North West London Pathology (NWLP) is an NHS pathology partnership joint venture between Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Chelsea & Westminster NHS Foundation Trust and The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. NWLP is modelled as a shared services organisation jointly owned by the three Trusts. The organisation is hosted by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and as the legal entity for NWLP our staff are employed by Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
NWLP is based on a ‘hub and spoke’ structure; the majority of routine, specialist and non-urgent activity is centralised at our hub site at Charing Cross Hospital. Urgent tests required for immediate patient management and treatment are performed in 24/7 Essential Service Laboratories based on-site within the seven hospital sites in the group.
The partnership has created an innovative and sustainable service that delivers outstanding quality to users and patients alike. This innovative approach allows the service to better manage demand, standardise operations, improve value for money and make use of state-of-the-art technology.
Our values are to be patient-focused, collaborative, expert and caring.
Job overview
We are seeking an exceptional Associate Director of Performance and Service to join our NWLP team and continue to shape the future of pathology services.
Driven by visionary leadership, strategic investment and transformative initiatives, NWLP has grown into one of the UK’s most forward-thinking diagnostic service providers. We are recognised as pioneers in England for establishing one of the first fully integrated NHS pathology network.
The Associate Director of Performance and Service is a senior leadership post within the Portfolio and Strategic Delivery division, reporting directly to and deputising for the Director of Portfolio and Strategic Delivery. The postholder provides expert leadership across all of North West London Pathology services focusing on Performance and Improvement capability, with a particular focus on operational service improvement, business case development and assurance, benefits realisation and the embedding of a sustainable continuous improvement culture across NWLP.
The postholder brings deep, hands-on operational experience of pathology services, enabling them to provide credible challenge, expert guidance and practical leadership to service redesign and improvement activity. They act as a key stakeholder in performance intelligence, strategic investment decisions and the delivery of sustained operational improvement, ensuring that all improvement activity is proportionate, evidence-based and aligned to NWLP's strategic objectives.
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- Provide expert operational and strategic leadership of the Performance and Improvement capability area within the Portfolio and Strategic Delivery division and across all areas of NWLP.
- Lead and quality-assure the development, challenge and approval of business cases across the NWLP investment pipeline, ensuring proposals are evidence-based, aligned to strategy and supported by robust benefit definition and realisation planning.
- Lead complex, cross-divisional improvement programmes aligned to NWLP's strategic priorities, working alongside clinical and operational leads.
- Be responsible for the development and ongoing maturity of structured Continuous Improvement capability across NWLP operational teams.
- Develop and maintain a robust organisational wide performance framework that enables effective planning, monitoring, diagnosis and proactive intervention across all services.
Working for our organisation
Benefits include career development, flexible working, staff wellbeing programmes, staff awards and recognition scheme. We also have available benefits including Cycle to Work, car lease schemes, season ticket loan or membership options for onsite leisure facilities.
Environmental sustainability
Climate change and poor air quality is a health emergency that harms people’s health and wellbeing and widens health inequalities. The Trust is also committed to reducing its impact on the environment by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to Net Zero by 2045. All our employees have a role to play, and we have an active green network that supports staff to act in ways that ensures that our services are efficient, sustainable and reduce our impact on the environment www.imperial.nhs.uk/about-us/our-strategy/green-plan
NWLP Induction
The NWLP induction will run on the first Monday of each month (provided it does not fall on a bank holiday) and includes laboratory training (for relevant laboratory roles). All new staff must attend the NWLP induction during their first week with NWLP.
2026-2027 start dates which you will be able to book once you have completed all your pre-employment checks.
Monday 7 December 2026
Monday 4 January 2027
Monday 1 February 2027
Monday 1 March 2027
Monday 5 April 2027
Candidates are advised to consider these start dates before agreeing end of service date with their current employer.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.
For both overviews please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.
Right to work
If you need sponsorship to work in the UK, please visit the Home Office website for information on sponsorship and visa status before you fill in your application form. Due to recent changes in the UK immigration rules which affect Skilled Worker Visas, Global Business Mobility, Higher Skill Level and Increased Salary Thresholds, please ensure that you are able to meet the requirements to live and work in the UK before applying. Further information about eligibility is available on UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK
Infection control
Please note it is an operational requirement to comply with infection prevention and control procedures within NWLP such as lateral flow testing, handwashing and the wearing of masks, according to the procedures in place at any time or location.
We operate a joint recruitment hub across the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative Group. As part of this, your application and personal data may be shared with partner trusts within the group for recruitment and workforce purposes, in line with general data protection regulation (GDPR).
Vacancy Closing Date
This vacancy may close before the current listed closing date. You are advised not to delay submitting your completed application.
Please ensure you check your emails regularly throughout the recruitment process.