Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
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.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- o Full GMC registration
- o Current licence to practise
- o Evidence of continuous personal/professional development and appraisal
Desirable
- o Management qualification/postgraduate study
Experience
Essential
- o Consultant-level experience with a substantial track record of senior clinical leadership
- o Substantial Board-level or senior leadership experience within a large and complex healthcare organisation
- o Experience of working as part of a senior executive team with collective responsibility for organisational performance, quality, workforce and finance
- o Significant experience of working across Integrated Care Systems, Provider Collaboratives and wider health and care partnerships
- o Capability in inter-agency working including NHS England, commissioners, local authorities, voluntary sector, user and carer groups, primary care and other provider organisations
- o Experience of influencing and leading beyond organisational boundaries
- o Leadership of major service review, transformation and change programmes
- o Proven track record of leading major clinical transformation, service redesign and quality improvement programmes delivering measurable improvements in outcomes, safety, productivity or experience
- o Demonstrable experience of leading quality improvement initiatives
- o Demonstrable experience of improving population health outcomes and reducing health inequalities
- o Experience of working with partners to improve outcomes for underserved communities
- o Experience of managing MHPS activities
- o Experience of managing and resolving conflict
Desirable
- o Evidence of leadership development at Board or Executive Director level
- o Experience leading research, innovation or digital transformation programmes.
Skills
Essential
- o Ability to carry the confidence of medical staff in each Division and specialty across the Trust
- o Ability to provide visible, inspirational and compassionate leadership within a complex organisation
- o Ability to develop and communicate a compelling strategic vision
- o Ability to lead through influence and build commitment to organisational change
- o Exceptional relationship-building skills across clinical, professional, system and partner organisations
- o Ability to establish credibility with regulators, commissioners, NHS England and partner organisations
- o Outstanding communication, presentation and ambassadorial skills
- o Ability to represent the organisation effectively at local, regional and national level
- o Ability to influence senior stakeholders and manage highly complex relationships
- o Strong and effective communication skills, particularly in articulating a more business-oriented approach to Trust business
- o Ability to contribute at a high level to corporate issues
- o Empathetic and purposeful about user, carer and voluntary sector interests
- o Ability to foster inclusive, compassionate and psychologically safe cultures
- o Ability to develop future clinical leaders and build leadership capacity throughout the organisation
- o Ability to adopt and convey the ethos of CNWL in external forums
- o Prepared to be open to challenge
- o Informed and able to lead on Clinical Governance, including clinical risk management, clinical effectiveness, research and development, and clinical audit
- o Confidence and resilience to pursue performance management issues and appraisal arrangements
- o Ability to interact effectively with senior clinical leaders and managers across the organisation
- o Effective time management and self-management
- o Ability to judge priorities and differentiate between urgent and longer-term issues
- o High-level influencing and negotiating skills
- o Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
- o Positive outlook, ambitious for improved services and committed to achieving them
- o Ability to develop strategic vision for the Medical Directorate
Knowledge
Essential
- o Excellent people management skills
- o Respected in their clinical speciality
- o Knowledgeable or able to acquire knowledge about issues across all clinical areas
- o In-depth understanding of NHS policy, regulation and contemporary healthcare challenges
- o Detailed understanding of Integrated Care Systems and provider collaboration arrangements
- o Understanding of population health management and health inequalities
- o Comprehensive understanding of current national policies on mental and physical health and the commissioning environment
- o Understanding of links and partnerships with academic and training/development bodies
- o Understanding of the relationship between quality, workforce, operational performance and financial sustainability
- o Understanding of value-for-money principles and effective resource stewardship
Other Attributes
Essential
- o Able to demonstrate active support for the Trust values and place patient welfare at the centre of all activities
- o Demonstrates the NHS Leadership Code behaviours of accountability, compassion, curiosity, collaboration and inclusion
- o Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion
- o Commitment to improving patient outcomes and reducing inequalities
- o Able to undertake the duties of the role, with any reasonable adjustments where required.
- o Personal resilience and the ability to lead effectively through ambiguity, complexity and change
- o Visible commitment to staff wellbeing, engagement and leadership development
- o Willing to take advantage of the Trust move towards agile working practices
- o Sufficiently mobile to travel independently to any Trust premises as required
Closing Date: 31 August 2026
To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.