Head of Unplanned Care Transformation

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Croydon is a busy, exciting and diverse place to work. The borough has one of the youngest populations in London and continues to grow.

Croydon Health Services cares for local people at Croydon University Hospital, Purley Memorial Hospital and in clinics and people's homes all across the borough.

We are a very close-knit and friendly organisation where everyone of our 3600 members of staff is valued. We strongly believe that our employees are our greatest asset and so through Listening into Action - our way of engaging staff - we empower everyone at any level to initiate and bring about real improvements in our care.
Join us and be a part of the team that is making Croydon proud. #choosecroydon

Job overview

Head of Unplanned Care Transformation

Are you ready to lead transformational change in urgent and emergency care? Do you thrive in fast-paced environments where strategic thinking, collaboration, and innovation are key to improving patient outcomes?

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced leader to join our Transformation Team as Head of Unplanned Care Transformation. This pivotal role will shape and deliver high-impact programmes that enhance patient flow, reduce delays, and improve the delivery of urgent and emergency care services across our acute hospital.
What You'll Be Doing

• Lead strategic transformation initiatives across urgent and emergency care.
• Drive improvements in patient flow, service efficiency, and care quality.
• Manage complex transformation programmes, ensuring delivery of benefits on time and within budget.
• Support the Trust's performance against national targets, including A&E and ambulance handover standards.
• Act as a senior advisor to the Executive Team and Director of Transformation.

What We're Looking For

• Proven experience in leading large-scale transformation in urgent or emergency care.
• Strong leadership, stakeholder engagement, and change management skills.
• A strategic thinker with a hands-on approach to problem-solving and service redesign.
• Expertise in continuous improvement methodologies (e.g. Lean, Six Sigma).

Proposed Interview Date: 17th Dec 2025

Main duties of the job

As Head of Unplanned Care Transformation, you will lead the design and delivery of strategic transformation programmes that improve urgent and emergency care services across the Trust. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Leading Transformation: Drive large-scale change programmes to improve patient flow, reduce delays, and enhance the quality and efficiency of urgent and emergency care.
• Strategic Partnership: Work closely with clinical, operational, and executive teams to align transformation initiatives with national priorities and local performance targets, including A&E and ambulance handover standards.
• Programme Management: Oversee the governance, planning, and delivery of transformation projects, ensuring they are delivered on time, within budget, and achieve measurable benefits.
• Rapid Improvement: Design and facilitate rapid improvement workshops to identify and implement solutions that address key challenges in unplanned care.
• Team Leadership: Lead and develop a high-performing transformation team, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, including system partners, to deliver integrated and patient-centred care pathways.
• Performance & Reporting: Monitor and report on programme progress, risks, and outcomes to the Executive Team and Trust Board, ensuring transparency and impact.

Working for our organisation

Croydon Health Services NHS Trust provide hospital and community services from a number of community and specialist clinics throughout Croydon. The Trust was formed on 1st August 2010 through the integration of Croydon Community Health Services and Mayday Healthcare NHS Trust. Around 4,100 staff provide services for a population of over 360,000 people who are relatively young with a high level of ethnic diversity.

Our main hospital site, Croydon University Hospital is one of the busiest in London. We're also leading the way in providing more healthcare outside hospitals at clinics, specialist centres and in people's homes. Our experienced district nursing teams, Allied Health Professionals and community matrons look after people of all ages across Croydon and our Children's Hospital at Home cares for children with long-term conditions without them having to come to hospital.

Across the NHS everyone is working hard to meet growing demand and we're no exception. But with the right people on board, we are rising to this challenge, putting our people in the driving seat, encouraging innovation and transforming our services to give local people the quality of care they deserve. Croydon Health Services puts a great deal of importance on education and training throughout the careers of all of our staff. As well as offering access to a range of core skills training and professional development.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

***Please see the attached supporting document which contains more information about the role in the job description and person specification***

Person specification

Education, Qualification

Essential criteria

• Educated to degree level with either Master's degree or equivalent
• Project/Programme Management qualification
• Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma or equivalent qualification in continuous improvement methodologies

Desirable criteria

• Postgraduate qualification in a relevant field
• Coaching or mentoring qualification

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant Experience in leading large scale transformation and improvement initiatives within acute hospital
• Experience of implementing large scale service improvement and change projects within a large complex organisation
• Experience of working at a senior level, managing complex projects

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working with Integrated Care Systems or Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• In-depth knowledge of urgent and emergency care pathways
• Advanced knowledge of improvement methodologies
• Demonstrable astuteness in understanding and working with complex policy and diverse interest groups

Skills

Essential criteria

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent leadership and influencing skills
• Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills

Your recruitment team
The NHS South West London Recruitment Hub is your dedicated recruitment team, here to support you at every stage of the process. If you have a query, please contact us:
E: krft.askrecruitment@nhs.net

Your application
Please ensure your supporting statement clearly reflects the job description and person specification, as shortlisting will be based on these criteria.

Please refer to the latest UKVI guidance and ensure you have the appropriate right to work before applying for this role.

Use of Artificial Intelligence
We kindly ask that you avoid using AI tools to draft your application. We value authentic, individual responses that reflect your own experience and communication style.

References
Please provide a minimum of 3 years' employment and/or education history, including professional email addresses (not personal accounts such as Hotmail or Gmail). If you cannot provide these, please inform the interview panel to avoid delays in pre-employment checks.

Closing date
To help us manage recruitment efficiently, some vacancies may close early once we have received a sufficient number of applications.

Shortlisting
If you are successfully shortlisted, you will be contacted by email or SMS from the South West London Recruitment Hub. Please check your registered TRAC email regularly.

Application feedback
If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has not been successful on this occasion.

Safeguarding and DBS Checks
We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. For roles with direct access to these groups, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be required. All staff are expected to understand and uphold their safeguarding responsibilities as part of their role.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Documents to download

• JD & Person Spec (PDF, 600.3KB)
• CHS DBS Policy Statement (PDF, 53.0KB)
• Map of Croydon University Hospital (PDF, 95.6KB)
• CHS Accomodation (PDF, 1.4MB)
• Croydon Trust Values (PDF, 324.9KB)