Deputy Director for Large-Scale Change

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.

All roles in the Trust include a mandatory 12-week training period. Therefore, successful candidates are expected to have the Right to Work for a period of at least 6 months from the proposed start date. Immigration and Right to Work status will be discussed with successful candidates at conditional offer. CUH will not offer sponsorship to candidates that have applied for a fee waiver.

All appointments with a start date on or after 1 October will be subject to a 12-week probationary period. This provides a structured and supportive period to help you settle into your role, with regular reviews and feedback.

Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a Student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a Student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full time permanent contract unless you have:

- applied for a Graduate visa

- or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment

All roles in the Trust include a mandatory 12-week training period. Therefore successful candidates are expected to have the Right to Work for a period of at least 6 months from the proposed start date. Immigration and Right to Work status will be discussed with successful candidates at conditional offer. CUH will not offer sponsorship to candidates that have applied for a fee waiver.

This vacancy will close at midnight on 22nd September 2026.

Interviews are due to be held on 2nd October with a stakeholder panel, followed by face to face interviews on 7th October 2026.

Benefits to you

At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.

On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only caf, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.

CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.

Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should approach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.

We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• oEducated to master's level or able to demonstrate equivalent specialist knowledge and senior leadership experience in transformation, programme management, organisational change or a related field
• oEvidence of Continuous Professional Development

• oRelevant professional registration
• oMBA or equivalent management qualification
• oEvidence of managing Successful Programmes/ Prince2 Practitioner (or equivalent experience).
• oAccredited lean/improvement qualification

Experience

• oSignificant senior leadership and planning of multi-year, Trust-wide and system-wide transformation portfolios, including digitally enabled care model redesign and complex interdependencies.
• oExperience of utilising digital systems and technologies, to enable the design of new models of care.
• oManaging strategic and operational change. Including the impact on clinical service delivery, policies and processes, resources and service users.
• oWorking across multiple professional disciplines to deliver significant improvement to models of care or organisational processes.
• oSet-up of governance structures for a complex portfolio of Trust-wide programmes
• oDesigning or leading the use of performance tracking systems, particularly in programme management.
• oProven delivery of benefits realisation with clear KPIs and outcomes; experience of recovering under-performing programmes.
• oSenior experience managing risks/issues/dependencies and leading cross-organisational teams and suppliers under formal governance.
• oWorking at a senior level of management on strategic transformation in a healthcare or similar organisation
• oWorking constructively with internal and external partners to create successful collaboration
• oWorking collaboratively with senior clinicians across multi-disciplinary professions and services
• oReporting to and working at Board/ executive committee level.
• oReporting complex information and data - verbally, in papers and in presentations, in a succinct manner, to a range of audiences from service users through to executives.
• oIdentifying, initiating and maintaining partnership activity with other organisations and maximising relations with relevant parties and services (from inception to completion).
• oManaging large scale complex change programmes at a senior management level using recognised methodology, including use of service improvement and programme management techniques.
• oDeveloping performance indicators, dashboards and scorecards to monitor project and programme delivery, including tracking and realising benefits.
• oManaging programme budgets; knowledge of budgeting and resource allocation
• oEvidence of holding direct delegated accountability for substantial revenue and/or capital budgets, including expenditure approval, financial recovery action and delivery of recurrent productivity or efficiency benefits.
• oSubstantial experience of full line-management responsibility for a multi-tier senior team, including recruitment, appraisal, performance, conduct, workforce planning, talent and succession, alongside leadership of complex matrix teams.
• oExperience crafting compelling strategic narratives and business cases or funding bids for senior stakeholders and external partners/government.
• oExperience of leading the formulation, approval, Trust-wide implementation and evaluation of policy, strategy or operating standards with organisation-wide impact and, where relevant, securing adoption

• oExperience of designing or commissioning structured audit, evaluation or research activity and translating findings into organisation-wide service or programme improvement.
• oPrevious NHS experience.

Knowledge

• oHighly developed professional knowledge of programme and organisational change management
• oChange management, negotiation and influencing internally and externally at all levels.
• oBudgeting and resource allocation.
• oClinical and corporate governance
• oTranslating National policy into local implementation
• oWorkforce planning, recruitment and retention and staff development including appraisals and performance management
• oPatient and public involvement including co-design
• oLeading innovation in approaches to patient care
• oUnderstanding of information governance.

• oDetailed knowledge of NHS financial governance, standing financial instructions, schemes of delegation, business-case appraisal, contract management and benefits accounting.

Skills

• oExceptional leadership, interpersonal and communication skills including facilitation, and obtaining, providing and presenting information.
• oManaging multifaceted, complex projects and programmes to time and budget.
• oCommunicating highly complex and sensitive information with exceptional verbal and written communication skills to a wide range of audiences; meticulous attention to detail
• oThinking clearly, solving and pre-empting problems, reaching decisions, prioritising and recommending appropriate action through the assessment and presentation of relevant and complex information in an accessible form.
• oTranslating strategic direction into deliverable, measurable outcomes and engaging others in strategy and planning.
• oBuilding positive relationships, influencing and securing agreement from senior colleagues and other stakeholders including on highly sensitive and complex matters;
• oExpert negotiation, facilitation and diplomacy
• oInspiring confidence and trust, commanding respect and creating a sense of community in teams. Ability to motivate and empower others as a positive and effective team leader
• oRepresenting at local, regional and national forums
• oAdapting during periods of change
• oWork autonomously, managing and prioritising own workload and that of others, meeting tight deadlines and working under own initiative
• oAbility to make autonomous, high impact decisions with broader policy
• oUsing ICT (including Word, PowerPoint and Excel) and digital project management tools
• oAbility to translate complex, sensitive issues and problems into plans which are clearly articulated and understandable to others
• oAble to deliver flexible and creative solutions to difficult problems and challenges
• oAbility to handle conflicting, incomplete and ambiguous evidence
• oAnalyse, present and tailor complex data and information to a wide range of audiences
• oDemonstrable political judgement and astuteness in working with complex policy and diverse interest groups. Working at a very senior level with multi-disciplinary groups
• oIntellectual flexibility to work beyond existing structures and ways of working to deliver effective services.
• oLeading redesign of services
• oLead change through the senior clinical forums with clear priorities and delivery.

Additional Requirements

• The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.
• oMethodical, organised, analytical with problem solving capabilities.
• oHighly motivated and resourceful.
• oAble to learn rapidly, and take in a wide range of information, distilling out the key points into clear succinct well-argued documents.
• oAble to maintain high standards of diplomacy and understands the principle of confidentiality.
• oAccepts responsibility and accountability for own work and can define the responsibilities of others.
• oAble to manage competing demands and produce high quality work to tight deadlines
• oAble to establish positive relationships and mutual respect with people at all levels
• oAbility to contribute effectively
• oA clear communicator with excellent written, analytical and presentation skills
• oDemonstrates empathy and concerns for others
• oShows respect for others' feelings, views and circumstances
• oCan demonstrate a flexible approach
• oHas realistic knowledge of personal strengths and areas for development
• oLearn from mistakes and ask for support where necessary
• oAbility to prioritise own and others workload effectively to manage to tight deadlines

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.

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Addenbrookes Hospital-Division Corporate

Hills Road

Cambridge

CB2 0QQ

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.cuh.nhs.uk