Sub-National West Director of Planned Care

Director of Planned Care Sub-National West

Sub-National West is bringing NHS Boards together to support a more collaborative and sustainable approach to the delivery of planned care.

An opportunity to shape planned care across the West of Scotland

We are looking for an accomplished senior leader to join this work as Director of Planned Care, providing strategic leadership and influence across the West of Scotland.

This is an opportunity to work at scale and across organisational boundaries, bringing together NHS Boards, senior clinical and operational leaders, national programmes and the Scottish Government around a shared ambition to improve the delivery of planned care.

The Director will have a key role in shaping the regional approach to planned care, supporting elective recovery and improvement, strengthening performance, enabling service transformation and helping NHS Boards make the best use of available capacity and resources.

This is a role centred on leadership through partnership and influence. You will work across a complex system, bringing people together around shared priorities, providing constructive challenge and assurance, and helping translate strategic ambitions into meaningful and sustainable improvement for patients and services.

Only employees of NHS Scotland Boards can apply

Who we are looking for

We are interested in hearing from experienced senior leaders who can demonstrate the credibility, judgement and leadership required to operate effectively across organisational and professional boundaries.

You should be able to demonstrate:

• Significant senior leadership experience within a complex healthcare or comparable environment.
• Successful leadership of major service transformation, redesign or improvement.
• A strong understanding of performance, capacity and the challenges associated with delivering sustainable planned care.
• The ability to influence, build consensus and achieve progress where responsibility is shared across organisations.
• Experience of developing effective partnerships with senior clinical, operational and corporate leaders.
• The confidence to provide constructive challenge, strategic advice and assurance.
• A collaborative and inclusive leadership style, with the ability to translate strategic priorities into improvement and delivery.

Above all, we are looking for someone who can bring people and organisations together around a shared ambition for planned care across the West of Scotland.

The opportunity

This appointment provides an opportunity to contribute directly to the continued development of the Sub-National West model.

The successful candidate will:

• Undertake the role on secondment for 24 months in the first instance.
• Remain employed by their substantive NHS Scotland Board.
• Retain their existing grade and terms and conditions for the duration of the secondment.
• Be able to undertake the opportunity on either a full-time or part-time basis, subject to agreed arrangements.

The operating model and infrastructure supporting Sub-National arrangements continue to develop. The substantive Job Description will therefore be subject to further development and evaluation.

Following evaluation of the substantive Job Description, recruitment to permanently evaluated posts will be undertaken in accordance with nationally agreed arrangements for Sub-National roles.

Secondment approval

Candidates who are shortlisted will be required to confirm that they have secured, or are able to secure, secondment approval from their employing NHS Board before progressing through the recruitment process.

Interested in finding out more?

We recognise that senior leaders considering a secondment of this nature may want to understand more about the developing Sub-National West arrangements and the expectations of the role.

For a confidential and informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact:

• Sub-National West Point of Contact: Russell Coulthard, Interim Chief Operating Officer Subnational West
• Email:
• Telephone:

Our commitment to equality and inclusion

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. Our aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for every employee to feel respected and able to give their best.

NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.

We will fully support disabled candidates, candidates with long-term conditions and candidates who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.

Use of AI in your application

AI tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot can be helpful when planning and preparing an application, but your answers must be your own.

Show us the real you: Your application should authentically reflect your own skills, experience, achievements and motivations.

Use AI wisely: AI can be used to help organise your thoughts or check spelling and grammar, but it should not write your application responses for you.

Why this matters: Applications that rely on AI-generated content may be withdrawn. By submitting your application, you confirm that the information, examples and achievements provided are based on your own knowledge and experience.

Think of AI as a helper, not a substitute. We want to understand you, your experience and what you would bring to Sub-National West.