Why choose MiP

MiP prides itself on being a great place to work, with a well-established collaborative team focused on advancing the interests of our members and supporting each other to achieve that. We work hard to maintain a culture that gets the best from people who enjoy their work and making a difference. As Head of Operations you would be employed by the FDA. We offer a highly competitive remuneration package that includes a good salary, defined benefit pension scheme and opportunities for training and development. The post is located at FDA’s headquarters in London, on a hybrid working basis.

Managers in Partnership is a partnership between the FDA and UNISON, with our members belonging to both unions. For 20 years, we have been an effective, pragmatic trade union organisation representing senior managers and leaders working in the NHS and the wider health and care sectors across the UK. We have attracted an influential membership of 9,000 senior managers, including NHS chief executives and system leaders. We are not party-political and seek to improve our members’ working lives and the services they deliver through individual representation, negotiation, collective bargaining and campaigning. Ours is a powerful voice for health care managers and the value of their contribution.

This is an exciting time to join MiP, as we respond to the government’s seismic job cuts and system changes. Our membership is growing at pace, and we are actively investing in our network of workplace representatives. As our Head of Operations you will be personally responsible for overseeing effective casework and organising and its contribution to improving our members’ working lives. You will be part of a small senior team actively amplifying the voice of managers and seeking to shape a more humane and effective management of change in the NHS and wider sector. We are an energetic, nimble organisation, campaigning to make sure that our members’ essential role in delivering the nation’s healthcare is understood and that the NHS gets the management it needs to perform. 

Does that sound like the sort of union you’d like to be part of? 

What we are looking for

There’s no escaping that this is a challenging role: you will need to manage a team, think and lead strategically but also deliver operationally.

This is a leadership role, requiring effective people-management skills, an ability to think and act strategically and a capacity to make big decisions autonomously. You will be a self-starter, who seeks out responsibility and is comfortable prioritising across a demanding workload. You will enjoy working collaboratively within a small organisation to mobilise emerging thinking, existing talent and available resources for improvement and growth.

You will be confident working with significant autonomy and engaging with a senior management community. You will play an active role in leading MiP, whose members play a vital role in delivering health and care services, predominantly in the NHS.

Your role

Based at the FDA’s head office at London Bridge, you will be the senior manager responsible for MiP’s operational services, focused on improving our members’ working lives. This includes managing the officer team and their casework and collective representation, developing our organising capability and delivering national negotiations and campaigns. 

The Head of Operations is a challenging job requiring you to think and lead strategically, make big decisions, and develop areas of national policy as well as directly manage a team.

Together with our Chief Executive, you will be part of a senior leadership team developing our strategy, planning our organisational development, and ensuring we comply with our partner unions’ governance frameworks, including those for health and safety, data protection and complaints handling.

You will directly support the work of our National Committee and deputise for the Chief Executive as needed.

The package

The FDA employs MiP’s Head of Operations and offers a great package of terms and conditions including:

The FDA and MiP are committed to equality of opportunity and treatment, both in our services to members and as an employer.