Associate Chief Operating Officer (Neighbourhood Care Group)

Job summary

We are seeking an outstanding senior operational leader to join us as Associate Chief Operating Officer for the Neighbourhood Care Group. This is a significant opportunity to help shape a new care group from the outset, lead transformational change, and make a measurable difference to the experience and outcomes of patients, communities and staff. For the right individual, this role offers the opportunity to contribute to a major strategic shift in how care is delivered across our organisation and wider system.

Following a period of co-design, we have refreshed our operational structure and are establishing a new care group to support our long-term ambition to deliver more integrated care, strengthen services closer to home, and improve outcomes for the population we serve.

This role offers a unique opportunity to:

• Shape and lead the Trusts community-facing model of care
• Drive delivery of key strategic programmes aligned to the 10-year plan and left shift agenda
• Work across organisational boundaries to develop integrated pathways with system partners
• Establish a new care group with clear accountability for quality, workforce, performance and finance

Main duties of the job

You will provide visible and credible senior operational leadership across the Neighbourhood Care Group, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe, effective and patient-centred services. The role will require strong partnership working across organisational and professional boundaries, a commitment to continuous improvement, and the ability to develop and implement models of care that are responsive to the needs of our local population. This is an opportunity to lead with purpose, influence change at scale, and bring colleagues and partners with you.

This is a developmental, transformation-focused role, with an initial emphasis on establishing the care groups operating model, leadership arrangements and programme infrastructure over the first 12 to 18 months.

We are looking for a credible, values-led and inclusive leader with the confidence to work across organisational boundaries, the judgement to navigate complexity, and the resilience to deliver change in a demanding environment. You will bring strong operational credibility, the ability to build trusted relationships, and a clear commitment to improving quality, experience and outcomes for the communities we serve.

About us

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.

The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester

Our workforce is more than 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.

We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us. Our values, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.

• Being open and honest
• Ensuring people feel cared for
• Showing respect to everyone

We are committed to developing a culture of continuous improvement by embedding the principles of our Improvement System.

We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.

DBS Checks and Costs

Any applicants who are offered posts requiring a DBS check as part of their employment check will have the cost of this check (at the current rate) deducted from their salary. Please see link in Supporting Information section for more details on DBS checks and costs.

Details

• Date posted: 11 June 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 8d
• Salary: £94,356 to £108,814 a year
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time, Flexible working
• Reference number: C9365-26-0040
• Job locations: Charles Hastings Way, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR5 1DD, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

Please review the full Job Description for this role uploaded in the Support Information section of this listing

Improving Diversity and Inclusive Recruitment:

As part of the Trust's aim to improve diversity across the Trust, positive action is being taken and all applications for this post from BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ candidates can request to be considered under an expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum criteria as specified in the person specification for this role.

Applicants will be prompted in the application form to declare if they wish to be considered under this expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme, and their response would be visible to the Shortlisting Panel.

If you have any queries about expanded Guaranteed Interview Scheme, please contact Rob Saunders (HR Manager - Recruitment) in confidence via email robert.saunders1@nhs.net.