Working as a partnership, both Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust have a shared vision for excellence in care for our patients and communities; with a set of strategic aims underpinning how we will achieve this. 

The single corporate service is delivered across both organisation.  You may be based at either IWT or PHU and individuals may be required to undertake business travel between sites. For leaders managing staff across multi-site locations, you will need to be visible and provide in person leadership. The arrangements and frequency will be agreed locally.

Single Corporate Service Summary

This vacancy is open exclusively to internal applicants currently employed by Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust.

NHS Band 8B Salary:  £66,582 - £77,368 per annum

Hours Per Week:  Full Time 37.5

Contract type:  Temporary for 23 months

Job purpose

There is an aspiration across the Group to become ‘Information Led’ by driving behaviours that enable decisions based on relevant information using quality timely data.

In addition to achieve the Group’s strategic transformation ambitions and to continue to support our high quality, efficient front-line services, it is crucial that the Group can rely on consistent, accurate, timely and well-managed data. This role will play a lead role in delivering this aim.

This role will be at the heart of ensuring that the Group can clearly understand, manage, and use these data effectively in line with its strategic ambitions. The role will lead in building data management capabilities across the Group, focusing on data quality, analytics, and corporate BI & performance reporting.

Job summary

• To act as the lead for the design, development and support of the Groups data infrastructure and associated technologies, tools and solutions to deliver an effective data management service to the Group.
• To lead and manage a team of software developers, supporting them in sourcing and building industry leading, robust and innovative software solutions that are fit for purpose.
• To develop a strategy for the team to meet the organisations goals and objectives by identifying future data management solutions, researching, and reviewing recognised best practice and upcoming changes to technology. To plan and monitor the successful implementation of this strategy.
• Responsible for the quality and technical approach taken by team members, ensuring it is in-line with the organisation’s strategy – and that projects are delivered on time and on budget.

Specific Core Functions

Team Management

• Provide leadership and guidance to coach, motivate and lead a team of software developers to their optimum performance levels and career development.  Line management responsibilities will include resourcing decisions, technical recruitment, technical appraisals, 1:1 meetings and identifying training needs.

• Review project progress and overview of the performance of all individuals in team. Coaching and performance management where necessary. Facilitating the smooth delivery of all projects, enhancements and support delivered by the team.

• Responsible for the quality and technical approach taken by team members, ensuring it is in-line with the overarching strategy and that projects are delivered on time and budget

• Devise a tactical plan which can be collaboratively carried out by the team – to implement improvements to our products, services, processes and knowledge sharing within the team. To plan for team growth considering the blend/level of skills required within team.

• Facilitate regular discussions regarding internal process and system improvements in order to ensure maximum efficiency across the organisation. Including suggesting technical solutions to problems.

• Have a clear task list and plan for inducting new members into the team and bring them up-to-speed as quickly as possible. Making sure that all training and support that team members require is delivered internally or externally.

• Implement best practice across the staff, ensuring tasks are appropriately prioritised and scheduled, skills appropriately utilised, procedures documented and followed, adequate coverage for absence and Out-of-Hours support is in place, and consistent, up-to-date documentation is established and maintained.

• Produce team work plans, agendas and activity reports, carry out effective team briefs. – 8
• Develop performance standards for the staff, monitoring achievement against these, and devising improved ways of working

• Ensure the regular performance appraisal of individual members of staff, agreeing their development needs, and identifying and implementing appropriate training and development opportunities. Objectives identified are to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely (SMART)

• Ensure that annual department objectives are set and these are contributing to the Trust’s Integrated Business Plan and the Trust IT Strategy

• Ensure that staff and external contractors work in a responsible and safe manner and have due regard for health and safety regulations.

Strategic Direction, Planning and Technical Leadership

• Undertake the role of key technical lead and subject matter expert within the organisation for the technologies within your remit.

• Develop and drive the strategic direction of our chosen technologies and services taking into account emerging and legacy technologies. To oversee all elements from definition to implementation.

