Site Digital Portfolio Lead

The Site Digital Portfolio Lead provides senior leadership and acts as the primary relationship manager between Trust management teams and Digital Services within the Collaborative. The role ensures that digital, data and technology services are aligned to organisational priorities, clinical needs and service improvement objectives.

The postholder is responsible for managing a defined digital portfolio within one or more Trusts, translating organisational strategy into deliverable digital plans and ensuring effective coordination, prioritisation and oversight of programmes and services.

The role operates with a high degree of professional autonomy within agreed strategies, governance frameworks and financial limits, but does not hold corporate-wide or system-wide accountability. The postholder influences decision-making through expert advice, assurance and relationship management rather than executive authority.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the planning, coordination and delivery of a defined digital portfolio aligned to Trust and Collaborative digital strategies and national NHS priorities.
• Act as the senior interface between Digital Services and Trust stakeholders, including Divisional Directors, senior clinicians and operational leaders, ensuring priorities, risks and dependencies are understood and managed.
• Provide senior oversight and assurance of digital programmes and projects within the portfolio, ensuring delivery to agreed scope, time, cost and quality.
• Identify, manage and escalate risks, issues and dependencies through established governance routes, exercising professional judgement in complex and sometimes contested environments.
• Hold indirect responsibility for patient care by ensuring digital systems and services within the portfolio support safe, effective and high-quality clinical practice.
• Ensure digital initiatives are implemented in ways that minimise risk to patient safety, service continuity and clinical workflow, working closely with clinical safety officers and governance leads.
• Communicate complex digital, technical and programme information to non-technical audiences, including senior clinicians and managers.
• Manage situations where there may be differing priorities or resistance to change, using persuasion, negotiation and professional credibility rather than authority.