Principal Analyst

Band 8a

Main area

Digital

Grade

Band 8a

Contract

Permanent

Hours

Full time - 37.5 hours per week

Job ref

396-8321774-DE-DK

Site

Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust

Town

Kingston upon Thames

Salary

£63,665 - £70,887 pa pr incl HCAS (outer)

Salary period

Yearly

Closing

25/10/2026 23:59

Home, community, hospital

Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust offers a range of fantastic opportunities to grow your career across both hospital and community settings in south London. Whether you're looking to build new skills or take your experience to the next level, we are uniquely placed to provide the right environment to support your professional development. With colleagues working in people’s homes, in community clinics, and in our two hospitals, we have an outstanding breadth of knowledge and experience to draw from.

Our commitment to exceptional care is reflected in being the first trust of our kind in London to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating from the CQC for both overall quality and leadership. We exist to provide the best possible care for our patients and we do that by giving our colleagues what they need to be their best at work. We have won numerous awards from the HSJ and Nursing Times for the way we support our colleagues across all our services.

We are proud to be recognised for our outstanding cancer care, children's services, pioneering surgical teams, and exceptional rehabilitation services. Our maternity services have been rated the "Best in London" by women surveyed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), with parents travelling to Kingston to take advantage of our considerable experience and expertise.

Our Trust values

These words are important reminders, but it’s our behaviours that tell people who we are. We expect all colleagues to bring our values to life in their work.

• Compassionate: We provide care with kindness, understanding, and empathy for all.
• Inclusive: We embrace diversity and respect the unique contributions of every individual.
• Collaborative: We foster teamwork across all levels, working together and with our partners to deliver the best outcomes.
• Inspiring: We are committed to continuous improvement and excellence in patient care, staff development, and innovation.

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and forward-thinking analytics professional to join Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust as a Principal Analyst within the Data and Performance Directorate.

This senior role provides analytical leadership for one of the Trust's clinical divisions, delivering high-quality insight that supports operational performance, strategic planning, service improvement and patient care. Working closely with clinical, operational and corporate leaders, you will transform complex healthcare data into meaningful intelligence that enables informed decision-making across the organisation.

As a subject matter expert in healthcare analytics, you will lead the development of innovative reporting solutions, champion self-service analytics, and provide expert advice on data interpretation, benchmarking and performance improvement. You will also contribute to the Trust's evolving analytical capability through the application of advanced analytical techniques, demand and capacity modelling, and predictive approaches that help shape future services.

This role is ideal for someone who combines strong technical expertise with excellent stakeholder engagement skills and a passion for using data to drive positive change across healthcare services

Main duties of the job

• Lead the provision of analytical support and business intelligence for a designated area.
• Develop meaningful insight from a wide range of clinical, operational and performance datasets to support decision-making and service improvement.
• Build and maintain high-quality reporting solutions using Microsoft SQL, Excel and Power BI.
• Work closely with clinicians, managers and senior leaders to understand information needs and deliver actionable intelligence.
• Lead or support analytical projects relating to service transformation, operational improvement, planning and performance.
• Promote best practice in data visualisation, self-service reporting and analytical methodology.
• Provide expert advice on NHS datasets, performance standards, national guidance and data quality requirements.
• Undertake complex analysis, benchmarking, forecasting, demand and capacity modelling and scenario planning.
• Line manage and develop members of the Analytics team, supporting their professional growth and performance.
• Represent the Analytics service at divisional, Trust-wide and external meetings where specialist analytical expertise is required

Working for our organisation

Development and staff wellbeing

Your growth and happiness matters to us. After all, we can’t expect the best from you if we don’t invest in your development and nurture your wellbeing. From the moment you join us, we’re committed to fostering your professional and personal development within a supportive, empowering environment. Whether you’re just starting your career or looking to advance further, we provide you with the tools and opportunities you need to succeed. We actively support colleagues to take part in research, quality improvement and innovation, whatever their role or level in the organisation.

To support your wellbeing, we offer an extensive range of resources, including an on-site staff nursery at Kingston Hospital, wellbeing practitioners, wellbeing classes, dedicated staff physiotherapist, comprehensive occupational health services, 24/7 employee assistance programme, and a range of other support and activities.

We also take every opportunity to thank and recognise the work our teams do, through weekly ‘shoutouts’ and patient feedback, monthly and annual awards.

Wherever you work across our organisation, we look forward to welcoming you.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Analytical Leadership

The postholder will act as the lead analyst for a clinical division, providing expert analytical support to operational and clinical teams. They will oversee the production of accurate, timely and insightful information that supports performance management, service delivery and strategic objectives.

The Principal Analyst will champion the use of data and evidence to improve decision-making and will help drive the organisation's transition from retrospective reporting towards proactive and predictive analytics.

Business Intelligence and Reporting

The successful candidate will:

• Design, develop and maintain reporting solutions, dashboards and analytical products using Excel, Power BI, SQL and other business intelligence tools.
• Translate complex business requirements into effective reporting and analytical solutions.
• Produce both routine and ad hoc analyses to support operational, clinical and corporate priorities.
• Develop innovative visualisations that make complex information accessible and actionable for a wide range of audiences.
• Ensure analytical outputs meet agreed quality standards and governance requirements.