• Provide a software development plan that meets the future needs of the organization, based on state-of-the-art technologies.

• Facilitate technology and methodology decision making throughout team, including standardisation of system architecture, reusable code base development, versions of software tools, best practice, source control and deployment processes.

• Provide a technical lead on projects where appropriate providing technical specifications and advice where necessary.

• Create and maintain a professional culture within the team, where individuals take ownership and are fastidious and proud of delivering excellence and quality.

• Utilise, as appropriate, a number of different methodologies such as Scrum and SPRINT to supplement normal PRINCE project management processes.

• Oversee the technical strategy and implementation of our own internal development stream activities – to make sure they apply to the same standards that we would expect for external work.

• Freely share knowledge, insight, best practice and ideas.

ICT Projects Management and Delivery

• Work closely with the Business Management and Transformation (IT Managers) functions to identify, define and specify functional and non-functional requirements.

• Identify opportunities where internal development would meet the requirements, alternatively work collaboratively in evaluating external products and solutions and ensuring technological fit to strategy.

• Drive consistent standards and approaches throughout the team. To write clean and healthy structured, well documented code. To build future-proof reusable core code libraries, which can be shared, in-order to drive further efficiencies throughout the team. To deliver code which is well tested and consistently error free. To design and build database schema’s with integrity and scalability with data access layers that are optimised for performance and security.

• Implementing and monitoring ongoing strategies to enable us to deliver quality and excellence through robust testing and policies that are balanced and appropriate to the scope of project being delivered.

• Make sure written reports for project, departmental and performance purposes are written to appropriate standards and client communication is at an excellent and professional level.

• Use your experience when reviewing and auditing code. To assist in critical support issues where your experience is required to ascertain the issue quickly and to find the most appropriate resolution. To take control over critical support instances and putting into place the correct escalation and process to manage and resolve issues as soon as possible.

• Undertake all aspects of system maintenance and support as required, including end user support and training. 

• Ensure that ITIL standards are embedded and maintained within all elements of the teams’ activities.

• Keep aware of latest Information Governance requirements, including data protection and security threats and to make sure we mitigate against these risks against known industry standards. To make sure that team/organisation are aware of these issues.

• Ensure the effective and efficient handover of projects and systems to routine operational support, including the production of appropriate system and support documentation.

Innovation Management and Research and Development

• Proactively drive innovation with new ideas and options made available by new technologies. To maintain and actively contribute to a list of innovation & research projects. To assist by offering strategic and technical advice for anyone working on these projects.

• Create a culture of promoting new ideas and identifying opportunities within the team for the organisation. Encouraging pro-active discussions with the Business Management and Transformation (IT Managers) function.

• Take a key role in the overall IT and technical strategy of the organisation.

• Play a lead role in the Design Authority process, identifying new technologies and technical standards for use within the organisation.

• Organise and participate in research and development activities, evaluating new technologies and systems as required.

• Keep up to date with the latest software development technologies and methodologies.

• Develop, promote and encourage the effective use of information and applications within the organisation.

• Attend technical forums and events, representing the organization, with a view to identifying and understanding emerging technologies and developing an understanding their relevance in our evolving technical strategy.

Others

• Participate in a rota system for on-call services.

• It may be necessary on occasions to work outside of normal working hours to support deployments and to carry out routine maintenance on systems

• Assist the Head of IT Solutions and Development in other related areas as required.

For further details please refer to enclosed job description.

Essential

• Degree level qualification or equivalent in IT or related field
• Specialist IT qualification covering database and software engineering (e.g. Masters degree,  Microsoft certification or equivalent)
• ITIL Foundation Certificate
• Budget / Financial management experience

Desirable

• Registration or membership of a professional body with IT accreditation (e.g. British Computer Society)
• ITIL Manager Level

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and Disability, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs. 

For more information, please see our People and OD Strategy 2026