Executive Practice Director

Grove Medical Centre 

Executive Practice Director

Practice context 

Location: Deptford,  South East London 

Patient list size : circa 13,000 and growing 

Partnership : Three Clinical General Practitioner Partners 

Practice profile : a leading training practice with an ambitious, aspiring workforce. The practice is highly effective both clinically and emotionally, with strong investment in supportive technology and innovation and clear career progression for all staff. 

Commercial context: the practice is run as highly efficient, effective and profitable business. This role is central to maintaining and improving profitability while protecting patient experience, safety, staff wellbeing and regulatory compliance. 

 Role purpose 

The Partners are recruiting a senior non-clinical leader to sit at the heart of the senior management team, owning day to day operational delivery and the commercial performance of the practice. This is a decisive, high-trust role. The Partnership needs someone who thinks rationally and strategically, scans the horizon and stays relentlessly focused on what else is possible. You will bring intellectual rigour, independent judgement and the confidence to challenge constructively, while keeping the Partners fully involved in key decisions. 

 The successful candidate will stabilise and strengthen core operations, lead digital transformation, automation and technology innovation and build new internal and collaborative services across the wider primary care system. Reporting to the Partners, you will turn strategy into clear delivery plans, governance and measurable outcomes, protecting profitability and resilience, maintaining continuous inspection readiness and positioning the practice for sustainable, scalable growth. 

 Role details 

Salary: circa £80,000 (depending on experience) 

Seniority : Senior manager, member of the senior management team 

Core focus : operational excellence, financial performance and profit protection, quality and compliance assurance, people leadership and digital transformation (including automation and practical use of Artificial Intelligence where appropriate). 

Description (Synopsis)

 As the senior non-clinical leader, you will provide commercially grounded, financially astute leadership that delivers clear outcomes while balancing quality, safety, experience and profitability. You will operate with strong executive presence, communicating clearly and confidently, and building credibility with Partners and teams through sound judgement and consistent delivery.

You will lead collaborative decision making, using structured discussion and co-design to create buy-in, align stakeholders and move work forward at pace. You will negotiate effectively and manage suppliers and contracts with strong attention to detail, disciplined follow-through and clear accountability.

You will take a systems-led approach to improvement, simplifying complex operational challenges into measurable, repeatable processes and ensuring standards are embedded, monitored and sustained. Your decision making will be rational and strategic, grounded in objective logic and options-based problem solving. You will also be future-focused and intuitive, spotting patterns early, anticipating risk and planning for long-term improvement rather than short-term fixes. You will maintain strong professional curiosity, staying current with best practice, technology and policy, and applying learning in practical ways.

Key responsibilities 

Operational leadership and service delivery 

• Lead day to day operational delivery, ensuring safe, effective and patient-centred performance 

• Design and run high-reliability operating systems for access, workflow, demand and capacity management 

• Set standards, monitor performance and deliver against agreed targets and priorities 

• Chair operational meetings, ensuring clear actions, owners, deadlines and follow-through. 

  Finance, business management and profitability 

• Provide financial insight and support across budgeting, forecasting, cost control, cash flow, and management reporting 

• Maximise income and protect profitability through accurate claiming, performance delivery, contract management and proactive identification of new revenue opportunities 

• Lead procurement and supplier management, negotiating best value and monitoring service performance 

• Produce clear financial insights for Partners, including scenario modelling and recommendations that balance risk, quality and profit 

• Identify and deliver measurable opportunities to reduce avoidable cost and waste, without compromising patient safety or experience. 

 Quality, governance and continuous inspection readiness 

• Maintain continuous CQC readiness with supporting evidence

• Own the practice risk register, assurance processes and action tracking to completion 

• Ensure policy governance, version control and audit trails are robust and current 

• Embed a learning culture through significant event review, complaints intelligence and improvement cycles. 

 People leadership, line management and performance 

• Provide visible leadership to the non-clinical team, setting clear expectations and standards 

• Operate robust line management to maximise performance, including objectives, one to ones, coaching and early, fair performance management 

• Oversee recruitment, induction, probation and development pathways building a resilient team with clear deputies and succession plans 

• Ensure workforce planning and rota resilience, including short notice contingency for sickness and leave 

• Maintain compliance with employment legislation and manage employee relations issues appropriately 

 Str ategy, service development and system working 

• Provide strategic guidance to the Partners, presenting options and recommendations clearly and objectively 

• Translate agreed strategy into delivery plans and measurable outcomes, including technology priorities for partnership approval 

• Identify and deliver new internal services and collaborative services across the Primary Care Network and system partners 

• Represent the practice externally as required, maintaining constructive relationships with stakeholders and commissioners 

 Information governance, technology and data 

• Oversee information governance, ensuring appropriate policies, training and compliance controls are in place and sustained 

• Work with external support to ensure systems are secure, reliable and fit for purpose 

• Ensure data quality and reporting discipline to support operational, clinical and financial decision making 

• Ensure confidentiality and lawful information sharing, escalating specialist advice where needed 

• Act as the Senior Information Risk Owner for the organisation 

 Premises, health and safety and business continuity 

• Oversee premises and facilities management, maintenance planning and contractor management 

• Be responsible for health and safety arrangements, risk assessments and compliance 

• Maintain business continuity arrangements, ensuring readiness for disruption and change. 

Interview Process

The application requires a cover letter, in the form of a supporting statement of no more than 500 words, explaining how your experience meets the role requirements. Please summarise your leadership experience across operational delivery, financial management, people management, compliance and governance, and service improvement, and link this clearly to the Job Description.

For successful candidates, initial interviews will take place on Wednesday March 11th 2026.

Informal visits to the practice are welcomed pre-interview.

Requirements

Person specification 

Qualifications and professional development 

• Graduate 

• Evidence of ongoing continuing professional development 

Desirable 

• Additional degree level qualifications. 

• Relevant senior management qualifications, finance qualification, or equivalent experience. 

Experience 

Essential 

• Senior operational leadership with accountability for service delivery and performance 

• Strong financial leadership including budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management and demonstrable profit improvement 

• Experience leading digital transformation, technology change and automation in a service environment 

• Proven ability to design and run performance dashboards, using data to manage outcomes and make decisions 

• Experience of regulatory compliance and maintaining continuous inspection readiness, with strong evidence and assurance processes 

• People leadership experience including recruitment, line management, performance management, employee relations and workforce planning. 

  Desirable 

• Experience in general practice, Primary Care Network delivery, or wider National Health Service management 

• Experience of service development across partner organisations. 

S kills, attributes and leadership profile 

• Commercially minded, financially astute and outcome focused, able to balance quality, safety, experience and profitability 

• Clear, confident communicator with strong executive presence and the ability to gain respect from Partners and teams 

• Collaborative and inclusive, able to create buy-in through structured discussion, co-design and clear decision making 

• Confident negotiator and supplier manager, with attention to detail and disciplined follow-through 

• Strong systems thinker, comfortable with complexity and able to simplify operations into measurable, repeatable processes. 

Cognitive and decision style

• Rational and strategic: makes decisions based on objective logic rather than emotions, with a constructive, options-based approach to challenges 

• Intuitive and future-focused: identifies patterns, anticipates risk and plans for long-term improvement, not just immediate fixes 

• Knowledge-oriented: values mastery and continuous learning, stays current with best practice, technology and policy 

• Independent thinker: self-confident, able to challenge respectfully and enjoys complex problem solving. 

Other requirements 

• Sufficient English language fluency as required under the Immigration Act 2016 

• Willingness to work flexibly to meet operational needs, including occasional meetings outside standard hours. 

Benefits

Basic salary up to £80,000 (dependant on experience)