Deputy Director of Strategy and Planning

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Deputy Director of Strategy and Planning to lead the Strategy team at Oxford Health. This is a newly created role and an exciting time to join the Trust as we start to develop our new Strategy for 2026 onward.

You'll oversee Strategy development, Strategy delivery and Annual Planning  and lead this work externally, working with partners in our ICBs. You'll deputise on a routine basis for the Executive Director of Strategy and form part of the senior leadership of the Trust, working closely with the Trust Board, Executive Team, Extended Leadership Team and senior leaders in Oxford Health and in our ICBs.

The Strategy team is relatively new within the Trust and navigates NHS operating models that are evolving rapidly at national and ICB levels. To excel in this role you'll need to enjoy working in a changing environment both externally and internally, and be able to creatively evolve your approach depending on changing circumstances.

We're looking for an exceptional leader who embodies our values, "thinks outside the box”, and brings energy and innovation to help lift the organisation to be truly outstanding in every sense. We thrive to be an open and inclusive organisation and encourage applications from candidates from all backgrounds, communities and industries.

If you have experience of leading strategy development and delivery within complex and matrixed organisations, we would love to hear from you!

Main duties of the job

Expected areas requiring specific focus and development over the coming years are as follows:

• Developing the new Trust Strategy to be published and implemented from 2026 onward.
• Strengthen and embed the Strategy Delivery infrastructure of the Trust so that Strategic objectives and programmes are embedded at all levels of the organisation and integrate with Annual Planning.
• Improve the integrated Annual Planning process, encompassing finance, performance and workforce so it runs smoothly and effectively enables delivery and improved patient and population health outcomes.
• Develop and strengthen the work of the Strategy team, focusing on building a culture of quality improvement, raising standards and enabling the work of all teams in the organisation
• Work with the Chief Executive Office and the Corporate Affairs team to improve coordination of Executive and Board meetings with the Strategy delivery agenda.

Please refer to the job description attached for a comprehensive list of duties

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Interview process:

A first-round online presentation interview is scheduled for Thursday 19 June. Successful candidates will then be invited to a face-to-face interview at our Trust Headquarters on Thursday 26 June.

We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the “supporting statement” element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.

The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.