Chief Operating Officer

Role overview

The Chief Operating Officer will report directly to the Chief Executive and provide senior leadership across service quality, patient safety, operational delivery, and financial performance. This post carries responsibility for ensuring strong operational control, driving recovery in performance, and leading the transformation programme that will support the organisation’s long-term future.

About the organisation

Sirona care & health is a large and complex provider with a wide range of stakeholders, including regulators, commissioners, and system partners. The organisation values leaders who understand how community health services operate and who can represent the business credibly and confidently with both internal teams and external partners. Sirona is England’s largest provider of adult and children’s community services, with services across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.

Key focus areas

You will work closely with senior colleagues, including the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing and Allied Health Officer, Chief Finance Officer, Chief Digital and Information Officer, and Director of Governance, to ensure that operational delivery, transformation, quality, financial sustainability, and organisational assurance are fully joined up.

What the role involves

The successful candidate will bring a proven record of delivering rapid and lasting improvement in performance, alongside the ability to work as a trusted partner to an ambitious Chief Executive. A clear understanding of how productivity, overall performance, and waiting lists interact is essential, as is a sustained commitment to continuous improvement. You will also need experience of active engagement with commissioners, together with knowledge of funding models and contracting arrangements. A practical grasp of how to adapt operating models to different community settings will also be important.

Leadership expectations

The role calls for energy, persistence, and the ability to involve the whole workforce in shaping a positive, improvement-led culture under a “One Sirona” approach. You should be able to turn organisational strategy into measurable results across operational, workforce, quality, and financial areas, while balancing the need to maintain high performance with the demands of strategic transformation.

Benefits and culture

This position offers Agenda for Change salary terms, full NHS benefits, 27+ days of annual leave, and membership of the NHS Pension Scheme. Sirona says it welcomes applicants from all backgrounds and is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities it serves. The organisation also emphasises fairness, inclusion, and equal opportunity, and supports development opportunities for colleagues and apprentices at all stages of their careers.

Additional information

For an informal discussion or further details, contact Hilary Clifford, Cadence Partners, at sirona-coo@cadencepartners.co.uk or 02079474960.

Location: Iron Acton, England, United Kingdom. The organisation also references work across Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire.

Application information was provided separately in the source; external application links have been omitted here.