Director of Outpatient Improvement

Job overview

The Director of Operational Improvement will report directly to the Chief Operating Officer and hold a senior leadership position within the Trust’s operational team. This role is pivotal in delivering the ambitions of the NHSE 10-Year Plan, with a strong emphasis on transforming outpatient services as part of the strategic shift towards community-based care. Historically, outpatient services have been configured around traditional hospital-based models, often requiring multiple visits and fragmented pathways. This role will lead the redesign of these services to create integrated, efficient, and patient-centred pathways that reduce unnecessary hospital attendances and improve continuity of care, considering the related work that is being delivered through other aligned programmes.

The postholder will possess extensive knowledge of operational management within an acute hospital setting, with proven expertise in best practice for planned care provision. They will demonstrate the ability to influence and drive the completion of actions across diverse professional groups. In addition, the postholder must have a track record of delivering efficiency improvement programmes that achieve significant financial benefits.

Main duties of the job

As a fixed term contract, the initial phase will focus on building a comprehensive understanding of the current outpatient operating model, including:

• Mapping all hospital locations delivering outpatient services and assessing utilisation.
• Reviewing service configurations, patient flows, and physical space constraints.
• Conducting a skills and capacity audit of the workforce.
• Gathering data and intelligence on activity, demand, and community requirements.

This foundational work will identify opportunities to streamline processes, optimise space utilisation, and shift care closer to home wherever clinically appropriate.

Aligned with the principles of the 10-Year Plan and the system-wide shift towards community care, the Director of Outpatients Improvement will lead the modernisation of outpatient services by enhancing collaboration across Primary, Community, and Secondary Care. Homerton’s integrated acute and community services, strong relationships with primary care, and established neighbourhood infrastructure provide a unique foundation for this transformation.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s on this page.

The person specification below is not the full person specification but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.