About the role

Current state:

Elite, future-focused precision healthcare enterprise evolving technology capability to support better decision-making on patient care and reliability of clinical systems.  Take care of real patients, enable clinicians and create health journeys through tech that deliver the best clinical and post-op care. The transformation ahead will set new standards for patients and integrate systems and partnerships for greater productivity, seamless insights and quality experiences.

Why now:

This business is undergoing a bold transformation, driven by a new technology strategy designed to modernise digital capabilities and future-proof the organisation. 

As they evolve beyond traditional healthcare to become a technology-enabled health ecosystem, the right digital foundations are essential. 

The Head of Applications role is pivotal in ensuring that business-critical systems are future-focused and contemporary to meet the needs of clinicians, patients, and stakeholders.

Your Role:

As Head of Applications, you will own the software suite and its integrations.  There’ll be end-to-end management, support, and evolution of the applications across the business. 

Your mandate: ensure applications are secure, high-performing, and future-ready - enabling better patient care, improved operational efficiency, and a seamless user experience. This role includes managing a portfolio of critical systems, such as engagement systems, clinical systems (including clinical devices), and supporting operational business systems, to ensure they remain secure, efficient, and scalable.  

The core of the role includes:

Senior Leadership & Strategy: Drive the vision, strategy, and innovation for the organisation’s application landscape whilst developing and maintaining application roadmaps, ensuring alignment with business needs and evolving technologies. Lead the introduction and scaling of DevOps (expanding to DevSecOps), embedding best practices in development, testing, and release management.

People Management & Development: Build, lead, and develop a high-performing applications team that thrives on collaboration and continuous improvement whilst fostering a culture of excellence, accountability, and engagement.  Ensure the right talent is in place through strategic hiring and succession planning.

Delivery & Performance Management: Lead the effective maintenance, enhancement, and support of applications, including patching, upgrades, and security updates. Establish and enforce best practices for SDLC processes, including testing and automation. Implement DevOps methodologies to streamline deployment and improve system reliability.

Engagement & Governance: Own service delivery for business-critical applications,  performance and availability in line with clinical and business needs. Collaborate with internal stakeholders, ensuring technology solutions enhance patient care and operational efficiency. Oversee risk management, compliance, and governance processes to maintain system integrity and security.

Vendor & Commercial Management: Manage relationships with third-party vendors, and strategic partnerships drive value. Oversee vendor negotiations, ensuring optimal cost, performance, and future-proofing of technology investments. Balance business, technical, and financial considerations to optimise the value of applications across the enterprise.

Your fit:
With a deep understanding of engineering and application development within tech ecosystems, you’ll thrive in environments where technology outcomes underpin critical service delivery to internal and external parties and balance operational excellence with future innovation.

You bring a track record of successfully leading application teams, optimising enterprise software portfolios, and embedding DevOps methodologies.  In addition, you’ll be comfortable in stakeholder management, translating technical possibilities into tangible business outcomes, and making sure applications meet the needs of a transforming organisation.

With a leadership style that is tech-centric, low-ego, and results-driven, you’ll empower teams, drive continuous improvement, and turn strategy into action. Your ability to anticipate challenges, drive innovation, and optimise performance will make you an invaluable part of this transformation.

The Head of Applications must be well-versed in 

• People leadership of small teams or squads
  
  
• Enterprise application management, development, and integration
  
  
• A strong background in DevOps (and ideally DevSecOps)
  
  
• Experience in managing and optimising established  technology environments while implementing scalable, cloud-based solutions