Deputy Chief Medical Officer

Job overview

The Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) is a senior executive medical leadership role, providing strong professional leadership and supporting the delivery of high standards of quality, safety, and medical professionalism across the Trust. Working closely with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Responsible Officer (RO), and Associate Medical Director team, the post holder will provide Trust‑wide leadership across the CMO portfolio.

The DCMO will work in close partnership with the CMO’s Office, Divisional leadership teams, and the Executive team to embed high standards of professionalism, engagement, and continuous improvement across clinical services. The role provides senior medical leadership in delivering the Trust’s vision for safety, learning, and excellent patient outcomes, ensuring that learning from experience is translated into meaningful and sustained improvement.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will support the CMO in co‑chairing Consultant and Medical Director meetings and will be a member of the Responsible Officer’s Advisory Group (ROAG). They will provide senior medical leadership and assurance in relation to learning from deaths, mortality review, and inquests.

Externally, the DCMO will build strong relationships with clinical leaders and partner organisations across the system, representing the Trust at relevant Integrated Care System, King’s Health Partners, and other regional forums. The role will contribute to system‑wide clinical leadership and collaborative approaches to quality, safety, and workforce challenges.

The DCMO will formally deputise for the Chief Medical Officer when required, providing cover for essential activities including attendance at Executive, Board, and system‑level meetings and responding to urgent matters. In addition, the post holder will hold a defined personal portfolio, aligned to their experience and development goals, such as medical workforce and job planning, mortality, governance, or patient safety.

This role is particularly suited to senior medical leaders aspiring to a future Chief Medical Officer position within a large and complex organisation. Tailored support will be provided through management appraisal to support career development and progression.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Formally deputise for the Chief Medical Officer, providing senior clinical leadership and decision‑making when required
• Provide senior executive medical leadership in support of the Chief Medical Officer, promoting high standards of quality, safety, professionalism and clinical governance across the Trust
• Hold delegated responsibility for medical professional standards, including appraisal, revalidation and Maintaining High Professional Standards (MHPS), working closely with the Responsible Officer
• Oversee the management of medical staff concerns, conduct and capability, including remediation and support for doctors in difficulty
• Provide expert advice to Divisional and Executive teams on complex medical workforce, performance and professional standards issues
• Lead and embed a learning‑focused patient safety culture, promoting learning from incidents, complaints, claims, audit and service improvement
• Ensure robust clinical governance, risk escalation and assurance arrangements, with clear reporting to Executive and Board committees
• Chair, lead or sponsor strategic programmes that improve patient outcomes, quality and safety
• Provide Trust‑wide executive oversight of consultant and SAS job planning, supporting consistency, productivity and effective workforce planning
• Lead development of frameworks to understand and improve medical productivity using high‑quality data
• Provide executive medical leadership for Infection Prevention and Control, promoting high standards of hygiene, antimicrobial stewardship and regulatory compliance
• Act as a visible and credible leader for medical staff, promoting professionalism, inclusion, psychological safety and effective MDT working
• Champion equality, diversity and inclusion, talent development and succession planning within the medical workforce
• Represent the Trust at ICS, place‑based and regional forums, contributing to population health, health inequalities and system collaboration
• Act as an ambassador for the Trust, strengthening partnerships, influence and reputatio
• Contribute to Trust‑wide corporate governance, financial sustainability and executive leadership responsibilities