About this role
Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Paediatrics Department, at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The role of the Deputy Directorate Manager will sit within Paediatrics and will be responsible for the strategic and operational management working under the supervision of the Directorate Manager.
The role is ideal for someone who wishes to deliver improvement and the perfect development opportunity for an aspiring Directorate Manager who is keen to develop their career in operational management.
This role requires significant engagement and working in collaboration with a number of different stakeholders, including commissioners, acute, primary care, and mental health providers as well as the public, voluntary and community sector organisations.
The post holder is expected to provide visible leadership and promote high standards by modelling the values and behaviours expected of a senior manager in the NHS.
They will have a professional and management line of accountability to the Directorate Manager, Head of Operations for Community Services and ultimately the Divisional Director of Operations.
Please note the job description and person specification are subject to AfC review.
Main duties of the job
As the Deputy Directorate Manager, you will be a key member of the Directorate Leadership Team and take responsibility for agreed operational aspects of designated services including financial, activity and performance management . You will also support business planning, deputise for the Directorate Manager as required and contribute to governance and quality improvement within the service. You will be responsible for developing and implementing service improvement and redesign initiatives to support efficient delivery of key business and service objectives. You will play a pivotal role in influencing, developing and sustaining key relationships with external stakeholders.
About us
Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.
Our services:
Acute Care
Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.
Primary Care
Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.
Community Services
Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.
Specialist Regional Services
We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.
Achievements:
Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018 Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal) National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.
Job description Job responsibilities
Please ensure you have read through the attached Job Description and Person Specification before submitting your application.
Advertising date: 9th June 2026
Closing date: 21st June 2026
Shortlisting date: 22nd June 2026
Proposed Interview date: TBC
Please note, this post may close earlier than advertised if a sufficient number of applications are received.
Person Specification
Values Essential
We are kind We are open We are inclusive
Qualifications Essential
Educated to degree level and/or equivalent level of qualification and/or equivalent experience Post graduate qualification in health service management and/or equivalent level of qualification and/or equivalent experience
Knowledge Essential
Current experience of complex operational management in a healthcare setting. A demonstrable capacity and capability for operational service management in an acute hospital environment or similarly complex organisation, including staff management, financial management and change management Comprehensive knowledge of planned care, referral to treatment (RTT) and cancer targets Ability to manage and deliver to deadlines and within resources Well-developed leadership and influencing skills with the ability to enthuse, motivate and involve individuals and teams, and have them understand the Trust's and your performance expectations Demonstrate highly effective, credible leadership experience within the acute hospital setting Ability to be intellectually flexible and to look beyond existing structures, ways of working, boundaries and organisations to produce more effective and innovative service delivery and partnerships
Skills Essential
Ability to undertake analysis of capacity & demand in relation to outpatient delivered care Effective working with clinical teams and senior colleagues resulting in the successful introduction and management of change Demonstrating effective influencing skills to achieve desired results Ability to analyse complex problems and to develop practice and workable solutions to address them Demonstrate highly effective, credible leadership experience within the acute hospital setting
Desirable
A commitment to improving patient services through an ability to sustain a clear performance focus on achieving demanding goals. Service improvement tools and project planning. Intermediate IT skills qualification in Microsoft Word and Excel processing
Other Essential
Flexible with the demands of the role, possessing self-awareness and self-motivation
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details Employer name Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Address MWL Trust Sites
Wigan Road
Ormskirk
L39 2AZ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.merseywestlancs.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)