Deputy Director of Cyber and IT Operations

University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trustis seeking a dynamic and visionary Deputy Director of Cyber & IT Operationsto join our senior leadership team at a pivotal time of transformation. This is a rare opportunity to lead digital operations at scale, supporting over 18,000 staff across seven hospitals and serving a population of 1.3 million people.

Reporting to the Chief Digital Information Officer (CDIO), you will play a central role in delivering our ambitious One UHSussex strategy, bringing together digital operations, infrastructure, data, and clinical coding into a cohesive, high-performing service. You will act as a trusted deputy to the CDIO, influencing decisions at Trust, regional and national levels.

This role offers significant breadth and impact. You will lead operational performance and technical strategy across cyber security, infrastructure, networks, service desk, end user support, and data services, ensuring high availability, resilience, and security of critical systems. Your leadership will be instrumental in driving service excellence, improving user experience, and enabling frontline staff to deliver outstanding patient care.

Main duties of the job

You will bring visible, inclusive leadership to multidisciplinary teams, fostering a positive culture and developing high-performing services. With responsibility for substantial budgets and resources, you will ensure value for money while balancing operational demands with strategic transformation programmes, including the Electronic Patient Record (EPR) programme and Sussex Pathology network (SPN). You will also deputise for the CIO.

A key element of the role is advancing cyber security and data quality, ensuring compliance with national standards and safeguarding sensitive patient information. You will lead incident response, risk management, and continuous improvement, while shaping policies and strategies that strengthen the Trust’s digital maturity.

We are looking for an experienced and credible digital leader with a strong track record in complex IT operations, strategic delivery, and stakeholder engagement. You will be resilient, forward-thinking, and able to navigate competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

If you are passionate about digital operations and want to make a tangible impact on patient outcomes, staff experience, and system-wide collaboration, this is your opportunity to lead change at scale within a forward-thinking NHS organisation.