Group Chief Digital Information Officer

St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 133,000 - 157,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent healthcare trust in London is seeking a Group Chief Digital Information Officer to provide strategic leadership for digital, data, and information functions. This role will enhance collaboration across Trusts, drive a unified digital strategy, and ensure compliance with national standards. Ideal candidates will possess significant experience in executive roles within the NHS and exceptional leadership skills.

Qualifications

• Executive Director or similar role in an NHS organisation with responsibility for oversight of the digital agenda.
• Ability to think and act strategically.
• Credibility with clinical and operational colleagues.

Responsibilities

• Lead the group's digital and information services.
• Act as the Data Protection Officer for both Trusts.
• Ensure digital services remain responsive to clinical and staff requirements.

Skills

Exceptional communication skills

Strategic thinking

Relationship building

Negotiation skills

Influencing skills

Job description

Overview

Group Chief Digital Information Officer. The closing date is 16 November 2025.

The Group Chief Digital Information Officer will provide strategic leadership and direction for all digital, data, and information functions across both Trusts within the group. This role will drive the development and delivery of a unified digital strategy, ensuring that digital health services are embedded as a core enabler of high-quality, safe, and efficient care. The postholder will ensure that digital innovation supports clinical excellence, operational efficiency, and workforce capability, while maintaining compliance with national standards and data protection requirements.

As Data Protection Officer (DPO) for both Trusts, the postholder will advise on governance, legal obligations, and best practice in information management. Working closely with the Chief Transformation Officer and Performance Director, they will enhance business intelligence, ensure data-driven decision-making, and support system-wide integration.

This is a highly influential senior leadership role, requiring vision, strategic insight, and the ability to foster collaboration across both organisations and external partners.

Job summary

The Group Chief Digital Information Officer will provide strategic leadership and direction for all digital, data, and information functions across both Trusts within the group. This role will drive the development and delivery of a unified digital strategy, ensuring that digital health services are embedded as a core enabler of high-quality, safe, and efficient care. The postholder will ensure that digital innovation supports clinical excellence, operational efficiency, and workforce capability, while maintaining compliance with national standards and data protection requirements.

As Data Protection Officer (DPO) for both Trusts, the postholder will advise on governance, legal obligations, and best practice in information management. Working closely with the Chief Transformation Officer and Performance Director, they will enhance business intelligence, ensure data-driven decision-making, and support system-wide integration.

This is a highly influential senior leadership role, requiring vision, strategic insight, and the ability to foster collaboration across both organisations and external partners.

We particularly encourage applications from candidates from the global majority, as we aim to increase representation at senior levels.

Main duties of the job

• Lead the group\'s digital and information services and enable the use of digital health services as an integral part of delivering the group and Trusts\' strategies.
• Ensure the workforce is supported with the digital capabilities required to deliver effective care, consistently, reliably, across all sites within the group and remotely where appropriate.
• Ensure the provision of appropriate information services to clinical and corporate functions, working closely with the Performance Director to reshape the core Business Intelligence offer across the group.
• Drive greater collaboration in the digital approach across the two Trusts, enabling greater clinical and corporate collaboration through joined up digital approaches, and developing a single digital strategy.
• Act as the Data Protection Officer for both Trusts.

About us

St George\'s, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey. Our sites include St George\'s Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary\'s Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).

After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.

Job responsibilities

Leadership of Digital and Information Services

• Take senior management responsibility for IT, informatics, and related functions across both Trusts.
• Identify and address immediate capacity and capability gaps, deploying resources flexibly across both organisations to stabilise any challenged functions.
• Work in conjunction with the Chief Transformation Officer to formulate a strategy for key functions and lead the process of groupwide integration and restructuring.
• Deliver the benefits of the two Trusts\' shared Electronic Patient Record (EPR) domain to enhance efficiency and service quality.

Digital Support to Clinical Services and the Wider Workforce

• Secure strong clinical involvement and leadership in developing the Trusts digital capability.
• Monitor and manage the performance of digital systems and services to ensure reliability and value for money.
• Lead on digital strategic sourcing and procurement to ensure sustainable, fit-for-purpose services through cost-effective external contracts and successful transition management.
• Ensure the Trusts have a clear understanding of current digital capability across all clinical and corporate services, with investment appropriately prioritised and delivered.
• Ensure digital services remain responsive to clinical and staff requirements, adaptable to emerging technologies, and secure and robust in their operation.
• Champion the development and adoption of digitally enabled treatment approaches across the group.

Information Management and Data Protection

• Ensure the quality, accuracy, and reliability of data within the Trusts are appropriately assured.
• Maintain compliance with legislative, regulatory, and national reporting requirements for information management.
• Work with partners to establish information sharing protocols and agreements that support greater system-wide integration of health information.
• Act as the Data Protection Officer (DPO) for both Trusts, advising the Boards, executive directors, and leadership teams on legal responsibilities and best practice in Data Protection.
• Lead the groups external relationships on digital matters, including engagement with the SWL ICB, London region, and the Information Commissioners Office.

Collaboration

• Lead and implement the development of a comprehensive, groupwide digital strategy aligned with organisational objectives.
• With the Chief Transformation Officer, identify key digital enablers to enhance collaboration across the Trusts and ensure these are embedded within the management of the digital function.

Values, Behaviours and Integrity

• Act in accordance with, and promote, the values and behaviours of both Trusts within the group.
• Uphold the seven Nolan Principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership.
• Demonstrate transparency, professionalism, and ethical leadership, fostering a culture of trust, respect, and accountability across the organisation.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Executive Director or similar role in an NHS organisation with responsibility for oversight of the digital agenda

Skills

Essential

• Exceptional communication, interpersonal, negotiating and influencing skills and credibility with clinical and operational colleagues.
• Ability to think and act strategically
• Ability to build effective relationships with a range of internal and external stakeholders of all professional backgrounds.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants are also subject to this requirement.

Employer details

Employer name

St George\'s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

St George\'s hospital

Blackshaw Road

London, Tooting

SW17 0QT

Employer's website

https://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/

Depending on experienceUp to £157,000 per annum in exceptional circumstances