NHS England posts job ad for director of digital experience

New director will earn at least £131k and report to the new chief information and technology officer

NHS England is offering a salary of at least £131,301 for a director of digital experience.

The new role comes after the NHS struggled to fill a chief information and technology officer (CITO) job created after the departure in December of Tim Kelsey, national director for patient and information.

However, the NHS has since hired Matthew Swindells as national director of operations and information to take over many of Kelsey's duties, suggesting that the initial idea for the CITO role was overly ambitious and that the NHS is splitting the duties between Swindells, a CITO and a director of digital experience. An NHS spokesperson told Computing that the exact remit for the CITO role will be decided when a successful candidate is in place.

As it stands, the CITO will report to Swindells and the new director of digital experience will report to the CITO.

The NHS explained in the job ad that the director will be a key senior leader in the CITO's group tasked with driving the NHS digital product roadmap with measurable results based on enhanced patient outcomes, product engagement from users and tangible efficiency benefits.

The successful candidate will identify services across the NHS portfolio where digitisation will dramatically improve patient outcomes or enable organisations to be better at prevention, and to enhance outcome measures and financial sustainability.

NHS England is looking for "first class" partnership and stakeholder management skills, as the director will work closely with the Department of Health, NHS Digital and the Government Digital Service, and will represent NHS England and wider NHS interests nationally when it comes to developing cross-government digital policy and strategy.

The candidate will have demonstrable and significant senior commercial experience, and knowledge in the deployment of digital technologies and the channels to yield major cost improvements and enhance end user outcomes.

He or she will have experience in the design, development and deployment of digital channels and technologies, including practical experience of leading channel, website and application development.

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 24 June. The NHS advises those who wish to discuss the role to contact the organisation's chief people officer, Stephen Moir.