Lead Dean Director

NHS National Services Scotland; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading health service in Scotland is seeking a Local Dean Director to provide educational governance and leadership for a cohort of 7000 resident doctors. This pivotal role involves ensuring quality standards in medical education and collaborating with NHS Scotland health boards for service redesign and development. The ideal candidate will possess a medical qualification and significant leadership experience within the healthcare sector, alongside strong strategic and influencing skills. A flexible and hybrid working pattern is available alongside numerous employment benefits.

Benefits

Generous NHS pension scheme

41 days annual leave

Various NHS discounts

Qualifications

• Medical qualified with background in primary or secondary care or public health.
• Considerable leadership experience in NHS or related sector.
• In-depth knowledge of medical education systems and processes.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for educational governance and direction for 7000 resident doctors.
• Collaborate with NHS Scotland health boards on education and service redesign.
• Ensure quality standards meet GMC requirements.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Influencing skills

Negotiation skills

Partnership working

Leadership

Education

Medical qualification

Full registration with GMC

Job description

Flexible Location:

NES is a remote-friendly employer with staff based throughout Scotland. We support office-based and hybrid working arrangements. We welcome conversations about alternative working patterns—please get in touch during the application process to discuss.

Work Pattern:

Permanent, Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week.

You must have eligibility and entitlement to work in the UK which is required to be maintained throughout your period of employment.

Who We Are

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is the national health board with statutory responsibilities to effect sustainable change through workforce development, education and training across the health and social care system in Scotland, while working at UK level with partner organisations.

The Medical Directorate is responsible to the NES Board and through the Board to Scottish Government for the commissioning and delivery of postgraduate medical education in Scotland. This training is delivered in general practices and health boards to standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC). The role of the Directorate is to oversee training, manage the trainees progress through the training programme and ensure the training is delivered to GMC standards.

The Opportunity

Key tasks will include but are not restricted to:

• Playing a key strategic role in supporting the work of the Medical Director in their role to provide medical education and training in addition to wider corporate and multi-professional responsibilities, through the provision of leadership at UK, Scottish, and regional levels, contributing to the strategic development of postgraduate medical education and the wider NHS workforce.
• Working collaboratively with Executive Directors across NES and Medical Directors and Directors of Medical Education in NHS Scotland Health Boards, contributing to service redesign, education, training and development of the wider multi-professional NHS Scotland workforce.
• Ensuring the effective delivery of the Quality Improvement Framework for medical education and training as laid down by the General Medical Council (GMC), through a system of Quality Management able to demonstrate that Local Education Providers are meeting the GMC standards.
• Supporting the education of undergraduate medical students through the distribution and performance management of the Medical Additional Costs of Teaching (ACT funding) in close collaboration with the University Medical schools and NHS territorial Boards through the Regional Medical ACT groups.
• Providing corporate executive leadership for educational governance.

Do you have a medical qualification with a background in primary or secondary care or public health and the relevant experience and understanding of postgraduate medical education?

Do you have high levels of strategic thinking, influencing, negotiating and partnership working skills?

Do you have experience of being a visible and dynamic leader?

Do you have presence, credibility and stature to lead for NES and the Directorate in our complex national environment?

Do you have the desire to contribute to the leadership and development of a strategically highly significant Directorate which impacts directly on the delivery of clinical care and patient safety?

Working within the Medical Directorate as Local Dean Director you will work closely with the senior team to provide educational governance, leadership, support and direction to a cohort of 7000 resident doctors across Scotland. You will lead a team of Associate Postgraduate Deans and will also have accountability for a number of other workstreams across the Medical Directorate.

Does this sound like you?

What We Love to See

Local Dean Directors offer a broad range of skills and experience, if you can offer some or all of these, we’d love you to apply:

• Medically Qualified with a background in Primary or Secondary Care or Public Health
• Full registration or GP registration with the General Medical Council
• Demonstrable experience in a senior leadership role that has a remit including medical education
• Considerable leadership and management experience at a senior level in the NHS or related sector with a demonstrable track record of delivery
• Good understanding of the context for postgraduate medical education in Scotland, the NHS and a strong grasp of all aspects of medical career development
• In‑depth knowledge of education training and development systems and processes in health care systems
• Proven track record of leading change within complex systems
• Successful initiation and facilitation of strategic partnership working and alliances through excellent relationship management skills
• Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessary
• Ability to work on own initiative, to organise and prioritise own workloads, to meet strict deadlines

Benefits Which Matter

As a valued employee of NHS Scotland, you can enjoy an extensive range of benefits including:

• Life‑work balance – with opportunities for flexible working and hybrid working
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Annual Leave – 41 days inclusive of public holidays: 33 days annual leave and 8 public holidays per annum.
• NHS discounts and more

Diversity and Inclusion

Developing a successful national service for Scotland is impossible without ensuring we consider the diverse needs, perspectives and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland in our work.

We are focused on hiring the very best talent available for NES, and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and aim to ensure everyone is treated fairly, with respect and has a positive recruitment experience – regardless of the outcome.

It’s not essential to be in a Lead Dean Director role right now. You may be returning from a career break (e.g. maternity, paternity, caring for others) or returning after working in another field. Your experiences elsewhere can bring a fresh perspective to our work.

If you are considering applying and feel it would be helpful to discuss this initially, please contact [e-mail].

Next Steps

All applicants who are shortlisted for interview will be contacted by e‑mail.

In‑person or online interviews to be confirmed will take place on 29th January 2026.

For further information please refer to the Job Information Pack below.

Unless otherwise stated the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date. Please note, CVs will not be accepted.

1. Please be advised that if you are successful in being offered the role following the recruitment process, you will be expected to attend the office prior to your start date to complete face‑to‑face pre‑employment checks. If you require any adjustments to support this, please let us know.
2. To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigration Service.

As part of the pre‑employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre‑settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.

For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licensed Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found here.

It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form.

If you have any queries regarding the NHS Scotland National Recruitment Portal or the recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to contact our recruitment partners, the East Region Recruitment Service, at: [e-mail].