Chief Operating Officer
We are looking for an exceptional leader with significant senior executive experience in operational management within a large, complex healthcare organisation. You will bring a strong track record of leading large-scale service delivery, improving performance, driving transformation, managing resources effectively, and building trusted relationships with partners, clinicians, staff and wider stakeholders.
You will be able to operate effectively at Board and system level, balancing strategic leadership with a relentless focus on operational performance, quality, safety, productivity and financial sustainability. You will demonstrate a strong commitment to compassionate leadership, collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement, ensuring services are responsive, efficient and deliver the best possible outcomes for the populations we serve.
- The Chief Operating Officer (COO) is responsible for ensuring the successful system wide operational delivery, performance and continuous improvement of all clinical services provided by the Health Board, aligned to A Healthier Swansea Bay, the Health Board’s organisational strategy, and its mission of Better Health, Better Care, Better Lives
- The clinical and operational services encompassed within the accountabilities for this post include primary care, community services, woman and children services, mental health and learning disability services, urgent and emergency care, planned care, cancer, diagnostics, secondary and tertiary hospital-based services, and relevant operational support services, including facilities
- The role of COO incorporates the role of Executive Director for Primary, Community and Mental Health Services, with Board-level executive accountability for ensuring the Health Board meets its statutory duties in relation to primary care, community services, mental health and learning disability services
- The COO will be accountable to the Board for operational delivery of clinical and clinical support services that underpin the strategic direction of the organisation, with a key focus on quality, safety, performance, financial sustainability, patient experience and outcomes. This includes clear executive accountability for the effective discharge of the Health Board’s responsibilities across primary, community and mental health services.
- The COO will have leadership responsibility for effective day-to-day management of clinical services through the Health Board’s care group operating model. The Health Board is transitioning through the Organised for Success programme from four Service Groups to six thematic, clinically-led Care Groups, which will run in shadow form from January 2027 before going live on 1 April 2027.
- As lead for operational performance and delivery, the COO will be responsible for contributing to the annual plan and Integrated Medium-Term Plan (IMTP) in the context of the Health Board’s Performance and Accountability Framework, financial recovery requirements and Welsh Government escalation expectations
- The COO will hold a central delivery role around the executive table, providing grip, pace and visible leadership for operational recovery, financial improvement, improvement and transformation, de-escalation and the sustainable consolidation of performance improvements
- The COO will work as part of a strong executive triumvirate with the Executive Medical Director and Executive Director of Nursing, providing integrated operational, medical and nursing leadership to support safe, high-quality and sustainable services
- The COO will work closely with the Chief Executive Officer and the Health Board’s Delivery Unit, which acts as an organisational engine room for delivery, to ensure operational priorities are translated into clear actions, milestones, accountability arrangements and sustained improvement
- Provide leadership in the development and implementation of the overall service improvement agenda, working with executive colleagues to ensure the organisation is prepared and able to deliver sustainable improvement, including in domains subject to enhanced oversight or escalation
Person Specification
- Educated to a minimum of Master’s degree level equivalent qualification or level of experience
- Evidence of Management and Leadership Development geared towards very senior posts
- Evidence of and a demonstrable commitment to Continual Professional Development with an active and varied CPD portfolio
- Proven experience of working at a strategic level and contributing at a very senior level, close to or at Board level in a large complex organisation, preferably within the NHS and across whole healthcare systems
- Outstanding reputation and demonstrable successes at director/very senior level, with a proven track record of producing high-quality results in the management and leadership of operations in a large organisation, preferably within the NHS
- Significant experience of providing Board-level executive leadership and assurance for primary care, community services, mental health and learning disability services, or equivalent whole-system operational portfolios involving statutory duties and complex partnership arrangements
- Experience of managing significant resources and budgets and a proven track record of delivering financial balance, sustainability and value for money
- Experience of operational and capacity planning to meet organisational performance targets
- Understanding of clinical engagement with evidence of methodology and experience of implementation
- Experience of establishing and applying robust performance management systems and accountability frameworks
- Evidence of setting and achieving ambitious attainable targets and of leading and implementing innovative solutions, and complex change and modernisation programmes designed to improve quality and services within tight financial constraints
- Understanding of NHS Wales planning, performance, escalation and accountability arrangements, including the role of annual plans, IMTPs and organisational performance frameworks
- Understanding of the NHS modernisation agenda and use of this knowledge to develop and implement strategy and service developments
- In depth knowledge of key health policies, objectives and national operating framework
- Understanding of the broader strategic and policy context for delivery of health services in Wales
- Experience of developing and implementing corporate strategies with a track record of successes in delivering against national and local targets
- Experience of leading or contributing to large-scale organisational redesign, operating model change or transformation programmes.
- Experience of leading organisations or services through turnaround, rapid recovery, de-escalation or sustained improvement journeys, with evidence of moving services towards high performance
- Experience of working effectively with corporate delivery, programme management, transformation or quality improvement functions to provide grip, pace, assurance and support for complex organisational priorities, while maintaining clear operational accountability within delivery teams
- Able to identify and manage critical issues and priorities
- Strong analytical and critical reasoning skills
- Excellent communication skills, including written, verbal and Board-level presentation skills
- High level of managerial competency including ability to manage and lead a complex and dynamic professional environment
- Excellent leadership and influencing skills and demonstrable professional credibility
- Strong commercial and business acumen, understanding the impact of operational efficiencies on overall revenue performance
- Proven service improvement and modernisation skills, including use of recognised improvement methodologies
- Programme and project management skills
- Able to develop and maintain effective working relationships with professional groups and senior managers within the organisation and in other agencies
- The energy, resilience, stamina and drive required of an executive director in a large University Health Board, with a proven ability to set and meet ambitious targets and monitor against targets.
- Commitment to public service values
- Extensive knowledge and understanding of the NHS, and politically astute, working effectively with key influencers to deliver across the whole healthcare system
- Able to recognise the wider interest groups and stakeholders within the Health Board and work sensitively to overcome their differing positions and interests
- Innovation and vision, including an ability to build organisational capabilities, establishing a clear strategic vision and direction and translating this into successful outcomes
- Intellectual flexibility, including the ability to understand both operational detail and wider strategic visions, and to articulate these to others; and the ability to cope with ambiguity and perform through uncertainty
- Ability to lead through significant organisational change, including periods of escalation, scrutiny and transition to new operating models
- Visible, energetic and pace-setting leadership style, with the ability to create confidence, build credibility quickly and operate effectively across executive, operational, clinical and system leadership environments
