Job overview
This senior operational leadership role is responsible for the day-to-day operation, reliability, and clinical safety of the Trust’s core clinical digital systems. The post-holder is the accountable digital lead for:
- Electronic Patient Record (EPR – Altera Sunrise)
- Patient Administration System (PAS)
- Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)
- Pharmacy & Medicines Management System (EMIS)
- Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS)
- And other Diagnostic and Specialties systems maintained by the department (e.g. Badgernet, OnBase, Infoflex, Auditbase etc)
The role focuses on operational excellence, service delivery, and end‑user optimisation. It works in close partnership with the Chief Digital Transformation Officer (CDTO) to ensure new digital capabilities are successfully transitioned from transformation programmes into stable Business as Usual (BAU) services.
While the role does not lead the design of new enterprise digital transformation programmes, the postholder is responsible for shaping and delivering the operational Digital Health roadmap required to sustain, optimise, and future‑proof the Trust’s existing clinical systems.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will provide professional, strategic, and operational leadership across the Digital Health portfolio, ensuring service continuity, driving technical capability, and leading cultural excellence.
Key Responsibilities
- Direct the strategic operational functions for Digital Health clinical applications (e.g. EPR, PAS, PACS, LIMS, etc. – see above for wider definition).
- Ensure the availability and resilience of all clinical applications that underpin the delivery of patient care within the Trust. critical clinical and corporate systems (EPR, PAS, PACS, LIMS, etc. see above for wider definition).
- Provide visible senior leadership during Critical Incident Management (CIM), commanding the response to clinical application outages to minimise impact.
- Act as the strategic link between the overarching Digital Strategy and the Digital Health teams, ensuring all tactical workstreams and investments support the Trust’s long-term goals.
- Act as the delegated budget holder (or lead budget adviser where budgets are centrally held) for the Digital Health portfolio, accountable for financial planning, in‑year control, and transparent reporting of revenue and capital expenditure.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Leadership and Culture
- Provide visible, compassionate, and collaborative leadership to all multi-disciplinary teams within the portfolio, fostering a high-performance culture that reflects the Trust values: Caring, Inclusive, Compassionate, Accountable.
- Act as a visible and inspiring leader, driving a service-led culture committed to first-time resolution and excellent user experience across all service desk and infrastructure teams.
- Champion a culture of openness, learning, and continuous improvement, ensuring staff feel empowered to contribute to service evolution. Strategy, Planning, Quality & Assurance
- Alongside the CDTO and CTO, develop and execute a strategic roadmap for Digital Health, ensuring investment aligns with operational capacity and long-term resilience requirements.
- Define, monitor, and report on critical Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Operational Level Agreements (OLAs), using performance data to drive service quality and maturity.
Innovation, Research and Development
- Support Digital Health transformation initiatives, focusing on leveraging technology to enhance the staff digital experience and increase the efficiency of clinical and corporate workflows.
- Maintain an up-to-date working knowledge of leading-edge digital health technology and services relevant to NHS operations and resilience.
Communications and Working Relationships
- Maintain strategic relationships with a significant number of stakeholders across clinical, operational, and corporate divisions, translating complex technical information into clear business terms for effective decision-making.
- Manage strategic relationships with third-party suppliers, ensuring high-quality delivery against contractual obligations and actively contributing to contract negotiation and performance reviews.
- Deputise for the Director of Digital Operations (CTO) as required, representing the Digital Health function at senior clinical and executive forums.
Planning & Organisational Skills
- Lead the development and delivery of short-, medium- and long‑term operational and lifecycle plans for the Digital Health portfolio, exercising autonomy over prioritisation, sequencing of work, and allocation of resources within agreed strategic and financial boundaries
- Exercise autonomy in prioritising operational investments, managing competing demands, and sequencing releases, upgrades, and service improvements across a complex clinical systems portfolio.
- Own and maintain Digital Health service roadmaps, translating strategic intent into deliverable, resource‑balanced operational plans.
- Establish and be accountable for robust operational planning covering system lifecycle management, software licensing, asset management, resilience, and workforce capacity.
Governance
- Accountable for establishing and enforcing the Critical Incident Management (CIM) framework and ensuring timely Post-Incident Reviews (PIRs) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) within the Digital Health function.
- Accountable for clinical application technical assurance and ensuring rigorous compliance with NHS standards, including the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) and mandatory testing of Disaster Recovery/ Business Continuity plans.
Training and Capability Building
- Support the development of digital training strategies that support workforce capability and safe, confident, use of Digital Health technology.
- Drive user adoption of self-service tools and knowledge bases, contributing to the wider Trust goals for digital literacy and competence.
- Ensure technical staff receive appropriate and continuous professional development (CPD) to maintain expert knowledge across the evolving infrastructure and service delivery domains.
Workforce
- Lead the development and implementation of a long-term workforce plan for the Digital Operations and Infrastructure teams, focusing on critical skills identification and succession planning.
- Be responsible for the line management, development, recruitment, and performance management of senior staff and team leaders within the portfolio.
- Ensure appropriate operational leadership and management capability exists at all levels within the function to achieve strategic objectives.
Other Responsibilities
- To take part in regular performance appraisal.
- Undertake any training required to maintain competency including mandatory training, e.g. Manual Handling.
- Contribute to and work within a safe working environment.
- Comply with Trust Infection Control Policies and minimise the risk of healthcare associated infections.
- Abide by any relevant code of professional conduct and/or practice applicable to you.
- Expected to be onsite regularly
- A member of the Digital Gold on call rota
Person specification
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience of leading programmes of work across multiple sectors.
- Expert knowledge and experience of delivering digital projects in complex environments
- Experience of managing commercial suppliers to pre-approved service level agreements/contracts
- Extensive experience of managing highly complex programmes and delivering them within agreed timescales and budgets
- Significant experience and understanding of digital and technology operating models
Desirable
- Experience of negotiating with other Health Care providers
- Significant experience of researching best practice and developing solutions that can achieve optimal outcomes for all stakeholders.
- Experience of applying MSP methodology
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to Masters level in a relevant area of academic practice or equivalent experience working at a commensurate band / level
- Recognised service delivery (ITIL) qualification to practitioner level or equivalent experience
- Additional management or specialist qualifications at post graduate level or equivalent level of experience
- Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to role
Desirable
- Recognised change management / training / architecture qualification at foundation level, e.g., PRINCE2, Agile or equivalent experience
- Training qualification in service improvements / innovation techniques
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Head of Digital Health, Band 8c with Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Cheltenham, South West, England. It is listed as a Band 8 role. The advertised salary is £79,504 - £91,609 (pa pro rata if part-time). The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 19 Jul 2026.
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