This is a senior leadership role within Digital Services, responsible for ensuring the Trust’s digital environment is resilient, secure, and supports high-quality patient care. You will provide strategic and operational leadership across infrastructure, networks, cloud platforms, end user services, and digital delivery, ensuring services are modern, reliable, and user-centred.
As a key member of the Digital Services senior leadership team, you will shape and deliver the Trust’s digital strategy, enabling innovation and continuous improvement while supporting clinical and operational excellence.
Why work for us?
This is a time of substantial investment within the digital landscape at The Christie. We are planning to change our EPR, we have a substantial modernisation program for data and intelligence, along with a full change program in progress for our network, data centre, and telephone system.
The Trust is committed to continued modernisation and transformation, and with that in mind we are looking for a forward thinking but experienced digital leader with a high technical acumen.
You will lead the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of Digital Infrastructure and Operations services, ensuring high availability, performance, and security. Responsibilities include overseeing service desk and end user computing, ensuring robust service management processes, and leading digital project delivery into live service.
The role includes strategic planning aligned to NHS priorities, managing major incidents, and ensuring compliance with cyber security, information governance, and data protection standards. You will also lead multidisciplinary teams, manage budgets and suppliers, and act as a senior escalation point for digital services.
The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.
We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years.
We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic
Act as a senior Digital Services leader, contributing to the development and delivery of the Trust’s Digital Strategy and wider organisational objectives.
Develop and own the Digital Infrastructure and Operations strategic roadmap, ensuring alignment with national NHS strategies, including cyber security, cloud, and interoperability agendas.
Provide expert advice to senior managers on technology-enabled services.
Lead long-term planning for infrastructure, networks, cloud, and end user technologies to ensure scalability, resilience, and value for money.
Act as a senior escalation point for major incidents impacting clinical and corporate services, ensuring appropriate governance and assurance.
Build effective partnerships with local trusts, specialist trusts, Integrated Care System (ICS) partners, suppliers, and national bodies.
Operational
Be accountable for the day-to-day delivery, availability, and measured transparent performance of all Digital Infrastructure and Operations services.
Ensure robust service management arrangements are in place, including incident, problem, change, and asset management.
Oversee service desk and end user computing services to ensure high-quality, user-focused support.
Ensure infrastructure and cloud platforms meet required standards for reliability, security, business continuity, and disaster recovery.
Lead operational readiness for Digital projects, including transition into live service and benefits realisation.
Ensure compliance with Trust, NHS, and statutory requirements relating to technology operation, information governance, cyber security, and data protection.
General Duties
Uphold the Trust’s values and behaviours at all times.
Demonstrates the agreed set of values and accountable for own attitude and behaviour.
Ensure equality, diversity and inclusion principles are embedded in all Digital Services activities.
Comply with all Trust policies, procedures, and codes of conduct.
Promote a culture of continuous improvement, learning, and innovation across Digital Services.
Participate in on-call and/or senior escalation arrangements as required.
Human Resources
Provide senior leadership and line management to departmental managers and senior specialists.
Set clear objectives, conduct appraisals, and support development and succession planning.
Lead workforce planning to ensure Digital Services has the right skills and capacity for immediate and future objective driven requirements.
Manage performance, capability, and conduct issues in line with Trust HR policies.
Foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performing culture across Digital Services teams.
Financial/Physical Resources
Be accountable for substantial revenue and capital budgets relating to Digital Infrastructure, Operations, and projects.
Ensure effective financial planning, forecasting, and budgetary control.
Deliver demonstrable value for money from Digital investments and supplier contracts.
Lead procurement and contract management in line with NHS financial and procurement regulations.
Ensure Systems and services under the roles responsibility remain in support, under contract, and provide clear measurable benefits to the Trust.
Project Management
Provide executive oversight of Digital projects and programmes within scope, ensuring compliance with agreed governance, standards, and methodologies.
Ensure projects are delivered safely, on time, within budget, and with clear benefits realisation.
Act as Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) or sponsor for complex Digital initiatives where required.
Ensure strong integration between digital project delivery and operational services.
Policy/Service Development/Governance
Lead the continual development and modernisation of Digital Infrastructure and Operations services.
Drive adoption of new technologies, including cloud services, automation, and modern workplace solutions.
Ensure digital services are designed around user needs, clinical safety, and operational efficiency.
Lead service reviews, audits, and improvement programmes to enhance quality and resilience.
Support the Trust’s Information Asset Owners (IAO), providing advice, guidance and regular reporting of the services delivered.
Be accountable as an Information Asset Owner (IAO) for critical systems where decision rights belong to Digital Services, and are primarily used by Digital Services.
Business Continuity Management
Responsible for the development, exercising, maintaining and reviewing of business continuity plans for all Operation’s services.
Lead the business impact analysis exercises highlighting critical business processes within own area.
Be very familiar with the Trust Business Continuity Plans and personal responsibilities. Where applicable and advise the Trust of how Digital Services Plans complement wider hospital service plans.
