Thank you for your interest in the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust and this exceptional opportunity to join our Board as our next Chief Operating Officer (COO). I hope you enjoy exploring more about our organisation, our values, our ambitions, and the vital role you could play in shaping our future.

As Chief Executive, I am privileged to witness daily the dedication, expertise, and compassion of more than 12,000 colleagues across our two busy hospital sites at Royal Stoke University Hospital and County Hospital in Stafford. We are one of the largest teaching trusts in the country, serving a core population across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, South Cheshire and Shropshire, and wider specialist populations of up to three million people, as far afield as North Wales in our capacity as a Major Trauma Centre.

Our annual income is approximately £1.4 billion, and we provide a broad range of acute and specialist services that our communities rely upon. However, as with the wider NHS, UHNM operates in an exceptionally challenging and complex environment. Rising demand, workforce pressures, operational performance expectations and the need for significant service transformation create both risk and opportunity at scale.

Despite these pressures, UHNM has demonstrated resilience and determination. Through strong clinical leadership, a relentless focus on improvement, and a commitment to partnership working, the Trust continues to make progress in stabilising services and improving quality and outcomes for patients, in pursuit of the best joined-up care for all.

We are now seeking an outstanding operational leader who can build on this progress while bringing insight, ambition, and strategic clarity to the organisation. This is a challenging role at a challenging time, but one which offers genuine purpose, scale of impact and influence at Board level. It is an unparalleled opportunity for an experienced operational leader to help shape the future of one of the country’s largest and most complex NHS trusts.

As our Chief Operating Officer, you will:

• Provide executive leadership across clinical operations, performance, workforce delivery and service transformation, ensuring the Trust delivers safe and effective care with a good patient experience.
• Lead delivery of the Trust’s operational strategy, translating our new 10-year organisational strategy into measurable improvement and sustainable performance.
• Navigate an NHS landscape defined by rising demand, constrained resources, workforce challenges and evolving national priorities.
• Work closely with system partners across our Integrated Care System to deliver integrated, place-based services and maximise population health outcomes.
• Play a central role in enabling service redesign, recovery and improvement, capital investment, digital transformation and productivity, ensuring patient care continues to improve.

UHNM is at a pivotal moment. We have enormous potential, through our people, our clinical excellence, and our academic partnerships, to make an even greater impact for the communities we serve. The Chief Operating Officer will be instrumental in unlocking that potential, supporting our teams to deliver consistent, high-performing services and ensuring the Trust is well positioned for the future.

If you are inspired by the scale of this challenge and motivated by the opportunity to make a tangible difference within one of the country’s largest teaching hospitals, I warmly encourage you to explore this role further and read more on this site. If you would like further information and details on how to apply, please contact Emily Hilton, Head of Recruitment, on 01782 675533 or via email at emily.hilton@uhnm.nhs.uk.