Operations Director (Specific Purpose Contract)

**Operations Director**

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**Specified Purpose Contract, Full Time Hours.**

**This role is aligned to the HSE Pay Scale of Grade Code: 0041 General Manager.**

**The Operations Director will report to the Chief Executive Officer of Mercy University Hospital.**

Mercy University Hospital (MUH), is a Section 38 Voluntary Hospital, founded in 1857 by the Sisters of Mercy. MUH is a city centre acute hospital, treating over 140,000 patients across all services annually, employing circa 1,800 staff. The hospital is a registered charity and operates as a not for profit entity.

MUH provides complex diagnostic, medical and surgical services at local, regional and national levels on a 24/7 basis. The hospital currently has 316 beds providing a general hospital function of acute unscheduled care (24/7 Emergency Department) as well as a wide range of scheduled elective diagnostics and both day case and complex elective surgery. There is an on-site acute HSE mental health service with 50 in-patient beds.

The hospital is a leading provider of healthcare education affiliated with UCC and many of the post graduate training bodies. MUH is committed to being an exemplar model of 'one hospital on multiple sites' and this is evidenced through the governance of off-site MUH services on St Mary's Health Campus including the Mercy Local Injury Unit and the Transitional Care Unit and the offsite Medical Oncology Unit at the Lee Clinic.

**Purpose of the Role**

The Operations Director is a senior executive with accountability for driving operational excellence across the hospital. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, they will lead the transformation of service delivery by embedding efficiency frameworks, optimising resource utilisation and ensuring measurable performance improvement across all clinical and support functions.

The Operations Director will champion a culture of continuous improvement - developing and sustaining high-performing teams, streamlining care pathways, and driving system-wide productivity gains that enable the hospital to meet current demand while building long-term organisational resilience.

This is a pivotal leadership role for a strategically minded, data-driven operator with a proven record of delivering transformational change in complex healthcare or equivalent professional-services environments.

**Details of Service -** **The Operations Director holds responsibility for:**

• The provision and strategic direction of all Support Services (Clinical and Non-Clinical) including Health and Social Care Professionals (HSCP), Medical Records & Administration, General Support Services, Portering and Catering.
• Leading organisational change and the hospital improvement programme.
• Giving strategic advice and guidance on organisational performance.
• Providing professional development and guidance on patient services.
• Implementing hospital strategy to support integrated clinical and business strategies.
• Representing the CEO in delegated matters pertaining to this area of responsibility.

**Responsibilities Include:**

• Strategic Leadership.
• Operational Efficiency & Performance Management.
• Service Redesign & Continuous Improvement.
• People Leadership & Development.
• Compliance & Sustainability.

**Eligibility Criteria -** **Candidates must at the latest date of application:**

• Provide significant evidence of experience working at a senior management level, ideally in a large complex healthcare organisation of similar professional driven service industry.
• Demonstrate experience of developing and applying agreement and performance tracking structures, such as KPI's, OLA's, SLA's, Contracts, etc.
• Have a highly developed knowledge of managing multi-disciplinary professional teams.
• Have experience of people/performance management and budgetary management.
• Have experience of operational planning and implementation including strategic planning and options appraisal.
• Possess sufficient administrative capacity to discharge the functions of the office in addition to management ability and experience.
• Have experience of working collaboratively with multiple external and internal stakeholders as relevant to this role.
• Hold a relevant third level qualification of at least Level 8 on the National Qualifications Framework maintained by Qualifications and Quality Ireland, (QQI).

**A copy of the full job description is available on request. Informal enquiries can be made to tel. +353 (0)21 493 5450.**

**Closing date for applications is 1pm on Friday, 13 March 2026.**

**MUH reserve the right to create a panel for this post from which permanent, fixed term and specified purpose vacancies of a full or part time duration may be filled.**