Principal Sonographer: Sponsorship Available

  • Full Time
  • United Kingdom
  • 67,583 to 78,530 £ / Year

Hywel Dda University Health Board

Job summary

Hywel Dda University Health Board is seeking an experienced, forward-thinking Principal Sonographer to provide strategic, professional, governance and operational leadership for ultrasound services across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape the future of ultrasound practice across a diverse Health Board, leading service transformation, strengthening clinical governance, and supporting sustainable, high-quality care for patients and communities.

Working within Radiology, you will act as the Health Board’s senior professional authority for ultrasound, influencing strategic direction, workforce development, quality assurance and innovation while promoting compassionate, inclusive and values-based leadership.

The post offers the chance to work across beautiful rural and coastal communities, combining senior leadership responsibility with the opportunity to make a visible difference to patient safety, access, service quality and staff development.

Key benefits of the role include:

  • Influence the strategic direction of ultrasound services across the Health Board.

  • Lead innovation, service redesign and quality improvement at scale.

  • Support and develop a skilled ultrasound workforce, including advanced and extended roles.

  • Contribute to governance, safety and assurance at senior organisational level.

  • Work in a supportive Health Board serving vibrant communities across west Wales.

Main duties of the job

The Principal Sonographer will provide senior leadership for ultrasound practice, ensuring services are safe, effective, sustainable and aligned with national standards, regulatory requirements and Health Board priorities.

The post holder will lead ultrasound governance, quality assurance, audit, risk management and service improvement, including oversight of policies, standards, equipment strategy, performance data and preparation for accreditation requirements such as Quality Standards in Imaging.

A key part of the role will be leading and influencing workforce strategy, professional standards, education, credentialing, scope of practice and career development pathways, while working collaboratively with clinical, operational, managerial and external partners to improve access, patient flow and outcomes.

The role also includes expert clinical contribution, including referral vetting, high-quality ultrasound examinations, interpretative reporting, medicines governance within the area of responsibility, incident and complaint investigation, and provision of specialist advice across services.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

  • Significant NHS experience working as a sonographer across a range of ultrasound disciplines.
  • Extensive senior-level NHS ultrasound experience across multiple clinical domains.
  • Demonstrable experience of providing organisation-wide professional leadership and governance oversight.
  • Proven experience of leading complex service transformation, change management and service redesign at scale.
  • Experience of providing assurance to senior leadership on quality, safety, performance and risk.
  • Significant experience of workforce leadership, including professional accountability, scope of practice, education and role development.
  • Experience of financial management, budgetary responsibility and development of business cases.
  • Evidence of effective partnership working across multidisciplinary, organisational and system boundaries.
  • Clear understanding of Welsh Government priorities including RTT and Single Cancer Pathway targets.

Desirable

  • Experience of leading services through external inspection, accreditation or quality assurance processes (e.g. QSI).
  • Experience of working at regional or national level influencing service strategy or professional practice.

Qualifications and Knowledge

Essential

  • Relevant professional qualification
  • Current HCPC/RCT/RCN registration
  • CASE accredited Masters (level 7) qualification in medical ultrasound (e.g. DMU, MSC.)
  • Post graduate study in obstetric and general ultrasound, having a full working knowledge of the regulatory framework relating to your area of practise.
  • Formal management or leadership qualification, or demonstrable equivalent senior leadership experience.

Desirable

  • Post graduate qualification in Clinical Governance, Quality Assurance, teaching, IOSHH or comparable.
  • Postgraduate qualification or formal training in clinical governance, quality improvement, patient safety, education, or health service management.
  • Evidence of continuous professional development at a strategic or executive leadership level.

Other

Desirable

  • Welsh Speaker (Level 1)

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Closing Date: 2 November 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.