Head of Digital Infrastructure, Operations and Delivery
Job summary
This is a senior leadership role within Digital Services, responsible for ensuring the Trust's digital environment is resilient, secure, and supports high-quality patient care. You will provide strategic and operational leadership across infrastructure, networks, cloud platforms, end user services, and digital delivery, ensuring services are modern, reliable, and user-centred.As a key member of the Digital Services senior leadership team, you will shape and deliver the Trust's digital strategy, enabling innovation and continuous improvement while supporting clinical and operational excellence.Why work for us This is a time of substantial investment within the digital landscape at The Christie. We are planning to change our EPR, we have a substantial modernisation program for data and intelligence, along with a full change program in progress for our network, data centre, and telephone system.The Trust is committed to continued modernisation and transformation, and with that in mind we are looking for a forward thinking but experienced digital leader with a high technical acumen.
Main duties of the job
You will lead the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of Digital Infrastructure and Operations services, ensuring high availability, performance, and security. Responsibilities include overseeing service desk and end user computing, ensuring robust service management processes, and leading digital project delivery into live service.The role includes strategic planning aligned to NHS priorities, managing major incidents, and ensuring compliance with cyber security, information governance, and data protection standards. You will also lead multidisciplinary teams, manage budgets and suppliers, and act as a senior escalation point for digital services.
About us
The Christie is one of Europe's leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country. We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
Job description
Job responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic
- Act as a senior Digital Services leader, contributing to the development and delivery of the Trusts Digital Strategy and wider organisational objectives.
- Develop and own the Digital Infrastructure and Operations strategic roadmap, ensuring alignment with national NHS strategies, including cyber security, cloud, and interoperability agendas.
- Provide expert advice to senior managers on technology-enabled services.Lead long-term planning for infrastructure, networks, cloud, and end user technologies to ensure scalability, resilience, and value for money.
- Act as a senior escalation point for major incidents impacting clinical and corporate services, ensuring appropriate governance and assurance.
- Build effective partnerships with local trusts, specialist trusts, Integrated Care System (ICS) partners, suppliers, and national bodies.
Operational
- Be accountable for the day-to-day delivery, availability, and measured transparent performance of all Digital Infrastructure and Operations services.
- Ensure robust service management arrangements are in place, including incident, problem, change, and asset management.
- Oversee service desk and end user computing services to ensure high-quality, user-focused support.
- Ensure infrastructure and cloud platforms meet required standards for reliability, security, business continuity, and disaster recovery.
- Lead operational readiness for Digital projects, including transition into live service and benefits realisation.
- Ensure compliance with Trust, NHS, and statutory requirements relating to technology operation, information governance, cyber security, and data protection.
General Duties
- Uphold the Trusts values and behaviours at all times.
- Demonstrates the agreed set of values and accountable for own attitude and behaviour.
- Ensure equality, diversity and inclusion principles are embedded in all Digital Services activities.
- Comply with all Trust policies, procedures, and codes of conduct.
- Promote a culture of continuous improvement, learning, and innovation across Digital Services.
- Participate in on-call and/or senior escalation arrangements as required.
- Human Resources
- Provide senior leadership and line management to departmental managers and senior specialists.
- Set clear objectives, conduct appraisals, and support development and succession planning.
- Lead workforce planning to ensure Digital Services has the right skills and capacity for immediate and future objective driven requirements.
- Manage performance, capability, and conduct issues in line with Trust HR policies.Foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performing culture across Digital Services teams.
Financial/Physical Resources
- Be accountable for substantial revenue and capital budgets relating to Digital Infrastructure, Operations, and projects.
- Ensure effective financial planning, forecasting, and budgetary control.
- Deliver demonstrable value for money from Digital investments and supplier contracts.
- Lead procurement and contract management in line with NHS financial and procurement regulations.
- Ensure Systems and services under the roles responsibility remain in support, under contract, and provide clear measurable benefits to the Trust.
Project Management
- Provide executive oversight of Digital projects and programmes within scope, ensuring compliance with agreed governance, standards, and methodologies.
- Ensure projects are delivered safely, on time, within budget, and with clear benefits realisation.
- Act as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) or sponsor for complex Digital initiatives where required.
- Ensure strong integration between digital project delivery and operational services.Policy/Service Development/Governance
- Lead the continual development and modernisation of Digital Infrastructure and Operations services.
- Drive adoption of new technologies, including cloud services, automation, and modern workplace solutions.
- Ensure digital services are designed around user needs, clinical safety, and operational efficiency.
- Lead service reviews, audits, and improvement programmes to enhance quality and resilience.
- Support the Trusts Information Asset Owners (IAO), providing advice, guidance and regular reporting of the services delivered.
- Be accountable as an Information Asset Owner (IAO) for critical systems where decision rights belong to Digital Services, and are primarily used by Digital Services.
Business Continuity Management
- Responsible for the development, exercising, maintaining and reviewing of business continuity plans for all Operations services.
- Lead the business impact analysis exercises highlighting critical business processes within own area.
- Be very familiar with the Trust Business Continuity Plans and personal responsibilities. Where applicable and advise the Trust of how Digital Services Plans complement wider hospital service plans.
Person Specification
Qualifications
- Master's degree or equivalent experience in IT, Digital, Informatics or related discipline
- Evidence of senior leadership development
- Chartered status (e.g. BCS, CEng), MBA
- Formal project/programme management qualification (e.g. MSP, PRINCE2)
Experience
- Significant senior management experience in complex IT or Digital environments
- Leadership of infrastructure, networks, cloud, service desk, and end user computing
- Managing large, multidisciplinary teams and senior managers
- Managing large-scale budgets and supplier contracts
- Substantial experience of portfolio and project delivery.
- NHS or large public sector experience
- Experience operating at Board or Executive level
- Experience of ICS or system-level collaboration
Skills
- Strategic leadership and influencing at executive level
- Strong people management and organisational skills
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management
- Senior incident and risk management capability
- Advanced negotiation and commercial skills
Knowledge
- Deep understanding of enterprise IT infrastructure, cloud platforms, and end user technologies
- Knowledge of cyber security, information governance, and data protection
- Understanding of NHS governance, regulation, and digital standards
- Substantial knowledge of portfolio and project management methodologies, governance and reporting.
- Knowledge of emerging digital health technologies
Values
- Ability to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours
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
The Christie NHS FT
Address
IT ICT - E00387
Manchester
M20 4BX
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.christie.nhs.uk/