Chief Medical OfficerNHS
Job summary
Executive VSM Appointment - Board Director Role -Shape the Future of Healthcare. Lead Clinical Excellence. Transform Lives.
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is seeking an exceptional medical leader to join our Board as Chief Medical Officer.
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO), also known as the Executive Medical Director, is a member of the Board of Directors and shares collective responsibility for the Trust's leadership, strategy, governance, performance and sustainability.
The post holder provides visible, compassionate and inclusive clinical leadership across CNWL, ensuring high standards of patient care, safety, clinical effectiveness, education, research, innovation and professional practice. The CMO is professionally accountable for the medical workforce and leads Divisional Medical Directors, medical education, research and development, and pharmacy services.
Closing Date: 31st August 2026
Interview Date: Week Commencing 5 October 2026
Main duties of the job
Working with the Chair, Chief Executive, Chief Nurse, Chief People Officer and Executive colleagues, the CMO ensures clinical priorities inform strategic decision-making, transformation and service delivery. The post holder also strengthens partnerships across Integrated Care Systems, Provider Collaboratives, NHS England, academic institutions and wider health and care organisations to improve outcomes, reduce inequalities and support sustainable services.
As Chief Medical Officer, you will provide strategic clinical leadership across the Trust, champion quality and patient safety, develop our medical workforce and influence system-wide change through strong partnerships across health and care.
Job description
1. Board, corporate and strategic leadership
Contribute fully as an Executive Director to Trust strategy, corporate decision-making, governance, risk management, population health and reducing inequalities and organisational performance. Provide expert medical and clinical advice to the Board of Directors, Council of Governors, Executive Team and relevant committees. Champion safe, effective, compassionate, affordable, patient centred and evidence-based care across all services. Act as a senior ambassador for CNWL at local, regional and national forums, strengthening strategic partnerships and the Trust's reputation. Ensure clinical objectives are aligned with quality, workforce, operational and financial plans.
2. Statutory, professional and accountable officer duties
The CMO will hold the following executive and statutory accountabilities: Responsible Officer(RO) for Medical Appraisal and Revalidation; .Caldicott Guardian (CG) - line manager and accountable for CG Board lead for Research and Development, undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, medical workforce strategy and management. Board lead for Quality Improvement and joint lead with Chief Nurse for Quality Management System (QMS) Pharmacy line manager for the Chief Pharmacist who is also the Controlled drug Officer; responsible for all aspects of medicines management and optimisation, Lead for clinical pathway redesign and related organisational learning Oversight of professional standards, including conduct, capability, health, performance and engagement with the GMC, Royal Colleges, NHS Resolution, PPA and other regulatory bodies as required.
3. Medical workforce leadership
Provide professional leadership to doctors and dentists across the Trust, fostering an inclusive, compassionate and high-performing medical culture. Directly manage Divisional Medical Directors and relevant corporate direct reports, ensuring clarity of accountability and consistent professional standards. Ensure robust arrangements for consultant appointment processes, appraisal, job planning, revalidation, performance management, professional development and succession planning. Promote medical engagement, wellbeing and leadership development, ensuring the medical voice informs organisational decisions and transformation programmes. Support productivity, workforce sustainability and service quality through effective medical workforce planning and consultant engagement.
4. Quality, safety, clinical governance and learning
Provide Joint executive leadership and accountability with the Chief Nurse for clinical governance, clinical risk, patient safety, clinical effectiveness, complaints learning, patient safety incident investigations learning and quality improvement. Work with the Chief Nurse and Executive colleagues to ensure governance systems support continuous improvement in quality, safety and patient experience. Champion Quality Improvement, benchmarking, evidence-based practice, research, innovation and the adoption of digital technologies that improve care, safety and productivity. Ensure medical engagement with patient feedback, incident reviews and organisational learning, including contribution to the Annual Quality Account and Board quality reporting. Promote patient, carer, governor and community involvement in service design, delivery and evaluation.
5. Education, research and innovation
Provide executive oversight of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, working with the Chief People Officer, Director of Medical Education, Divisional Medical Directors and education partners. Ensure doctors in training receive appropriate supervision, support and high-quality learning environments. Maintain strong relationships with universities, deaneries and education bodies, and develop future clinical leaders. Promote research, innovation, learning and improvement as core components of clinical excellence.
6. System leadership and partnerships
Lead and influence clinical strategy across Integrated Care Systems, Provider Collaboratives and regional partnerships. Build effective relationships with NHS England, commissioners, regulators, local authorities, primary care, voluntary sector partners, universities and other providers. Ensure clinical perspectives inform commissioning, service planning, integrated models of care and transformation programmes. Champion population health, prevention, reduction of health inequalities and improved outcomes for underserved communities.
7. Information governance and confidentiality
Lead the work of the Caldicott Guardian and provide Board-level oversight Oversee protocols and assurance arrangements relating to the lawful, safe and proportionate use of person-identifiable information. Through the Caldicott Guardian work with the Information Governance function to ensure compliance with relevant legislation, standards, improvement plans and regulatory submissions.
About us
In return, you will join an ambitious organisation with a strong culture of innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement, offering the opportunity to make a lasting impact on the lives of patients, communities and staff.
Serving diverse communities across London and beyond, CNWL is one of the NHS's largest and most innovative providers of community, mental health, learning disability and specialist services. This is a rare opportunity to help shape the future of healthcare delivery at a time of significant transformation across the NHS.
Join us and help shape the future of community and mental healthcare.