Digital Design Guardian - New Hospital Programme (NHP)

Digital Design Guardian - New Hospital Programme

The Digital Design Guardian plays a pivotal role in translating the digital ambition of the New Hospital Programme into deliverable, compliant, and sustainable designs that reflect the Hospital 2.0 ethos. This role ensures that digital elements, spanning design assurance, technology integration, clinical enablement, information standards, and environmental performance, are embedded consistently across schemes and stages.

Operating across Trusts and delivery partners, the Guardian will support and challenge design and delivery teams to align digital products, data, clinical needs, and carbon reduction goals with the H2.0 standard. The role offers coaching, challenge, and a clear escalation route on matters of deviation, integration, assurance, and sustainability compliance.

The Design Guardian will report to the Digital Design Guardian Lead but work closely with the Technical Services Design Guardian Lead.

Key role responsibilities

• Support digital design guardianship across the portfolio, acting as the interface between local design activity and national digital and sustainability standards.
• Provide expert input into early-stage design decisions, ensuring digital and low-carbon requirements are integrated from the outset.
• Support Trust and partner teams to interpret and implement the digital spine, reference designs, enabling systems, and carbon-conscious design principles.
• Support QA activities for digital design content within Trust Engagement Meetings (TEMs) and approval gates, including sustainability metrics.
• Identify integration pinch points and escalate gaps in digital readiness, capability, design compliance, or carbon performance.
• Identify emerging technologies (e.g., AI, IoT, digital twins) that can accelerate decarbonisation and improve design assurance.
• Collaborate with Digital Product Leads, Clinical Pathways, and Technical Assurance to embed holistic digital design principles that support energy efficiency, resource optimisation, and behavioural change for decarbonisation.
• Contribute to the development and iteration of digital playbooks, tooling pathways, and rulesets underpinning design, with a focus on net-zero targets.
• Attend site visits, hybrid check-ins, and contribute to the wider HDP Digital Design & Assurance governance, including sustainability reporting.
• Act as a digital ambassador, engaging with senior stakeholders to promote the value of digital in achieving net-zero targets and support change management initiatives that embed digital-first, low-carbon thinking across Trusts and delivery partners.

Key skills, experience and qualifications

Technical competencies

• Proven experience in digital design, architecture, or systems integration within complex capital build programmes.
• Strong understanding of how digital, data and technology intersect with clinical workflows and spatial design.
• Experience working across RIBA stages and business case development cycles.
• Demonstrated coaching multidisciplinary teams on digital standards or tools.
• Able to interpret and communicate technical principles to a range of stakeholders.
• Familiarity with common data environments, information requirements, and NHS digital infrastructure.

Industry competencies

• Substantial experience of complex buildings.
• Must have experience working in a matrix organisation

Professional competencies

• Able to support the alignment of design solutions with programmatic vision and H2.0 KPIs.
• Ability to communicate in a succinct manner, verbal and written.
• Ability to build lasting relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Politically aware.
• Able to engage and communicate confidently, appropriately and constructively with a range of individuals from chief executive to design staff working on Trust design teams.
• Emotional intelligence
• Team player