Service Improvement and Strategic Insight

The postholder will:

• Support divisional and Trust-wide improvement initiatives through robust analytical evidence and evaluation.
• Undertake benchmarking and comparative analyses to identify opportunities for performance improvement.
• Contribute to demand and capacity planning, scenario modelling and forecasting activities.
• Analyse the impact of national policy changes, information standards and reporting requirements.
• Provide recommendations on data sources, methodologies and analytical approaches to support service development and transformation programmes.

Stakeholder Engagement

Working in partnership with clinicians, managers and senior leaders, the Principal Analyst will:

• Build effective relationships across the Trust and wider NHS.
• Provide expert interpretation of performance, activity and outcome data.
• Present complex findings in a clear and engaging manner for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Facilitate discussions around performance, data quality and service improvement opportunities.
• Act as a trusted advisor on healthcare data, information standards and analytical best practice.

Team Leadership and Development

The role includes responsibility for line management and leadership within the Analytics team, including:

• Managing staff performance, wellbeing and professional development.
• Supporting recruitment, induction, appraisal and succession planning activities.
• Promoting a collaborative, supportive and learning-focused culture.
• Contributing to the development of analytical standards, processes and quality assurance arrangements.
• Supporting the delivery of training and knowledge sharing across both the Analytics team and wider organisation.

Governance and Professional Responsibility

The postholder will:

• Ensure compliance with Information Governance, data protection and confidentiality requirements.
• Promote high standards of data quality and analytical rigour.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of NHS information standards, datasets, performance frameworks and emerging analytical techniques.
• Deputise for the Deputy Head of Analytics or Head of Analytics as required at senior meetings and forums.
• Contribute to the ongoing development of the Trust's analytical capability and data-driven culture.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to Master's degree level in a relevant subject (or equivalent level of knowledge and experience)
• Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to analytics, business intelligence or informatics

Desirable criteria

• Professional qualification in data analytics, business intelligence, informatics or project management

Experience

Essential criteria

• Significant experience working in a healthcare analytics, business intelligence or performance environment
• Experience of leading complex analytical projects and delivering actionable insights to support decision-making
• Experience of developing and maintaining reporting solutions using SQL and BI tools
• Experience of working with senior operational and clinical stakeholders
• Experience of managing, supervising or mentoring staff

Desirable criteria

• Experience of demand and capacity modelling, forecasting or service planning
• Experience of delivering self-service reporting solutions using Power BI

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Advanced knowledge of analytical methodologies, performance reporting and business intelligence principles
• Knowledge of NHS performance standards, datasets and healthcare information flows
• Understanding of information governance, data protection and data quality requirements
• Ability to interpret and communicate complex information to non-technical audiences

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of NHS commissioning, service transformation and performance management frameworks
• Understanding of predictive analytics and advanced statistical techniques

Skills

Essential criteria

• Advanced SQL skills with the ability to analyse and manipulate complex datasets
• Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Ability to influence and build effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
• Ability to prioritise competing demands and manage a complex workload
• Demonstrable leadership skills with the ability to motivate and develop others

Desirable criteria

• Advanced Power BI development and data visualisation skills
• Experience of using statistical or analytical software
• Ability to identify opportunities for innovation and service improvement through data analysis

We support the NHS Flex for the Future pledge

We welcome conversations about flexible working from day one, including options such as adjusted hours, compressed hours and other arrangements. If flexibility matters to you, please talk to us - we’ll be happy to explore what’s possible for the role and the service.

Your recruitment team

The NHS South West London Recruitment Hub is your dedicated recruitment team, here to support you at every stage of the process. If you have a query, please contact us:

E: [email protected]

Your application

Please ensure your supporting statement clearly reflects the job description and person specification, as shortlisting will be based on these criteria.

Please refer to the latest UKVI guidance and ensure you have the appropriate right to work before applying for this role.

Use of Artificial Intelligence
We kindly ask that you avoid using AI tools to draft your application. We value authentic, individual responses that reflect your own experience and communication style.

References

Please provide a minimum of 3 years’ employment and/or education history, including professional email addresses (not personal accounts such as Hotmail or Gmail). If you cannot provide these, please inform the interview panel to avoid delays in pre-employment checks.

Closing date

To help us manage recruitment efficiently, some vacancies may close early once we have received a sufficient number of applications.

Shortlisting

If you are successfully shortlisted, you will be contacted by email or SMS from the South West London Recruitment Hub. Please check your registered TRAC email regularly.

Application feedback

If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has not been successful on this occasion.

Safeguarding and DBS Checks

We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. For roles with direct access to these groups, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check will be required. All staff are expected to understand and uphold their safeguarding responsibilities as part of their role.

Further details / informal visits contact

Name

David Taylor

Job title

Deputy Head of Analytics

Email address

[email protected]

Telephone number

Microsoft Teams only