The Opportunity
This is an opportunity to shape the first unified Estates and Facilities Strategy across three acute hospital trusts, support the development of a Group-wide estates and facilities model, and work closely alongside major capital and infrastructure priorities, including the New Hospital Programme at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn and James Paget University Hospital.
A newly created Group leadership role
The Group Director of Estates and Facilities will be the most senior professional lead for estates, facilities and capital matters across Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group.
Reporting to the Group Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive, the postholder will provide professional advice and assurance at Group Executive level and lead the development of the Group’s first unified Estates and Facilities Strategy.
This is a newly created role with the opportunity to shape how estates and facilities leadership operates across three hospital sites, bringing together strategic direction, operational resilience, statutory assurance, sustainability, capital planning and service improvement.
The successful candidate will need to work across organisational boundaries, understand different site contexts, build trust with senior colleagues and create a clear Group-wide direction for estates and facilities.
The scale of the opportunity
This is a role with significant scale, complexity and impact.
The portfolio includes:
• three acute hospital sites across Norfolk and Waveney
• more than 200,000 square metres of clinical and non-clinical space
• a substantial facilities workforce
• a combined E&F revenue budget in the region of £130–180 million
• a first-generation PFI contract at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital
• two RAAC hospital sites within the New Hospital Programme
• responsibility for Group-wide estates, facilities, compliance, safety, sustainability and capital planning
For candidates, this is an opportunity to operate at Executive level, influence across a developing Group model and help ensure estates and facilities are recognised as essential enablers of safe, resilient and high-quality care.
Norfolk and Waveney New Hospital Programme
The two hospital schemes work together as a single, unified programme that will deliver two state-of-the-art hospitals. This strategic integration strengthens oversight, supports consistency in clinical strategy and service planning across Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group, and enables a more efficient use of shared expertise and resources.
The Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group’s New Hospital Programme Board will oversee delivery of both hospitals and ensure alignment with Government requirements through the National New Hospital Programme, the priorities set out in the NHS 10-Year Plan, and the ongoing clinical strategy work with system partners to define the future shape of acute healthcare based on population needs and evidence.
For the Group Director of Estates and Facilities, this creates an important professional interface. While dedicated programme leadership remains in place for the New Hospital Programme, this role will work closely alongside the programme to ensure operational estate priorities, facilities services, site-based requirements and long-term estates strategy are aligned with the future direction of travel.
Leadership within a new Group model
The Group’s vision is to provide sustainable, high-quality acute healthcare delivered as locally as possible to patients.
Its objectives include:
• accelerating the ability to act decisively for the benefit of the whole Norfolk and Waveney healthcare system
• making best use of resources and reducing the collective deficit in a responsible way
• sharing resources and clinical expertise more effectively across the three trusts
• delivering high-quality, safe and sustainable care for the population of Norfolk and Waveney
For the Group Director of Estates and Facilities, these objectives create a clear leadership challenge: to ensure estates, facilities services, capital planning, compliance and sustainability are aligned with the Group’s wider ambitions.
The successful candidate will need to lead through influence, build trust across three hospital sites and bring together teams, stakeholders and priorities around a clear Group-wide estates and facilities direction.
Interested in this opportunity?
This role will suit an experienced estates and facilities leader who can operate at scale, influence at Board level and bring professional credibility across a complex acute healthcare environment.