Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS organisations in England, serving more than 1.2 million people across mid and south Essex through three acute hospitals and a broad network of community services. The Trust is on an ambitious improvement journey, focused on strengthening quality, performance, workforce experience and patient outcomes.

We are seeking an exceptional Directors of Operations to join the senior leadership teams at Basildon University Hospital.

Reporting directly to the Hospital Chief Executive, you will play a pivotal role in the leadership of your site, providing visible operational leadership and ensuring the delivery of safe, effective and high-quality services for patients and communities. Working closely with clinical, operational and corporate colleagues, you will lead performance improvement, service transformation and workforce development across a complex and diverse portfolio of services.

This role offers the opportunity to shape the future of a significant hospital within one of the country's largest NHS trusts. You will help lead a hospital that is home to the internationally renowned Essex Cardiothoracic Centre and plays a vital role in the Trust's improvement and performance agenda.

This is an exceptional opportunity for leaders who thrive on operational challenge and organisational improvement. You will bring significant operational leadership experience from within a large and complex acute healthcare environment, with a track record of delivering sustained improvements in quality, performance, productivity and patient experience. You will be collaborative, resilient and politically astute, capable of building trusted relationships and delivering results through others.

Improvement is already underway across Mid and South Essex, with investment in leadership, infrastructure, digital transformation and service redesign. There is real momentum across the organisation, but there is also much more to achieve.

This a rare opportunity to lead at scale, make a tangible impact and help shape the future of healthcare for the people of Essex.

Join us and help create a hospital where patients receive consistently excellent care and staff are supported to thrive.

For a confidential discussion please contact our advising consultants at GatenbySanderson

Julia St Clare, Senior Consultant

E: julia.stclare@gatenbysanderson.com

T: +44 (0) 7807 631 564

Melanie Shearer, Partner

E: melanie.shearer@gatenbysanderson.com

T: +44 (0) 7785 616 548

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Recruitment Timetable

Closing date
9am Friday 13th November 2026

Final panel
Late November / Early December 2026

How to Apply

• Please submit an up to date copy of your CV, along with a Supporting Statement that addresses the criteria set out in the person specification, using examples to demonstrate how you meet the essential requirements.
• Detail any employment or education gaps.
• You should provide the names, positions, organisations, and contact details for your referees, which must be your line managers and include your current and most recent employer. The referees should cover at least two roles as the minimum. Please note, should you be appointed, you will be required to provide references covering your last 6 years of employment as per the new NHS Fit and Proper Person regulations. Where there have been gaps in employment, this six year period will be extended accordingly. Referees will only be contacted for those proceeding to the final stage - we will always gain your permission before we contact referees.

• Let us know any difficulty you may have with the indicative timetable.
• Check that your contact details are correct before you submit.

Once you have submitted your application, you will receive an automated email to confirm that you have applied. If you do not receive this email, please make contact with GatenbySanderson.

Acceptable use of AI

Candidates may use AI tools to support proofreading, editing and presentation. However, all application materials should represent the candidate's own experience, perspectives and leadership thinking. We are seeking original and authentic responses, and applicants should ensure that any submission reflects their own analysis, judgement and vision for the role.