Head of Improvement

Role description

Working as a partnership, both Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust have a shared vision for excellence in care for our patients and communities with a set of strategic aims underpinning how we will achieve this.

The single corporate service is delivered across both organisations. The post holder could be based at either IWT or PHU and individuals will be required to undertake business travel between sites. For leaders managing staff across multi-site locations, you will need to be visible and provide in person leadership. The arrangements and frequency will be agreed locally.

This vacancy is open to employees of Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust only.

NHS Band 8b: Salary £66,582 - £77,368 per annum

Contract: Permanent

Hours Per Week: Full time 37.5

The Head of Improvement is a leadership role within the Group Corporate Services Division, supporting the delivery of high-quality, safe and sustainable care across Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust.

Working closely with the Associate Director of Improvement, Director of Improvement and clinical, operational and corporate leaders across the Group, the post holder will lead the operational delivery of Delivering Excellence, the Group's quality management system, supporting the implementation of continuous improvement approaches across the Trusts, divisions, services and corporate functions.

The post holder is responsible for the operational leadership and management of the Improvement Team, ensuring it operates as a centre of excellence for continuous improvement. Through the provision of expert coaching, training, facilitation and improvement support, the role will build organisational capability, support delivery of strategic and operational priorities, and enable sustainable improvements in quality, safety, operational performance, productivity and staff experience.

The role contributes to the ongoing development of the Delivering Excellence approach and is responsible for its practical deployment across the Group, balancing a consistent Group-wide approach with sensitivity to local trust context, priorities and organisational maturity to ensure improvement activity delivers measurable benefits for patients, staff and the Group.

If you'd like to apply for the role, please upload your CV and tell us in a cover statement how you meet the person specification.

For further information or a conversation about the role, please contact Claire Fisher, Associate Director of Improvement by emailing claire.fisher34@nhs.net.

For full job details, please refer to enclosed job description .

Qualifications

Essential

Educated to Master's degree level or equivalent relevant experience

Recognised qualification or training in continuous improvement, quality improvement, operational excellence, Lean, Six Sigma, QSIR or equivalent methodology

Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to improvement and leadership & management

Desirable

Postgraduate qualification in improvement, leadership, organisational development, management, coaching or a related field

Experience

Essential

Significant experience of leading continuous improvement, quality improvement, operational excellence or transformation programmes within a large and complex organisation

Experience of leading improvement capability-building through coaching, facilitation, training and development activities

Experience of designing and delivering improvement interventions, workshops and events that have delivered measurable outcomes

Experience of providing expert advice and influence to senior leaders and multidisciplinary teams

Experience of managing competing priorities and delivering results through others in a complex organisational environment

Experience of leading and developing staff and / or teams

Experience of working successfully with clinicians, operational leaders and corporate colleagues to deliver improvement

Desirable

Experience of implementing improvement systems, management systems or operational excellence approaches at organisational level

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

Expert knowledge of continuous improvement, quality improvement and operational excellence methodologies and their practical application within complex organisations

Strong coaching, facilitation and presentation skills, with the ability to engage, influence and develop staff at all levels of the organisation

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to interpret complex information and make evidence-based recommendations

Ability to build effective working relationships and credibility with clinicians, operational managers, corporate colleagues and senior leaders

Ability to lead and support improvement initiatives that deliver sustainable improvements in quality, safety, productivity and operational performance

Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy, exercising sound judgement and initiative to translate strategic priorities into operational delivery and improvement activity

Ability to prioritise and manage competing demands, delivering outcomes through both self and others

Desirable

Knowledge of current NHS priorities, challenges and approaches relating to quality improvement and service improvement

The post holder could be based at either St Mary's Hospital, Isle of Wight or Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth. Given the requirement to lead a team based across the two locations and the need to work with leaders and staff across the Group, the post holder will be required to have regular presence on both sites.

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and DisAbility, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.

For more information, please see our People and OD Strategy 2026