Chief Medical Officer

NHS; Knowsley; On-site; GBP 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading trust is seeking a Chief Medical Officer to lead its medical workforce and enhance patient care across Mersey and West Lancashire. The role requires extensive experience in healthcare leadership, a commitment to clinical governance, and collaboration across systems, ensuring the delivery of 5-star patient care.

Qualifications

• Senior-level leadership within a complex health system.
• Experience in strategic leadership and management.
• Extensive collaboration across healthcare systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead the professional development of the medical workforce.
• Act as Executive lead for clinical effectiveness and safety.
• Oversee clinical governance frameworks.

Skills

Leadership

Clinical Governance

Communication

Education

GMC or Public Health Registered

Evidence of Continuous Professional Development

Job description

Go back Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Chief Medical Officer

The closing date is 06 July 2025

Champion Clinical Excellence and Shape the Future of Patient Care Across Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Join #TeamMWL

#TeamMWL has a rare opportunity for a dynamic, strategic and values-led Chief Medical Officer to join our high-performing executive team and lead one of the NHS's most outstanding organisations through its next chapter of its clinical and strategic journey.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (MWL) is committed to delivering 5-star patient care that is safe, evidence-based and compassionate through fostering a culture where our teams feel valued, supported and empowered to thrive.

We are immensely proud of our people, our culture, and our achievements which is driven by a shared commitment to innovation, clinical excellence and putting patients at the heart of everything we do.

The Person

MWL is seeking a strong clinical leader who has experience of operating at a very senior level within a complex health environment. You will have experience of;

• Senior-level leadership within a complex health system
• Gaining strong clinical credibility
• Delivering measurable improvements in safety, quality, and workforce development
• Working in collaboration with clinicians, regulators, and partners
• Addressing health inequalities, innovation, and sustainability

Main duties of the job

As the principal medical advisor to the Board you will:

• Lead the professional development and strategic direction of the MWL's medical workforce
• Act as the Executive lead for quality, clinical effectiveness, research & innovation, and patient safety
• Oversee robust clinical governance frameworks that ensure the highest standards of care
• Partner across Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) in Cheshire & Merseyside and Lancashire & South Cumbria to support integrated, equitable care
• Drive continuous improvement in line with our Quality Account objectives and NHS Long Term Plan priorities
• Promote information governance and patient confidentiality across the organisation

Further details of the role requirements are outlined in the Candidate Briefing Pack.

Please note, this recruitment process will include an assessment centre featuring a focus group exercise, presentation, and interview.

Assessment Centre: 22nd July 2025

About us

On the 1st July 2023 St Helens & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals and Southport & Ormskirk Hospitals came together as a single organisation under the name Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Our vision to provide 5-star patient care remains the Trust's primary objective, so that patients and their carers receive services that are safe, person-centred and responsive, aiming for positive outcomes every time. The mission and vision have remained consistent and embedded in the everyday working practices of staff throughout the Trust, where delivering 5-star patient care is recognised as everyone's responsibility.

The Trust is immensely proud of its achievements and some of these are listed below:-

• Outstanding rating awarded by the CQC, the best possible rating.This has remained unchanged following the formation of the new Trust in July 2023 and following recent maternity inspections.
• Awarded the prestigious HSJ Trust of the Year (2019)
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & HSJ)
• Achieved the best scores in the NHS, in the Patient-led Assessments of the Care Environment
• Awarded Freedom of the Borough in recognition for the Trust's work during the COVID-19 pandemic by St Helens, Knowsley and Sefton Councils
• Received the Queens Award for the Trust's Voluntary Service - the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK

Job responsibilities

Further details of the role requirements are outlined in the Candidate Briefing Pack.

Please note, this recruitment process will include an assessment centre featuring a focus group exercise, presentation, and interview.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• GMC or Public Health Registered (specialist register)
• Evidence of continuous professional and personal development in strategic leadership and management
• Experience of working within a secondary care setting

Knowledge & Experience

• Significant exposure and knowledge of the Medical Director/ Chief Medical Officer at Board level in a similarly large, complex organisation or system
• Experienced and inclusive leader with a strong commitment to leadership and experience of building high performance, cohesive teams based on an open, kind and inclusive culture
• Broad ranging experience in different medical leadership roles
• Extensive experience of working with NHS England, CQC and other professional regulatory regimes
• Extensive experience of working in collaboration with partners, across the healthcare systems to develop services which improve patient pathways and outcomes
• Demonstrable track record of achievement in clinical governance and patient safety agenda
• Sound understanding of current health issues, national policy and standards, as well as best practice locally, nationally and internationally
• Experience of clinical management including job planning, fitness to practice and appraisal

Skills, Personal Effectiveness and Behaviours

• Excellent communication skills and ability to work effectively and co-operatively with colleagues and other partners
• Ability to demonstrate a strong desire to improve and enhance the patient experience and services across the organisation and system to make a difference.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust