Job overview

The postholder will provide senior support to the Chief Officer for Strategy, People and Partnerships, acting as a senior lead across the full breadth of this diverse portfolio.

The postholder will bring their transformation expertise and offer strategic leadership and oversight for programmes and projects, ensuring they are designed, coordinated, and delivered in line with organisational and system priorities. They will lead a multi-skilled team and work to ensure there are the skills and capacity to provide additional support across the breadth of the portfolio.

The postholder will lead on NHS reform and key business activities, supporting effective decision‑making, and ensuring progress, risks, and outcomes are monitored and communicated with clarity.

To align governance capacity more closely with organisational priorities and strengthen the connection between governance, transformation, and corporate planning.

Working collaboratively with internal colleagues and external partners, the role enables successful delivery, drives improvement, and contributes to both organisational and system‑wide goals.

Main duties of the job

Please refer to job list for full details

Secure, drawing down, and attracting funding for system priorities.

Build and maintain strong partnerships across NHS organisations, GMCA, local authorities, and wider stakeholders.

Deliver priorities set, aligning with national, regional, and local objectives.

Drive internal reform of corporate functions and governance, recognising and managing the impact with partners.

Drive modernisation and reform in corporate delivery functions, identifying impact on partner relationships and wider system reform

Oversee core corporate processes, audits, risk management, production of complex papers, ensuring effective navigation through governance structures and decision‑making forums.

Lead the management of corporate budgets, ensuring robust financial controls, efficiency, and value for money, maintaining financial performance and sustainability of NHS GM.

Deputise for the Chief Officer across the portfolio. Provide senior leadership and continuity of decision‑making in their absence.

Support the Chief Officer in aligning organisational strategies with national NHS priorities and local system needs. Providing overall strategic leadership for organisational development, coordination, setting direction, ensuring coherence across programmes, and creating the conditions for high quality organisational development.

Provide advice, guidance, support and oversight of the OD plan and develop a matrix delivery approach to its implementation

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead on securing, drawing down, and attracting funding to maximise resources for system priorities.
• Safeguard and enhance the reputation of NHS GM through effective communication, assurance, and delivery.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships across NHS organisations, GMCA, local authorities, and wider stakeholders to enable collaborative system leadership. In particular, support the portfolio and NHS GM to build stronger partnerships and maximise opportunities for collaborative working with the GMCA.
• Represent the organisation externally, developing and maintaining strategic relationships with partners, regulators, and stakeholders.
• Take ownership of delivering priorities set at any given time, ensuring alignment with national, regional, and local objectives.
• Drive internal reform of corporate functions and governance, recognising and managing the impact on relationships with partners, distinct from service reform programmes.
• Drive modernisation and reform within corporate delivery functions (e.g. governance, HR, finance, digital), recognising the impact on partner relationships and ensuring alignment with wider system reform
• Oversee core corporate processes including audits, risk management, and the production of complex papers, ensuring effective navigation through governance structures and decision‑making forums.
• Ensure consistent quality standards are applied across the directorate portfolio, embedding continuous improvement and assurance.
• Oversee core corporate processes for the portfolio including audits, risk management, and the production of complex papers, ensuring effective navigation through governance structures.
• Lead the management of corporate budgets, ensuring robust financial controls, efficiency, and value for money, while supporting the overall financial performance and sustainability of NHS GM.

CHIEF OFFICER SUPPORT

• Act as deputy to the Chief Officer for Strategy, People and Partnerships across the full breadth of the portfolio.
• Provide senior leadership and continuity of decision‑making in the Chief Officer’s absence.
• Support the development and delivery of organisational and system‑wide strategies, managing core teams and associated resources.
• Support the Chief Officer in aligning organisational strategies with national NHS priorities and local system needs.
• Work closely with the Chief Officer to provide overall strategic leadership for organisational development and coordination, setting direction, ensuring coherence across programmes, and creating the conditions for high quality organisational development.
• Providing advice, guidance, support and oversight of the OD plan for the organisation and developing a matrix delivery approach to its implementation

REFORM AND BUSINESS

• Provide transformation expertise to drive reform, innovation, and improvement across organisational and system priorities.
• Manage programme budgets, monitoring expenditure and reporting on financial performance.
• Responsible for managing the portfolio and organisation’s Business Support function
• Work closely with the other directors in the portfolio to identify priorities and align capacity to support subject matter experts.
• Respond flexibly to changing organisational and system needs, adapting responsibilities as required.
• Identify skill requirements, develop internal capabilities, and secure external expertise where necessary.
• Ensure benefits realisation strategies are implemented, monitored, and reported.
• Identify, escalate, and manage risks and issues effectively.
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive team culture, encouraging co-production and stakeholder involvement throughout programme delivery.

Please refer to job description and person specification for more details regarding this role.

Person specification:

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of the NHS Constitution & ‘Understanding the New NHS’
• Proficient knowledge of governance and assurance frameworks
• In-depth knowledge of managing major strategic change in the NHS
• Knowledge of all functional aspects of a programme including commercial operations and procurement, planning, resource management and asset allocation, scheduling activity, change and risk management
• Significant expertise of engaging and managing stakeholders
• In-depth knowledge of business case development
• Knowledge and understanding of the work of the Infrastructure Projects Authority
• Detailed knowledge and experience of benefits management and knowledge management

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience of the delivery of positive change in complex settings
• Track record of significant achievement in directing and managing the delivery and improvement of services within a system of comparable size, scale and complexity
• Successful track record of strategy formulation & implementation
• Experience in working at a senior level with responsibility over a range of portfolios

Competencies

Essential

• Excellent communication skills which can convey complex information to a wide range of audiences. This will include conveying sensitive and contentious information to stakeholder groups including regulators, politicians and members of the public
• Ability to make difficult decisions, often at short notice potentially with conflicting advice.
• Ability to analyse data
• Standard computer skills for the use of presentations, reports and statistical analysis e.g. PowerPoint, Excel and Word programmes
• Able to manage others in a way that allows them to achieve their full potential
• Able to manage conflict.
• Demonstrates the values of the NHS Ability to inspire through tackling difficult situations and achieving “win-win solutions”
• Ability to self-motivate.
• Able to prioritise

Qualifications

Essential

• Master’s Degree with extensive relevant experience working in a similar complex environment.
• Extensive experience and specialist knowledge in performance, finance, governance, business planning and complex change management.

Desirable

• Relevant qualification in programme management