to patient outcomes
- Create an environment where people feel engaged, supported and empowered
- Lead with empathy and fairness, holding people to account while supporting development
- Promote inclusive leadership, diversity and belonging across services
- Oversee performance management, appraisals and development, providing timely feedback and coaching
- Champion effective multidisciplinary and multiprofessional team working
- The postholder will ensure there is robust workforce planning across all service lines, securing the capacity and capability required for safe, effective and sustainable service delivery
Financial Management
- Take executive responsibility for delivering services within agreed financial plans
- Work closely with finance colleagues to ensure robust operational and financial planning
- Support the development of business plans and financial sustainability
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree or equivalent knowledge and skills.
- Healthcare environment experience.
- Experience of working with/in primary care.
- Operations or delivery experience.
Desirable
- Urgent care experience at a senior level.
- Postgraduate qualification in health-related field or management.
Knowledge
Essential
- Senior operational leadership experience within a healthcare environment
- Strong understanding of urgent and primary care delivery
- Proven track record of delivering performance improvement in complex, high pressure environments
- Experience of working with commissioners, regulators and system partners
- Experience of leading and developing senior teams
Desirable
- Knowledge of IUC / OOH / urgent treatment center's
Values
Essential
- Exhibits behaviours in line with Organisation Values:
- Patient First
- Drive Change
- Together
- Belonging
- Community Focused
- High levels of integrity, resilience, and personal accountability
- Commitment to equal opportunities.
- A visible, compassionate, and inclusive leadership approach.
- Respect for diverse teams and communities, and an ability to unite people around shared goals
Experience
Essential
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to simplify complexity and create clarity
- Strong collaborative leadership style values discussion, listens well, and builds consensus
- Decisive and accountable comfortable making and owning decisions
- Highly skilled in performance management and improvement delivery
- Patient centred and values driven
- Calm, credible and resilient under pressure
- Able to think on their feet and respond to emerging operational challenges
- A visible, approachable leader who brings people with them through change
Desirable
- Experience of workforce planning to ensure demand / capacity match
- Enabling/leading business support and growth
Skills
Essential
- Ability to lead and work taking collection ownership rather than managing through functional boundaries.
- Ability to lead the strategic development of a business with similar scale and complexity.
- Highly developed problem-solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
- Ability to plan over short, medium and long-term time scales and adjust resource requirements accordingly
- Ability to hold others to account
- Organisational planning own workload, prioritising deliver and successfully delegate through others.
- Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues, working to tight and often changing timescales with competing demands.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to:
- Present complex information clearly and confidently
- Tailor language to suit a wide range of audiences
- Build consensus through clarity and persuasion
- Able to multi-task and continue to function to a high standard when under pressure.
- IT literate to include PowerPoint presentations and Excel
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree or equivalent knowledge and skills.
- Healthcare environment experience.
- Experience of working with/in primary care.
- Operations or delivery experience.
Desirable
- Urgent care experience at a senior level.
- Postgraduate qualification in health-related field or management.
Knowledge
Essential
- Senior operational leadership experience within a healthcare environment
- Strong understanding of urgent and primary care delivery
- Proven track record of delivering performance improvement in complex, high pressure environments
- Experience of working with commissioners, regulators and system partners
- Experience of leading and developing senior teams
Desirable
- Knowledge of IUC / OOH / urgent treatment center's
Values
Essential
- Exhibits behaviours in line with Organisation Values:
- Patient First
- Drive Change
- Together
- Belonging
- Community Focused
- High levels of integrity, resilience, and personal accountability
- Commitment to equal opportunities.
- A visible, compassionate, and inclusive leadership approach.
- Respect for diverse teams and communities, and an ability to unite people around shared goals
Experience
Essential
- Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to simplify complexity and create clarity
- Strong collaborative leadership style values discussion, listens well, and builds consensus
- Decisive and accountable comfortable making and owning decisions
- Highly skilled in performance management and improvement delivery
- Patient centred and values driven
- Calm, credible and resilient under pressure
- Able to think on their feet and respond to emerging operational challenges
- A visible, approachable leader who brings people with them through change
Desirable
- Experience of workforce planning to ensure demand / capacity match
- Enabling/leading business support and growth
Skills
Essential
- Ability to lead and work taking collection ownership rather than managing through functional boundaries.
- Ability to lead the strategic development of a business with similar scale and complexity.
- Highly developed problem-solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands
- Ability to plan over short, medium and long-term time scales and adjust resource requirements accordingly
- Ability to hold others to account
- Organisational planning own workload, prioritising deliver and successfully delegate through others.
- Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues, working to tight and often changing timescales with competing demands.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to:
- Present complex information clearly and confidently
- Tailor language to suit a wide range of audiences
- Build consensus through clarity and persuasion
- Able to multi-task and continue to function to a high standard when under pressure.
- IT literate to include PowerPoint presentations and Excel
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.
