Principal Sonographer

NHS; Wales; Remote; GBP 68,000 - 79,000; Full time

Job summary

Hywel Dda University Health Board in Wales seeks a Principal Sonographer to provide strategic, professional, governance and operational leadership for ultrasound services across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

You will influence the board's direction, lead service transformation and support a skilled ultrasound workforce, delivering high‑quality care and patient safety. The role combines senior leadership with clinical contribution and governance oversight.

Qualifications

• Significant NHS experience as a sonographer across ultrasound disciplines.
• Senior NHS ultrasound leadership and governance experience.
• Experience leading complex service transformation and workforce development.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior leadership for ultrasound practice ensuring safe, effective and sustainable services.
• Lead ultrasound governance, quality assurance, audit, risk management and accreditation prep.
• Lead workforce strategy, education, credentialing and career development pathways.
• Collaborate with clinical, operational and external partners to improve access and patient outcomes.

Skills

Senior leadership

Governance oversight

Workforce development

Service transformation

Quality assurance

Budget management

Education

HCPC/RCT/RCN registration

CASE accredited Masters

Postgraduate ultrasound knowledge

Leadership qualification

Clinical governance training

Job description

Employer Hywel Dda University Health Board Employer type NHS Site Health Board Wide - To be agreed with candidate Town Health Board Wide - To be agreed with candidate Salary £67,583 - £78,530 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 02/11/2026 23:59 Interview date 25/11/2026

Our Hywel Dda values reflect who we are and how we behave. We continuously work together to be the best we can be as we strive to develop and deliver excellent services, putting people at the heart of everything we do. Throughout our recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you would demonstrate these values in the way that you work with us.

If you are registered Health Care professional considering relocating to the Hywel Dda area in West Wales please don’t hesitate to contact our recruitment campaigns team directly via [e-mail]

To keep up to date with our latest recruitment activity follow us on Facebook (Swyddi Hywel Dda Jobs), LinkedIn or on Twitter @SwyddiHDdaJobs

Hywel Dda University Health Board reserve the right to close vacancies after 24 hours if a large number of suitable applications are received. We encourage early applications to ensure consideration for a post.

Job overview

Hywel Dda University Health Board is seeking an experienced, forward-thinking Principal Sonographer to provide strategic, professional, governance and operational leadership for ultrasound services across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of ultrasound practice across a diverse Health Board, leading service transformation, strengthening clinical governance, and supporting sustainable, high-quality care for patients and communities.

Working within Radiology, you will act as the Health Board’s senior professional authority for ultrasound, influencing strategic direction, workforce development, quality assurance and innovation while promoting compassionate, inclusive and values-based leadership.

The post offers the chance to work across beautiful rural and coastal communities, combining senior leadership responsibility with the opportunity to make a visible difference to patient safety, access, service quality and staff development.

Key benefits of the role include:

Influence the strategic direction of ultrasound services across the Health Board.

Lead innovation, service redesign and quality improvement at scale.

Support and develop a skilled ultrasound workforce, including advanced and extended roles.

Contribute to governance, safety and assurance at senior organisational level.

Work in a supportive Health Board serving vibrant communities across west Wales.

Main duties of the job

The Principal Sonographer will provide senior leadership for ultrasound practice, ensuring services are safe, effective, sustainable and aligned with national standards, regulatory requirements and Health Board priorities.

The post holder will lead ultrasound governance, quality assurance, audit, risk management and service improvement, including oversight of policies, standards, equipment strategy, performance data and preparation for accreditation requirements such as Quality Standards in Imaging.

A key part of the role will be leading and influencing workforce strategy, professional standards, education, credentialing, scope of practice and career development pathways, while working collaboratively with clinical, operational, managerial and external partners to improve access, patient flow and outcomes.

The role also includes expert clinical contribution, including referral vetting, high-quality ultrasound examinations, interpretative reporting, medicines governance within the area of responsibility, incident and complaint investigation, and provision of specialist advice across services.

Working for our organisation

Hywel Dda University Health Board plans and provides NHS healthcare services for people living in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, and bordering counties.

We have over 13,000 staff and together we provide primary, community, in-hospital, mental health and learning disabilities services.

We work in partnership with the three local authorities, as well as public, private and third sector colleagues, including our valued team of volunteers.

