Northampton General Hospital

Operational Business & Performance Lead

The closing date is 03 August 2025

Job summary

The Division of Medicine and Urgent Care are seeking an individual to join the senior management team to fulfil a critical role of Operational Business & Performance Lead .

The successful candidate is required to demonstrate experience of working at senior management level with a proven track record working on cost improvement programmes, project and service redesign including business planning.

Main duties of the job

As the Operations business and performance lead, you will be responsible for leading on all aspects of operational business planning, service planning, CIP identification, project management and the development and writing of business cases within the division, ensuring they are consistency checked, contain relevant information, and have relevant financial information. Supporting the identification of cost improvement opportunities and administer the quality assurance process and work with the Directorates to put actions in place to realise the opportunity.Working with the Directorates to project manage the implementation of cost improvement and efficiency measures across all areas of the UHN, highlighting delays, issues and risks, Challenge staff at all levels to deliver benefits through committed action and change management.Support the Directorates with a variety of projects and national submissions. Support the Directorates with clinical transformation programmes.

About us

Northampton General Hospital is one of the largest employers in the area and we are on an exciting journey. All of our divisions are committed to doing things better, with more efficiency as we update, modernise, and advance. We have also entered into a Group Model with neighbouring Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.

Our Excellence Values

Compassion

Accountability

Respect

Integrity

Courage

We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone's full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities.

We are a Defence positive trust, supporting our reservists, veterans, spouses and partners.

The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals.

We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.

We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds.This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.

Details

Date posted

18 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£55,690 to £62,682 a year Per Annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

265-7358229

Job locations

Northampton General Hospital

Cliftonville

Northampton

NN1 5BD


Job description

Job responsibilities

For the full Job description and Main responsibilities, please see the attached supporting documents.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For the full Job description and Main responsibilities, please see the attached supporting documents.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience
  • Further education, training or experience to Masters level or equivalent
  • Evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable

  • Project management qualification e.g. Prince 2

Experience

Essential

  • Proven experience of working in a management/leadership role
  • Identifying and interpreting national policy and implementing required changes
  • Challenging and influencing established beliefs and behaviour to deliver major change when there is no direct line of command or control or where there is significant resistance to change
  • Leading service changes to improve performance
  • Development and monitoring of Business Plans
  • Development and delivery of business cases for service transformation
  • Performance Reporting, Analysis and Recovery Planning

Knowledge

Essential

  • Good understanding of financial planning, management, monitoring, budgetary control and income
  • Good understanding of the current NHS agenda and healthcare policy including political drivers
  • Good understanding of NHS data sets both internal and external and their appropriate application
  • Cost Improvement Identification and Delivery
  • Business planning/annual planning/long term planning
  • Knowledge of service improvements/transformation and project management
  • Risk management and governance

Skills

Essential

  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills - ability to analyse highly complex/sensitive data/information and make judgements/draw conclusions - including ability to respond to unexpected demands
  • Ability to use developed expert knowledge of services to create innovative solutions for service improvement
  • Ability to work independently and make autonomous decisions
  • Ability to use the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills, such as would be required when communicating in a highly emotive atmosphere (eg to large groups of senior managers or clinicians)
  • Advanced credible communicator, with the ability to use a variety of communication tools to convey, negotiate and challenge highly complex information to a large range of internal and external audiences, often at senior management/director level
  • Ability to produce clear and concise formal performance reports and business cases.
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience
  • Further education, training or experience to Masters level or equivalent
  • Evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable

  • Project management qualification e.g. Prince 2

Experience

Essential

  • Proven experience of working in a management/leadership role
  • Identifying and interpreting national policy and implementing required changes
  • Challenging and influencing established beliefs and behaviour to deliver major change when there is no direct line of command or control or where there is significant resistance to change
  • Leading service changes to improve performance
  • Development and monitoring of Business Plans
  • Development and delivery of business cases for service transformation
  • Performance Reporting, Analysis and Recovery Planning

Knowledge

Essential

  • Good understanding of financial planning, management, monitoring, budgetary control and income
  • Good understanding of the current NHS agenda and healthcare policy including political drivers
  • Good understanding of NHS data sets both internal and external and their appropriate application
  • Cost Improvement Identification and Delivery
  • Business planning/annual planning/long term planning
  • Knowledge of service improvements/transformation and project management
  • Risk management and governance

Skills

Essential

  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills - ability to analyse highly complex/sensitive data/information and make judgements/draw conclusions - including ability to respond to unexpected demands
  • Ability to use developed expert knowledge of services to create innovative solutions for service improvement
  • Ability to work independently and make autonomous decisions
  • Ability to use the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills, such as would be required when communicating in a highly emotive atmosphere (eg to large groups of senior managers or clinicians)
  • Advanced credible communicator, with the ability to use a variety of communication tools to convey, negotiate and challenge highly complex information to a large range of internal and external audiences, often at senior management/director level
  • Ability to produce clear and concise formal performance reports and business cases.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Northampton General Hospital

Address

Northampton General Hospital

Cliftonville

Northampton

NN1 5BD


Employer's website

https://www.northamptongeneral.nhs.uk/Home.aspx (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Northampton General Hospital

Address

Northampton General Hospital

Cliftonville

Northampton

NN1 5BD


Employer's website

https://www.northamptongeneral.nhs.uk/Home.aspx (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Head of Operations - Medicine and UC

Linda McGranahan

linda.mcgranahan@nhs.net

Details

Date posted

18 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£55,690 to £62,682 a year Per Annum

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

265-7358229

Job locations

Northampton General Hospital

Cliftonville

Northampton

NN1 5BD


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

Northampton General Hospital's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)