Deputy Medical Director - Quality and Governance

Job description

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Core Leadership & Medical Management

• Compassionate Leadership: Provide inclusive, professional, and visible leadership for medical, dental, and clinical staff across all Trust sites, serving as an active role model.
• Culture & Accountability: Pivot front-line teams away from a checklist compliance mindset toward a culture of continuous learning, psychological safety, and compassionate accountability.
• Line Management: Directly manage, mentor, and support the professional development of the Associate Medical Directors for Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety.
• Diversity Champion: Actively promote race, gender, and wider diversity across medical services, recruitment, and career development pathways.

Clinical Governance, Quality & Safety Oversight

• Committee Chairmanship: Serve as the Chair for pivotal Trust-wide groups, including the Mortality Surveillance Committee, the Patient Safety Insight, Involvement and Improvement Committee, and the Drugs and Therapeutics Committee (DTC).
• Policy Sign-Off: Take corporate responsibility for reviewing, approving, and signing Patient Group Directives (PGDs), clinical policies, and best-practice guidance.
• Performance & Incident Reviews: Conduct formal reviews into clinical performance, safety, and mortality, while actively driving Trust-wide learning from serious incidents and thematic reviews.
• Data Translation: Act as an analytical coach, translating complex safety metrics, mortality data, and CQC standards into actionable, front-line clinical behaviours.

Professional Standards & Strategic Support

• CMO Deputising: Formally deputise for the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in their absence, which includes taking command as the Medical Co-ordinator during a Major Incident.
• Workforce & Strategy: Partner with the CMO to embed front-line clinical opinions into corporate decision-making and advise on the Trust's overarching clinical and care quality strategies.
• MHPS Frameworks: Support the CMO and Divisional Directors with professional standard concerns, acting as Case Investigator or Case Manager for Maintaining High Professional Standards (MHPS) investigations.
• External Representation: Serve as an ambassador for the Trust with external bodies, including the Integrated Care Board (ICB), universities, Royal Colleges, and the GMC.

Person specification

shortlisting

Essential criteria

• Full registration and license to practise with the GMC or GDC and inclusion on the Specialist Register. Be practicing at a Consultant, Specialist or Specialty Doctor level
• Successful leadership of a major clinical quality or patient safety portfolio at directorate or divisional level.
• Proven track record of leading a cross-boundary, multi-agency clinical pathway redesign initiative including experience of co-designing a clinical service or improvement initiative directly alongside patients and families, demonstrating a practical focus on patient experience
• Experience of translating complex clinical data, mortality metrics, and regulatory standards into front-line actions.
• Strong collaborative mindset, evidenced by experience of successfully building consensus to drive safety standards across teams.

Desirable criteria

• Higher qualification in Medical Leadership, Healthcare Governance, or Quality Improvement
• Formal training in Human Factors, patient safety science, or advanced healthcare informatics
• Experience of utilising recognized Quality Improvement (QI) methodologies to solve complex clinical variation problems.

Disclosure & Barring Check Fee

Where your role requires a DBS check, the Trust will pay the fee upfront and reclaim the cost (including a £5 admin fee) from your first month's salary. Volunteers are exempt.

Our Values - At the heart of all we do
We recruit not just for skills but for behaviours aligned with our core values: dedication, care, courage, and innovation. Show us how you live these values in your application and interview.

Early closure notice

We may close this advert early if we receive enough applications-please apply without delay.

International Applicants & Sponsorship
Applications from candidates requiring UK sponsorship are welcome where the role is eligible for sponsorship under current UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) rules.

Please note that not all roles will meet the eligibility requirements for Skilled Worker sponsorship. Eligibility is determined by factors including occupation code, skill level and salary thresholds in line with UKVI guidance.

Most non-UK/Republic of Ireland nationals require a visa to work in the UK. Candidates are encouraged to review current visa requirements and eligibility before applying: