Essentia, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, is seeking to appoint an exceptional Executive Director, Infrastructure to join its Executive Leadership Team and lead one of the most significant and complex healthcare estates portfolios in the UK.
One of the largest NHS Trusts in the country with around 25,000 staff, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK’s best-known hospitals, Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield, as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark. With a long history of clinical excellence, research and innovation, the Trust is recognised as one of the UK’s leading healthcare organisations and academic health science centres.
Essentia is responsible for the non-clinical services that are fundamental to the delivery of outstanding healthcare. From estate development, engineering and maintenance to healthcare planning, facilities management and infrastructure services, Essentia designs, builds and maintains the environments that enable world-class patient care. Employing around 2,500 people, the organisation combines public sector values with commercial focus, innovation and technical excellence to support hospitals, community services and partner organisations across London and the South East.
The Executive Director, Infrastructure is a pivotal leadership role with responsibility for the strategic stewardship, development and operational performance of the Trust’s infrastructure, engineering and maintenance functions. Leading a team of approximately 300 professional, technical and trade staff, the postholder will oversee the delivery of safe, compliant and resilient estate infrastructure across a diverse and highly complex healthcare portfolio. They will be accountable for infrastructure strategy, statutory compliance, asset management, maintenance delivery, operational resilience and the development of long-term plans to address estate backlog and support future service requirements.
Working closely with executive colleagues, clinical leaders, system partners and external stakeholders, the successful candidate will play a leading role in shaping the future of the Trust’s estate and infrastructure. They will drive operational transformation, champion a culture of safety and excellence, develop sustainable solutions that support the Trust’s net zero ambitions and ensure the estate continues to provide an outstanding environment for patients, visitors and staff.
We are seeking an inspirational and strategically minded leader with a substantial track record of leading engineering, infrastructure or estates services within a large, complex and highly regulated environment. Candidates will bring significant experience of infrastructure management, asset lifecycle planning, statutory compliance, major organisational transformation and stakeholder engagement at executive level.
This is a rare opportunity to lead infrastructure services for one of the UK’s most prestigious healthcare organisations, ensuring that critical estate and engineering services continue to support outstanding patient care, research, innovation and operational excellence for years to come.
The Candidate Brief can be viewed and downloaded at Essentia – Executive Director, Infrastructure
To arrange a confidential briefing discussion please contact our retained search advisors Nick Coppard (nicholas.coppard@mrgglobal.com / 07896 079495) or Connor Humpage (connor.humpage@mrgglobal.com / 07355 093 393) at MRG. Applications should consist of a CV and supporting statement and should be sent to both Nick and Connor.
Interviews will be held on 12th August 2026