Our services are provided in:

• Four main hospitals: Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth; Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen; Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli; and Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest
• Five community hospitals: Amman Valley and Llandovery hospitals in Carmarthenshire; Tregaron Hospital in Ceredigion; and Tenby and South Pembrokeshire hospitals in Pembrokeshire
• Two integrated care centres: Aberaeron and Cardigan in Ceredigion, and several other community settings
• 47 general practices (six of which are health board managed practices); dental practices (including four orthodontic); 99 community pharmacies; 43 general ophthalmic practices; and 8 ophthalmic domiciliary providers
• Numerous mental health and learning disabilities services

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will be able to find a full job description and person specification attached within the supporting documents.

The Health Board is committed to supporting its staff to fully embrace the need for bilingualism thereby enhancing patient and service user experiences. In our commitment to increase the number of staff who are able to communicate in Welsh with patients and professionals, we welcome applications from Welsh speakers.

The ability to communicate in Welsh is desirable for this post. If you do not meet the Welsh Language requirements specified, the Health Board offers a variety of learning options and staff support to help you meet these minimal desirable requirements during the course of your employment with us.

Interviews will be held on 25/11/2026.

Person specification

Experience

• Significant NHS experience working as a sonographer across a range of ultrasound disciplines.
• Extensive senior-level NHS ultrasound experience across multiple clinical domains.
• Demonstrable experience of providing organisation-wide professional leadership and governance oversight.
• Proven experience of leading complex service transformation, change management and service redesign at scale.
• Experience of providing assurance to senior leadership on quality, safety, performance and risk.
• Significant experience of workforce leadership, including professional accountability, scope of practice, education and role development.
• Experience of financial management, budgetary responsibility and development of business cases.
• Evidence of effective partnership working across multidisciplinary, organisational and system boundaries.
• Clear understanding of Welsh Government priorities including RTT and Single Cancer Pathway targets.
• Experience of leading services through external inspection, accreditation or quality assurance processes (e.g. QSI).
• Experience of working at regional or national level influencing service strategy or professional practice.

Qualifications and Knowledge

• Current HCPC/RCT/RCN registration
• CASE accredited Masters (level 7) qualification in medical ultrasound (e.g. DMU, MSC.)
• Post graduate study in obstetric and general ultrasound, having a full working knowledge of the regulatory framework relating to your area of practise.
• Formal management or leadership qualification, or demonstrable equivalent senior leadership experience.
• Post graduate qualification in Clinical Governance, Quality Assurance, teaching, IOSHH or comparable.
• Postgraduate qualification or formal training in clinical governance, quality improvement, patient safety, education, or health service management.
• Evidence of continuous professional development at a strategic or executive leadership level.

Other

• Welsh Speaker (Level 1)

Hywel Dda University Health Board operates a bilingual policy. All applicants are invited to apply in Welsh, any application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application made in English.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR APPLICANTS: Applications for our roles are carefully reviewed and shortlisted based on specific criteria, which varies from job to job. Using a generic application to apply for multiple roles or relying on automated AI application services, such as Lazy Apply or AI Apply, may not provide the necessary information, leading to your application being overlooked. To ensure your application is given full consideration, we recommend submitting a tailored application that directly addresses the criteria listed in the Person Specification section of the advert.

By submitting your application to NHS Jobs/Trac, you are giving your consent for elements of your application data to be transferred to the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) and other secure, internal NHS Workforce systems in order to support and manage your recruitment and employment within your employing organisation; to be used by Recruitment for purposes of checking your Professional Registration online (where applicable).

These processes are in line with Fair and Lawful processing in line with current Data Protection Legislation especially those in relation to your personal or sensitive personal data (sensitive personal data is defined as any declared physical or mental health conditions, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, trade union membership, political opinion, religious beliefs). As an organisation, we ensure that the legislation defining confidentiality is observed such as use of data for specific, defined purposes, and use of data that is relevant and not excessive whilst practicing data accuracy and security of all held personal identifiable information (PII)

If you are successfully appointed, by completing the application form you authorise the UHB to obtain any previous NHS service details including all electronically held sickness information, via the Inter Authority Transfer process on the national Electronic Staff Record (ESR).

To work in the UK, all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship to obtain either a Health and Care visa or Skilled Worker visa , unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply should self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship by visiting Work in the UK . If you are eligible for the Health and Care visa, application costs are lower and you do not need to pay the annual Immigration Health Surcharge.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Name Gail Roberts-Davies Job title Head of Radiology Email address [e-mail]