Associate Director of Planning, Productivity & Costing, Band 8c
| Posting date: | 25 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £76,965.00 to £88,682.00 per year |
| Additional salary information: | £76965.00 - £88682.00 a year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 08 April 2026 |
| Location: | Cheltenham, GL53 7QB |
| Company: | NHS Jobs |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | C9318-26-0258 |
Summary
1. Key Responsibilities The post holder will take specific responsibility for day-to-day oversight of business planning Day-to-day oversight of the Financial Sustainability Programme from a financial point of view. Ensure the Trust has access to benchmarking, GIRFT and any other tools to help generate efficiency plans Facilitate effective clinical and professional dialogue ensuring change is based on evidence and strong professional leadership Lead the team to identify opportunities to enhance productivity and optimise operational efficiency across the organisation. Develop the costing and SLR approach across the organisation ensuring that the outputs are used to inform decision making Collaborate with divisional and directorate leads to identify opportunities for productivity improvement, performance and operational efficiencies across all areas of the Trust. This will include supporting colleagues to refine existing transformation and change plans to consolidate opportunities into robust plans, establishing and/or translating metrics and improvement analytics to add value and link with Trust established performance monitoring systems. Lead the team and support Directors, General Managers, Clinical Leads and other colleagues with the development and implementation of initiatives that relate/contribute to productivity, efficiency and cost reduction Collaborate with divisional leadership teams, directorate leads, clinicians, and other stakeholders to identify areas of inefficiency and waste and develop plans to deliver improvement opportunities. Provide regular updates and reports to the Executive Team on the progress of the service change, productivity and efficiency plan, highlighting achievements, challenges, and recommended adjustments as needed 2. Professional Development, Education and Training Professional knowledge acquired through degree or equivalent experience Specialist knowledge acquired through post graduate courses and/or experience to masters level Leadership qualification or equivalent experience Project management qualification or equivalent experience Highly analytical and numerate Evidence of continuing professional development Member of a professional accountancy body e.g. ACA, CIMA, ACCA is essential Proven experience in leading quality improvement initiatives within healthcare settings Formal training or certification in Quality Improvement Methodologies e.g. IHI Model for Improvement, Lean, Six Sigma, or NHS Improvement QI training 3. Management and Leadership Act as a senior role model for compassionate, inclusive and improvement-focused leadership. Promote a culture that values learning, reflection, and the continuous pursuit of excellence. Leverage external networks, partnerships and thought leadership to inform local innovation. Work flexibly across the hospital and wider group to ensure resource is targeted where it can have greatest impact. Lead with integrity and empathy, encouraging ownership, accountability, and professional growth. Provide clear direction and day-to-day support to transformation team members and programme staff. Line management responsibility for a multidisciplinary team, with a strong focus on individual development and performance. Support staff development through coaching, structured feedback, and regular appraisals, tailored to individual needs. Ensure that team members feel empowered to lead and innovate, with access to ongoing learning and professional development opportunities. Promote a psychologically safe, inclusive and equitable working environment that supports wellbeing and fosters a culture of trust and collaboration. Champion continuous improvement within the team, modelling curiosity, learning, and positive challenge. Significant evidence of chairing and leading successful meetings 4. Planning and Organisation Lead and support in the translation of national / local external planning requirements into GHFs annual plan Lead the team to work across corporate services and divisions to ensure a signal and unified planning process encompassing finance, people, activity, operational and change / improvement elements Proactively project-manage the design production of the Annual Plan by analysing the requirement and setting out and publicising the timeline for what needs to be done by whom and when. Responsible for ensuring project documentation is of high quality and accurately recorded on relevant systems Secure the input of senior staff from across the organisation into the planning process and make clear to them their expected contributions and the format they will be made in. Analysis of highly complex and conflicting contributions to plans into a clear written style for the intended audience Board, Executive team or commissioners. Responsible for identifying any risks or issues ensuring mitigations are in place to monitor and resolve. Ensure the Director for Finance and Planning who is the executive sponsor for plans, is briefed on progress and any difficulties. Ensure he or she signs off plans before submission. With advice from the trusts communications team to design active dissemination, providing written material and contributing directly to communications. Present the planning process and plans verbally and in writing to various audiences including senior staff, other staff and service users. Be aware of developing best practice in business planning across the NHS and social care. Evaluate success of business planning process and content and make changes for future plans 5. Communications and Working Relationships Lead, present and manage highly complex, sensitive and challenging and often contentious information to the organisation, where there may be significant barriers to acceptance/understanding. Communicates service-related information to senior managers, staff, external agencies Lead the development of the business planning programme to include workshops, seminars etc Present confidently to large groups and public consultations/forums. Demonstrate excellent report writing skills Demonstrate the ability to persuade and negotiate when conflicting views need to be brought to a conclusion to achieve appropriate outcomes 6. Other Analyse and interpret a range of highly complex qualitative and quantitative information gained from a wide range of sources such as performance metrics, financial reports and a range of other business intelligence Able to create and utilise highly developed and complex analysis and judgement especially where opinion may be inconsistent. Ability to consider qualitative and quantitative information to inform decision making Provide timely, accurate and strategic reports on programme delivery to hospital leadership and Trust boards. Manage a broad and complex workload effectively, adapting priorities in response to organisational needs. Champion innovation, sustainability and high-value care in all areas of responsibility. Contribute to personal and team development by sharing knowledge, mentoring others, and identifying learning opportunities.