Job overview
Shaping the future of healthcare in Gloucestershire
At Gloucestershire Hospitals, we serve 650,000+ people across our county and beyond, with a clear ambition to deliver the best care every day for everyone. We are seeking an inspirational clinical leader to join our Board as Chief Medical Officer. This is a pivotal role at a time of significant change for the NHS and our organisation.
As the Trust's principal medical advisor to the Chief Executive and Board, you will provide leadership to drive high-quality, safe and sustainable care. Working alongside the Chief Nursing Officer and Chief Operating Officer as part of the executive triumvirate, play a key role in delivering our strategy, improving operational performance and providing clinical leadership across Gloucestershire and the wider Integrated Care System.
Lead improvements in quality, safety and governance, operational performance and productivity, workforce redesign and clinical engagement, digital transformation and research and innovation. Shape new models of care that improve patient pathways, support our workforce and deliver the ambitions of the NHS 10-Year Plan.
We are looking for an accomplished senior medical leader with board-level experience and a proven track record of improving quality, safety and performance. You will bring the credibility, influence and strategic vision to lead through complexity, build partnerships and deliver lasting change across our organisation.
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Main duties of the job
As Chief Medical Officer, working with the Chief Nursing Officer, you will provide executive leadership for clinical quality, patient safety, clinical effectiveness and governance across the Trust, to ensure the highest standards of care, assurance and continuous improvement.
You will act as the professional lead for medical, dental and scientific staff, driving workforce transformation, clinical engagement, education, training and research as well as ensuring high professional standards and behaviours. Working closely with Executive colleagues, you will support financial sustainability through clinically led productivity and improvement programmes, ensuring alignment between quality, operational and financial performance.
In partnership with the Chief Operating Officer, you will provide clinical leadership for urgent and emergency care, elective recovery, patient flow and clinical productivity helping us meet the expectations placed upon us in terms of quality, performance and finance. You will also lead the Trust's clinical strategy, to support transformation and delivery of new models of care to improve outcomes and strengthen our working relationships with system partners so that we can work together effectively to deliver the ambitions of the NHS Long Term plan.
Key dates:
Closing date: Thursday 13 August
Interviews: Tuesday 29 September and Wednesday 30 September
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please view the full job description/candidate pack available.
For an informal conversation about the post please contact our Recruitment Consultant, James McLeod [email protected] or call 07842 424530
Person specification
Experience
Essential
- Board-level experience as a Medical Director, Deputy Medical Director or equivalent
- All Board members are required to meet the Care Quality Commission’s Fit and Proper Person Requirements, demonstrating appropriate character, competence, and integrity as a condition of holding office.
- Proven track record of delivering clinical quality and safety improvement
- Proven track record of delivering operational performance improvement at scale (flow, waiting lists, productivity)
- Leading large-scale organisational transformation in a highly regulated environment
- Working across organisational and system boundaries
- Driving clinical engagement and workforce change
- Experience driving financial sustainability and cost improvement
Desirable
- Experience leading digital/EPR-enabled transformation
- Experience in research leadership or academic partnerships
- Experience of public-facing engagement on complex service change
Personal Attributes
Essential
- Visible, credible and values-driven leader
- A genuine team player
- High levels of resilience and integrity
- Commitment to patient-centered care, equality, diversity and inclusion and continuous improvement
- Ability to lead in a highly scrutinised and complex environment
- Ability to balance quality, performance and financial priorities
- Ability to intervene and challenge where behaviour falls below the standards we expect, for example on issues such as sexual safety, racism or discrimination
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Ability to set strategic direction and deliver measurable outcomes
- Ability to lead through complexity, ambiguity and system change
- Highly developed influencing and negotiation skills
- Highly developed stakeholder engagement at executive and system level
- Strong data literacy and ability to use insight to drive performance
- Deep understanding of NHS regulatory framework (including CQC)
- Deep understanding of performance and financial management in healthcare
- Credibility with clinicians, executives and regulators and system partners
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Full GMC registration (with license to practice and on Specialist Register)
- Evidence of ongoing professional and leadership development
- Postgraduate management qualification or equivalent experience
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Chief Medical Officer with Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Cheltenham, South West, England. It is listed as a Administrative and IT role. The advertised salary is (pa pro rata if part-time). The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 13 Aug 2026.
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