Assistant Director - Registration and Revalidation

The Nursing and Midwifery Council; Greater London; On-site; GBP 105,000 - 116,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 30 days

Pension contributions

Life insurance

Hybrid working

Maternity/Paternity leave

Employee assistance program

Cycle to work

Perkbox

Restaurant discount in Portland Place

Season ticket loans

Job summary

Nursing and Midwifery Co is seeking an experienced Assistant Director for Registration and Revalidation in London. You will lead the Registration, Revalidation and Test of Competence functions, ensuring high-quality, legally robust processes while reporting to the Deputy Director of Professional Practice.

You will shape strategic direction, drive performance improvement, manage complex regulatory matters, and build strong working relationships with government bodies, regulators, education

Qualifications

• Requires qualification as a Barrister or Solicitor with practising certificate.
• Significant senior leadership experience in regulatory/legal/public service environments.
• Experience leading large operational teams and transforming services.

Responsibilities

• Lead Registration, Revalidation and Test of Competence services.
• Ensure fair, evidence-based, legally sound regulatory decisions.
• Provide strategic leadership across performance, governance and service improvement.
• Drive large-scale transformation to meet organisational priorities and future workforce needs.
• Oversee quality assurance, risk monitoring and contractual management.
• Build influential relationships with government, regulators, education providers and employers.
• Foster inclusive, high-performing teams and manage budgets and resources.

Skills

Barrister/Solicitor

Senior leadership

Operational leadership

Strategic change management

Governance & risk management

Quality assurance

Stakeholder management

Analytical decision making

Budget & resource management

Equality & inclusion

Excellent communication

Education

Barrister/Solicitor qualification

Job description

Assistant Director - Registration and Revalidation

Application Deadline: 10 November 2026

Department: Executive Team - Professional Practice

Employment Type: Permanent - Full Time

Location: London, Portland Place

Reporting To: Alex Birch

Compensation: £104,828 - £116,475 / year

Description

About the Team

The Registration and Revalidation function sits at the heart of our role in protecting the public. Responsible for maintaining the integrity of the register of nurses, midwives and nursing associates, the team ensures that professionals joining and remaining on the register meet the standards required to practise safely and effectively.

The function oversees UK and international registration, revalidation, registration investigations and the delivery of the Test of Competence. Working closely with governments, employers, education providers, regulators and professional stakeholders across the UK and internationally, the team plays a critical role in supporting workforce supply while maintaining public confidence in professional regulation.

This is a highly visible area of the organisation, focused on delivering excellent regulatory services, driving continuous improvement and ensuring decisions are fair, evidence-based and legally sound.

Your Role and Impact

As Assistant Director - Registration and Revalidation, you will provide strategic leadership for one of the organisation's largest and most important operational functions. Reporting to the Deputy Director of Professional Practice, you will lead services that directly impact thousands of professionals and support our core purpose of protecting the public.

You will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-quality, person-centred, timely and legally robust registration and revalidation services. You will oversee complex operational functions, drive continuous improvement and lead significant transformation activity that enhances both regulatory effectiveness and customer experience.

In this role, you will:

• Lead and be accountable for Registration, Revalidation and Test of Competence services.
• Ensure regulatory decisions are fair, evidence-based, legally sound and aligned with legislative requirements.
• Provide strategic leadership across operational performance, resource planning, governance and service improvement.
• Lead large-scale transformation programmes that support organisational priorities and future workforce needs.
• Oversee quality assurance frameworks, performance management and risk monitoring.
• Provide expert advice on complex regulatory, operational and legal matters.
• Build influential relationships with government departments, regulatory bodies, education providers, employers and professional stakeholders.
• Oversee the delivery and continuous improvement of the Test of Competence, ensuring quality, capacity and effectiveness.
• Manage contracts, suppliers and external partnerships supporting registration services.
• Foster an inclusive, high-performing culture where colleagues feel supported, empowered and accountable.
• Act as deputy to the Deputy Director of Professional Practice when required.

This role offers the opportunity to shape the future of registration and revalidation, ensuring services remain effective, resilient and responsive to the evolving needs of the professions and the public.

What You Will Bring

We're looking for a strategic and collaborative leader with significant experience operating at a senior level within a complex regulatory, legal, healthcare or public service environment.

You’ll combine strong professional judgement with excellent leadership skills and a proven ability to deliver operational excellence through periods of change and transformation.

You’ll bring:

• Qualification as a Barrister or Solicitor with a current practising certificate.
• Significant senior leadership experience within a regulatory, legal, healthcare or similarly complex environment.
• A successful track record of leading large operational teams and services.
• Experience developing and delivering strategic and transformational change programmes.
• Strong understanding of governance, regulation, risk management and decision-making frameworks.
• Experience leading quality assurance and continuous improvement activity.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, including experience working with senior external partners.
• The ability to analyse complex information, evaluate risk and make sound decisions in challenging situations.
• Experience managing budgets, contracts and resources effectively.
• A strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, with the ability to embed inclusive practices across teams and services.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to inspire, motivate and develop high-performing teams.

Most importantly, you will be passionate about public protection, committed to delivering excellent regulatory services and motivated by making a positive impact through your leadership.

Why Join Us?

This is a rare opportunity to lead a nationally significant function that helps ensure the safety and confidence of the public and the professions we regulate.

You'll join a values-driven organisation that is committed to inclusion, innovation and continuous improvement. Working alongside talented colleagues and senior leaders, you'll play a key role in shaping strategy, driving organisational change and delivering services that make a meaningful difference.

If you're an experienced senior leader who thrives on complexity, collaboration and delivering public value, we'd love to hear from you.

Benefits

• 30 days annual leave
• Enhanced Pension Contributions via our attractive Pension Scheme – with a basic 8% employer contribution as standard which increases up to 14% with optional added Employee Contributions
• Life Insurance – 4 x current salary
• Hybrid working
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Leave
• 24 Hours Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Perkbox membership
• Subsidised restaurant in our Portland Place office
• Season ticket loans

Additional Information

The role you are applying for is a flexible role, and whilst you will be posted initially to a team, this may require movement between teams as the flow of work dictates. You will of course understand that this flexible approach enables us to provide the best possible service to our registrants and reach the outcomes to our cases quickly and within a reasonable timeframe. This will not change your terms and conditions and will be discussed with you prior to you taking up the post.

Hybrid Working Policy

We are currently working to a policy of office attendance for two days per week with the rest of the time working from home. Before submitting your application, please ensure you are able to commit to working in one of our office locations twice per week. If you are applying for a part-time role, please pro-rata office attendance based on the number of days you would be working.

Our Pay Policy

It is expected that staff new to the NMC will ordinarily be appointed to the bottom of the relevant pay band. However in exceptional circumstances, it may be possible to offer a salary above the bottom of the relevant pay band but we may request proof of current earnings. Please note that we offer an annual review of salaries and adopt a generous progressive pay approach. Further details of which are available on request.

For our internal colleagues, you will be paid in accordance to our internal pay policy.

Reasonable adjustments

We will provide reasonable adjustments to support disabled candidates throughout the recruitment process. Please let us know if you need any additional support to enable you to make an application with us.

Screening and vetting

All of our roles are subject to pre‑employment checks. We are in the process of introducing a vetting policy, and it is possible that this role may become subject to DBS and further vetting checks in future.