Regional Clinical Lead System Improvement | NHS England

NHS England; Taunton; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare organization is seeking a strategic medical lead with a clinical background in mental health to enhance service delivery across the South West. The successful candidate will provide clinical leadership, facilitate collaboration among teams, and drive improvements in patient care. Responsibilities include chairing meetings, engaging with stakeholders, and supporting system-wide clinical changes. This role offers an opportunity to shape mental health initiatives in a dynamic environment.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead and manage clinical teams.
• Experience in regional collaboration and improvement programs.
• Strong understanding of NHS policies and frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Act as a conduit for dissemination of information.
• Provide strong clinical leadership across systems.
• Monitor clinical improvement performance against standards.
• Chair meetings of clinical and operational leads.
• Support clinical engagement with stakeholders.

Skills

Clinical leadership

Engagement with healthcare professionals

Stakeholder management

Education

Clinical background in mental health

Job description

Team Overview

The Clinical Improvement and Transformation team are based within the Medical Directorate in NHS England South West Region. Our team comprises both clinical and operational leads and supports systems and providers across the South West to improve and transform services.

We are looking for a strategic medical lead with a clinical background in mental health to complement our team to provide clinical leadership across a wide portfolio of work, including for example, Learning and Improvement Networks for Urgent and Emergency care and mental health and our frailty improvement programme. The priority areas of work and deliverables require a team of teams approach across multiple directorates regionally and nationally.

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.

Responsibilities

• Act as a conduit for dissemination of information to all colleagues as appropriate.
• Provide strong clinical leadership and support across systems.
• Put in place an agreed clinical work plan that meets the directorates or programme objectives.
• Monitor clinical improvement performance against agreed national standards.
• Ensure links at strategic level to implement clinical change.
• Provide a healthy challenge across the Region with the common aim of improving patient care.
• Experience and staff experience.
• Undertake clinical engagement with health professionals and relevant stakeholders to ensure wider clinical engagement.
• Support and provide leadership to STP/ICS clinical and operational leads across the region.
• Undertake where required, regular and appropriate mentoring and mentorship to ensure a strong individual performance and team relationship.
• Provide clinical leadership as part of any future re-procurement process.
• Chair meetings of clinical and operational leads as appropriate.
• Facilitate regional community of interest network.
• Work collaboratively with clinical Practitioner/s and operational managers as part of the end-to-end pathway redesign national programme.
• Share best practice and innovation, supporting in improved outcomes across the region.
• Engaging the clinical leadership and other stakeholders across the region.
• Providing hands on support to local health systems to harmonise practice in accordance with best practice and reduce unwarranted variation in clinical outcomes, access and productivity e.g. using experience to provide expert advice, holding workshops, and supporting and challenging colleagues.
• Supporting engagement of key stakeholders including Royal Colleges and specialist societies, BMA, and Local Medical Committees, the South West Clinical Senate, Health Innovation Networks (HINs).
• Work collaboratively with HINs to enhance and amplify priority workstreams and support embedding of improvements.
• Lead clinical conversations on the development and implementation of new models of care to provide best practice outcomes to the population of the region.
• Support the evaluation of the programme and assist in the formulation of a plan for the future.
• Support the National Clinical Leads if needed and Regional Improvement and Improvement Managers by providing clinical insight into regional and system data.

Our Mission

• 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.
• Delivering value for money.

Recruitment Process

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.

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.

This advert closes on Tuesday 6 Jan 2026