Deputy Medical Director

NHS England; Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organisation in the UK is seeking a Deputy Medical Director for System Improvement & Professional Standards. The successful candidate will provide clinical leadership, manage governance systems, and drive quality improvements across various healthcare settings. Applicants should be a Registered Medical Practitioner with significant NHS experience and strong leadership skills. This role offers an opportunity to influence healthcare delivery and patient outcomes significantly.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years post registration experience as a medical practitioner.
• Experience in managing clinical risks and quality.
• Senior NHS leadership experience in appraisal and revalidation.

Responsibilities

• Provide clinical leadership across the healthcare system.
• Manage the delivery of statutory roles ensuring clinical governance.
• Lead and maintain professional standards across primary care.

Skills

Emotional intelligence

Leadership

Patient-centered care

Problem-solving

Education

Registered Medical Practitioner

Member or Fellow of relevant Royal College or Faculty

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity for a senior medical leader to join NHS England's North West regional team as Deputy Medical Director for System Improvement & Professional Standards, Working closely with the Regional Medical Director and the Medical Director for System Improvement & Professional Standards, you will provide visible, credible and values-driven clinical leadership across the region.

The post holder will help ensure high standards of professional performance, clinical governance, and system improvement across primary, community, secondary and specialised care. Lead and support statutory and non-statutory functions relating to professional standards, appraisal and revalidation, primary care performers' list management, and professional performance. Provide clinical leadership to strengthen quality assurance and oversight, working with providers and systems to improve clinical outcomes, safety, and patient experience. Support the Tier 1 Responsible Officer function, ensuring robust clinical governance systems are in place, and deputise where required for Responsible Officer duties. Drive system improvement, supporting transformation programmes, service redesign, and quality improvement initiatives across the North West region. Chair or co-chair regional quality oversight and improvement groups, working collaboratively with providers, ICs and national teams.

Main duties of the job

Key responsibilities include supporting the Medical Director in the following:

• Exhibit clinical leadership and influence across the whole system of care spanning primary, community, secondary, and specialised tertiary services such that improvements in the quality, safety, and experience of care are enhanced in all spheres, engaging clinicians at all levels in provision of best value care.
• To manage the delivery of the Statutory Tier 1 Responsible Officer function (under Medical Profession (Responsible Officer) Regulations) to the region ensuring appropriate clinical governance systems and processes are in place to ensure doctors are supported, fit for purpose and delivering high quality of care for patients. The post holder may be required to deputise for the Responsible Officer in statutory duties related to appraisal, revalidation and management of individual practitioner performance.
• To lead, develop and maintain professional standards, across primary care, including use of National Performers List Regulations for doctors, dentists and optometrists.

About us

Our work supports the NHS to deliver high quality services for patients and best value for taxpayers.

Our staff bring expertise across hundreds of specialisms – including clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial – enabling us to design and deliver high‑quality NHS services.

We lead the NHS in England by:

• Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities
• Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential
• Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
• Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation

Earlier this year, the Government announced that NHS England will gradually merge with the Department of Health and Social Care, leading to full integration. The aim is to create a smaller, more strategic centre that reduces duplication and eliminates waste.

If successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the recruitment process.

Job responsibilities

Supporting the medical director as follows:

• Chair or co‑chair any relevant local quality assurance and oversight groups
• Engage, either directly or through delegation, in commissioner and provider quality assurance
• Work with colleagues to provide clinical improvement expertise across the system
• Work with those providers who are facing quality special measures or challenges to improve
• Support the organisation to deliver its statutory duties, particularly in relation to:
•     o equality and diversity
•     o the duty of quality
•     o the promotion of innovation
•     o patient experience and choice
•     o safeguarding children and vulnerable adults
• Being the patient(s) champion
• Involving the public and patients in policy development and decision‑making of the organisation
• Being independent and fair
• Reduce health inequalities
• Ensure value for money
• Secure good governance of NHS providers
• Promote a culture of safety & quality, using a learning culture and improvement methodology
• Support the Medical Director to provide professional leadership, advice and support to other medical leaders
• Support the Director of Workforce and OD and the Medical Director to ensure there is a robust pipeline for medical leadership roles within the region, by supporting national and local initiatives
• Engage with the clinical leadership and engagement infrastructure, namely the Clinical Senate Council & Forum, the established Clinical Networks including Strategic, Operational Delivery, Academic Health & Science Networks (AHSN), Sustainable Transformational Plans (STP), to drive transformation of the system in the interests of quality and value.
• To provide clinical leadership to support digital transformation within the Regions.
• You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.

Secondments

Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Medical Practitioner with at least 5 years post registration experience
• Member or Fellow of relevant Royal College or Faculty
• On the Medical Performers' List

Knowledge & Experience

• Current clinical practice.
• Experience of managing clinical risks and quality in a senior leadership role.
• Senior level NHS experience of individual practitioner performance including case management, case investigation and complaints.
• Senior Level experience of appraisal and revalidation including understanding of responsible officer regulations.
• Expert knowledge of the commissioning and provision of healthcare. Good understanding of health system dynamics and policy.
• Evidence of Continuous Professional Development.
• Knowledge of best practice on quality in healthcare.
• Experience of working with whole systems, ICs/STPs and Providers.
• Experience of working with challenged primary care practices or provider trusts.
• Expert knowledge of the commissioning and provision of healthcare.

Skills, Capabilities & Attributes

• High degree of emotional intelligence, self‑awareness & resilience.
• Demonstrated capabilities to manage own workload.
• Ability to work effectively between strategic & operational activities as required.
• The ability to motivate and lead multi‑disciplinary, multi‑site teams in achieving ambitious and challenging targets.
• The ability to lead a diverse group of people in a large complex organisation through significant change.
• The capacity to think strategically and to analyse and solve highly complex problems, finding new solutions and breaking new ground where required.
• Be attuned to the sensitivities of different stakeholder interests within the region and work sensitively to overcome the differing positions and interests of these.
• Ability to prepare written reports on complex issues.
• Experience of being a Responsible Officer or deputy.

Values & Behaviours

• Demonstrable commitment to and focus on quality, promotes high standards to consistently improve patient outcomes.
• Demonstrably involves patients and the public in their work.
• Consistently puts clinicians at the heart of decision‑making.
• Values diversity and difference, operates with integrity and openness.
• Works across boundaries, looks for collective success, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others.
• Uses evidence to make improvements, seeks out innovation.
• Demonstrable commitment to partnership working with a range of external organisations.