Interview Date: 27th August 2026
Based across all our sites across West Sussex
The Associate Director of UEC Recovery will provide senior strategic leadership and hold delegated responsibility for the direction, coordination and delivery of one of the Trust's highest priority improvement programmes: the recovery and transformation of Urgent and Emergency Care across all sites in University Hospitals Sussex. Reporting to the Chief Delivery Officer, the postholder will operate with a high degree of autonomy and delegated authority, providing programme leadership to direct, coordinate, challenge and assure delivery of the Trust's UEC Recovery Programme, with a particular focus on eliminating corridor care, improving patient flow, restoring constitutional standards and delivering a sustainable model of urgent and emergency care.
The role is intended to provide focused strategic leadership and to drive delivery of one of the Trust's highest priority transformation programmes. The strategic objectives of the improvement programme are set out below:
- Eliminate corridor care across emergency and inpatient settings.
- Deliver sustained improvement in 4-hour, 12-hour and ambulance handover performance.
- Improve patient flow from arrival to discharge.
- Coordinate a single Trust-wide UEC Recovery / Improvement Programme.
- Promote and embed continuous improvement and operational excellence.
- Strengthen clinical engagement and ownership.
- Embed a whole-hospital approach to UEC improvements
- Deliver measurable improvements in quality, safety, productivity and patient experience.
- Ensure value for money across patient pathways
- Identify, evaluate and adopt national best practice to strengthen and accelerate delivery of the Trust's UEC recovery / improvement programme
At UHSussex (UHSx), diversity is our strength, & we want you to feel included to help us always put the Patient First. Your uniqueness & experiences will be part of our creative and innovative community where everyone is encouraged to succeed. We have a range of Staff Networks to help break down barriers, & can offer a buddy to help new members settle in. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2) & a Veteran Aware Trust.
We treat our patients & staff with the same compassion & empathy we expect for ourselves. We’re here for them when they need us, and we go above & beyond to meet their needs. This can be seen in our candidate information pack & wellbeing programme, for staff which is extensive & designed to support you when you need it, including where possible, flexible working to support work life balance - because we know that to look after others we must first look after ourselves.
As a university trust and a leader in healthcare research, we value learning, teaching & training so that we can be the best that we can be. From the moment you start with us & throughout your career we will help you to grow & develop. We hope that in choosing UHSx you are choosing a long & happy career where you will be able to see the difference you make & feel valued for all that you do.
We look forward to receiving your application & the start of your journey with UHSx.
Candidate Information Pack: https://www.uhsussex.nhs.uk/resources/candidate-information-pack/
As a senior leader within the organisation, the postholder will provide strategic leadership for the Trust's Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) Recovery Programme, with delegated accountability for developing the Trust-wide programme strategy, delivery framework, governance arrangements and performance trajectories, ensuring the effective delivery of the Trust's priorities to improve patient flow, recover operational performance and eliminate corridor care. The postholder will translate strategic ambition into coordinated, measurable and sustainable transformation across all UEC pathways, developing short, medium and long-term plans that integrate clinical, operational, workforce, estates, digital and financial requirements and providing programme leadership to ensure delivery at pace across all hospital sites.
The postholder is accountable for setting the delivery framework for, leading and coordinating delivery of the Trust's UEC Recovery Programme, ensuring that agreed objectives, milestones, performance trajectories, quality and safety outcomes, financial benefits and long-term strategic outcomes are achieved. Working through divisional, clinical and corporate leadership teams, the postholder will provide programme leadership, set clear delivery expectations, hold senior workstream and divisional leads to account, and provide challenge and assurance to secure sustainable improvements in urgent and emergency care performance, patient flow, quality, patient safety and patient experience.
The postholder will provide authoritative and, where necessary, challenging advice to the Chief Delivery Officer, Executive Management Committee and other senior governance forums on UEC performance, patient safety, quality, financial and delivery risks, investment requirements and the actions needed to secure recovery.
The postholder will be responsible for the effective management and deployment of the UEC Recovery Programme’s financial and workforce resources, including a delegated programme budget and for assuring delivery of agreed financial, productivity and non-financial benefits.
The role will operate across organisational boundaries, leading and influencing joint action with commissioners, ambulance, community, mental health, primary care, local authority and other system partners where sustainable UEC recovery depends on shared decisions, resources and delivery
For full details, please see attached Job Description
