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Job requirements
Requirements from the employer’s person specification. These describe the role, not your personal match.
Essential
30 listedRequirements the employer expects applicants to meet.
- Skills
Ability to provide leadership, development and delivery of long-term strategic plans, including translating strategic direction into deliverable and measurable outcomes
- Skills
Financial analysis, planning, budget monitoring, forecasting, options appraisal and benefits-realisation skills
- Skills
Ability to influence and direct programme teams and diverse stakeholder groups on complex organisational change to deliver successful transformation across multiple programmes of work
- Skills
Ability to communicate, through verbal and written methods, highly complex/ sensitive information to a wide range of audiences within and external to the organisation
- Skills
Ability to present to large groups, utilising behaviour change approaches to influence stakeholders in potentially challenging environments
- Skills
Ability to build relationships quickly and negotiate diplomatically with key stakeholders on complex matters
- Skills
Ability to represent the Trust at local and regional forums
- Skills
Communicate with authority both internally and externally
- Skills
High level of people management skills
- Skills
Able to manage own work objectives and workload across multiple programmes
- Skills
Ability to make decisions based on expert analytical reasoning, critical and creative thinking skills using an effective problem-solving approach
- Knowledge
In depth knowledge of national and local health context
- Knowledge
Specialist knowledge, application and experience in improvement science, change and programme management
- Knowledge
Knowledge of systems thinking approaches
- Knowledge
Knowledge of user-centred service design
- Knowledge
Knowledge of programme and portfolio governance, assurance and reporting processes, and of NHS financial planning and budget management.
- Knowledge
Knowledge of benefits realisation methodologies
- Knowledge
Knowledge of organisational and culture change, and behavioural change approaches
- Experience
Significant experience in delivering successful improvement and transformational projects/programmes with evidence of leadership and management in the NHS and/or social care setting.
- Experience
Experience of applying structured programme management processes in line with best practice industry PMO approaches
- Experience
Experience of putting into practice the strategy and associated plans for a specific change or complex programme of change
- Experience
Significant experience of leading digitally enabled transformation and care-model or pathway redesign within a complex organisation.
- Experience
Experience of financial planning, budget monitoring, options appraisal and benefits realisation for high-value programmes or portfolios.
- Experience
Experience of working effectively with cross-departmental teams and organisational and system boundaries, with competing priorities, to deliver significant change
- Experience
Experience of management of a team, including objective setting, performance reviews and performance management
- Experience
Experience in a continuous improvement system, ideally in the NHS
- Qualifications
Master’s-level knowledge, or equivalent knowledge acquired through relevant postgraduate development and substantial experience, across change management, programme and portfolio management, improvement, digitally enabled transformation, service redesign, benefits realisation, governance, and organisational systems
- Qualifications
Qualification in project and change management
- Qualifications
Evidence of relevant continuous professional development
- Additional Requirements
The ability to understand and behave at all times, towards patients, visitors and colleagues according to the Trust values of safe, kind, excellent.
Desirable
8 listedAdditional qualities the employer would prefer.
- Skills
Ability to translate the impact of digital technologies to operational teams’ local processes
- Knowledge
Knowledge of programme management office (PMO) processes and procedures
- Knowledge
Knowledge of NHS financial budget management
- Knowledge
Knowledge of Epic (Electronic patient record)
- Experience
Previous experience of working in an acute healthcare environment, at a senior manager level
- Experience
Experience of working at a senior level within healthcare consultancy
- Experience
Previous NHS experience
- Qualifications
Accredited Lean or similar improvement science qualification
Job overview
This is an exciting time to work in large-scale change at CUH. We are a dynamic organisation with strong ambitions for our local, regional and national role in healthcare, research and education. Locally, we are working with community and primary care partners to redesign pathways and deliver more preventative care. Regionally, we are developing specialised services across the East of England and building new Children’s and Cancer hospitals. Nationally, as Europe’s largest centre of health science and medical research, we are fostering cross-industry partnerships, innovation and research to improve patient outcomes.
Our recently refreshed five-year strategy is supported by the large-scale change team, which works with clinical, operational and corporate leaders on some of the Trust’s most significant programmes. As a highly digitised HIMSS EMRAM Level 7 organisation, CUH is delivering several capital-funded, cross-cutting programmes with major digital components. This role offers the opportunity to lead strategically significant, multi-year transformation, combining digital innovation and care-model redesign to improve patient care, access, productivity and efficiency across CUH and partner organisations.
Main duties of the job
Lead the design, mobilisation and delivery of one or more large-scale change portfolios, ensuring programmes achieve agreed outcomes, milestones, and benefits. Establish robust portfolio governance, assurance and reporting, proactively managing risks, interdependencies, resources, and financial performance. Work across clinical, operational, digital, innovation, finance and system teams to develop and implement new models of care. Lead and develop multidisciplinary programme teams, while influencing senior leaders and presenting clear recommendations to executive-level committees.
We are looking for an experienced transformation leader with a strong track record of delivering complex, digitally enabled change in a large healthcare or comparable organisation. You will bring excellent programme and portfolio management, analytical, financial and stakeholder-engagement skills, together with the ability to translate strategy into sustainable delivery.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Applicant Information Pack (combined Job Description and Person Specification) for key duties and responsibilities.
This vacancy will close at midnight on 22nd September 2026.
Interviews are due to be held on 28th September 2026.
All appointments with a start date on or after 1 October 2026 will be subject to a 12-week probationary period. This provides a structured and supportive period to help you settle into your role, with regular reviews and feedback.
Right to Work
As there is a 12-week probationary period, successful candidates are expected to have the Right to Work for a period of at least 6 months from the proposed start date. Immigration and Right to Work status will be discussed with successful candidates at conditional offer. CUH will not offer sponsorship to candidates that have applied for a fee waiver.
Due to Home Office immigration rules, a full-time permanent vacancy cannot be filled by individuals on a student visa. Therefore, please be advised that if you are a student visa holder, we will not be able to offer you a full-time permanent contract unless you have:
- applied for a Graduate visa
- or you will have successfully completed your course and have applied for a Graduate visa before the anticipated start date of your employment
Benefits to you
At Cambridge University Hospitals, we want to do all we can to support good working days. We offer development opportunities and a wide range of benefits, including on-site leisure facilities, shopping concourse and day nurseries. Our good work programme currently includes providing reduced cost Stagecoach bus travel to and from Cambridge University Hospital site. Park and Ride bus journeys between Babraham Road and Trumpington sites are free, as is the route to and from Cambridge train station and our hospitals. We also subsidise the cost of parking on site for eligible staff.
On CUH campus, hot food is available 24/7 and at a reduced cost for colleagues. Recently we launched the first of our staff pod break spaces. Located in the Deakin Centre, we have a purpose-created colleague-only café, with free tea and coffee, a break space and private outside area for colleagues to rest, refuel and recharge. Just one of the ways we are working hard to support good working days at CUH.
CUH is committed to assisting employees in achieving a good work-life balance irrespective of role or personal circumstances. Flexible arrangements may include, but are not limited to, part-time working, job-share, term-time working and flexible start and finish times.
Please note if you would like to discuss the required hours of this role further, you should a
pproach the contact given. In some cases, alternative working hours will be considered.
We welcome applications from the Armed Forces.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Head of Large-Scale Change Portfolios with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Cambridge, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Head of service role. The advertised salary is £79,504 - £84,346 p.a. pro rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 22 Sep 2026.
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