Deputy Chief Operating Officer

Deputy Chief Operating Officer | West Midlands | 6 months

Castlefield Recruitment are delighted to be helping and NHS Trust source a Senior Operational leader. Working within a large organisation, the successful Deputy COO will focus more on the planned care side as the Trust looks to recover some of it's elective care position. Experience of working within Surgery and Planned Care is preferred but work within other Divisions such as Medicine, Family Health, A&E, Community and Diagnostics would be welcomed.

The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Day-to-Day Operational Oversight: Lead the delivery of safe, effective, and high-quality clinical services across hospital sites, ensuring performance against key standards—particularly in elective care and cancer pathways
• Performance Management: Drive achievement and sustainability of national access targets and NHSE/CQC compliance through consistent application of operational processes and protocols
• Patient Flow & Capacity Management: Take lead responsibility for resolving daily patient flow issues, maintain a visible operational presence, and attend key meetings such as bed capacity reviews to support site-wide coordination
• Outpatients & Theatres Efficiency: Oversee productivity programmes within outpatient and theatre services, ensuring optimal resource utilisation and supporting Clinical Groups to achieve efficiency and financial targets
• Crisis & Escalation Management: Act as a senior decision-maker during operational pressures, deputising for the Chief Operating Officer and ensuring business continuity during periods of challenge or absence
• Operational Governance & Risk: Ensure that clinical services have robust risk management and assurance systems in place, aligned with healthcare governance requirements and Trust policies

This role will be for a period of 6 months and will be expected to work predominantly on site at the Hospital.

Please note: Previous NHS experience is highly desirable for this position.

For more information please contact Stephen Warne.

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