Clinical Director for Obstetrics and Gynaecology: Sponsorship Available

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and inspirational Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist to join Somerset NHS Foundation Trust as Clinical Director for Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

This full-time 10 PA leadership post offers the opportunity to shape the future of women’s health services across Somerset at both Musgrove Park Hospital and Yeovil District Hospital.

As Clinical Director, you will provide strategic, professional and operational medical leadership across a broad portfolio including maternity, obstetrics, benign and acute gynaecology, specialist women’s health services, diagnostics, workforce development and research.

Working closely with clinical, operational, nursing and midwifery colleagues, you will lead service transformation, quality improvement and workforce development to ensure the delivery of safe, effective and compassionate care for women, babies and families across the county.

This is a rare opportunity to influence strategy, drive meaningful change and leave a lasting legacy within one of England’s most integrated healthcare organisations. We are committed to appointing the right individual and will work collaboratively to develop a job plan that reflects your experience, strengths and aspirations whilst ensuring the leadership requirements of the service are met.

We would be delighted to discuss the role, introduce you to colleagues across both sites and share our ambitions for the future of Women’s Services in Somerset.

Main duties of the job

As Clinical Director for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, you will:

  • Provide visible clinical leadership across women’s health services, fostering collaboration between Musgrove Park Hospital and Yeovil District Hospital.
  • Develop and deliver a clear county-wide strategy for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, aligned with Trust and system priorities.
  • Lead on quality, safety and clinical governance, ensuring learning from incidents, reviews, audits and patient feedback drives sustained improvement.
  • Support delivery of the Maternity and Neonatal Improvement Plan and provide strategic oversight of maternity, obstetric and gynaecology services.
  • Work with multidisciplinary teams to improve patient experience, access standards, elective recovery, cancer pathways and service performance.
  • Share accountability for workforce, operational, quality and financial objectives across the service.
  • Support recruitment, retention, succession planning and the development of future clinical leaders.
  • Lead transformational projects and pathway redesign across acute, community and primary care services.
  • Build strong relationships with patients, families, commissioners, education partners and regional networks to support the delivery of high-quality services.
  • Promote a culture of inclusion, innovation, research, continuous improvement and compassionate leadership.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Full GMC registration with a licence to practise
  • Entry on the GMC Specialist Register in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (or within six months of interview).
  • Evidence of continuing professional development and revalidation.

Desirable

  • Formal leadership, management, quality improvement or educational qualification.
  • Participation in recognised leadership development programmes

Experience

Essential

  • Substantial consultant experience within Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
  • Demonstrable clinical credibility and professional leadership within a complex healthcare environment.
  • Broad understanding of maternity, benign gynaecology, emergency gynaecology, elective services and cancer pathways.

Desirable

  • Experience leading services across multiple sites or organisations.
  • Experience within regional, network or system leadership roles.

Additional Criteria

Essential

  • Evidence of successfully leading service improvement, transformation or cultural change.
  • Experience of working collaboratively with clinical, operational, nursing and midwifery leaders.
  • Ability to set clear direction, deliver outcomes and lead through influence.
  • Strong understanding of clinical governance, patient safety, risk management and regulatory requirements.
  • Experience of using quality, safety and performance information to drive improvement and provide assurance.
  • Ability to balance clinical quality, workforce, operational performance and financial sustainability.
  • Experience of interpreting complex information, managing competing priorities and making evidence-based decisions.
  • Understanding of current NHS challenges and opportunities.
  • Visible, inclusive and compassionate leadership style.
  • Ability to build trust, engage clinicians and multidisciplinary teams, and support the development of future leaders.
  • Commitment to creating high-performing teams and positive organisational culture.
  • Excellent communication, influencing and negotiation skills.
  • Ability to work effectively across professional, organisational and system boundaries.
  • Experience of engaging stakeholders and building productive relationships.
  • Demonstrates integrity, sound judgement and personal accountability.
  • Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.
  • Promotes a culture of openness, learning, continuous improvement and psychological safety.
  • Self-aware, resilient and able to lead through challenge and uncertainty.
  • Ability to travel across Somerset as required.
  • Flexible approach to balancing leadership and clinical commitments.

Desirable

  • Previous experience as a Clinical Director, Clinical Service Lead or equivalent senior leadership position.
  • Experience of major organisational change programmes.
  • Experience of responding to external reviews, inspections or national improvement programmes.
  • Experience of business planning, productivity programmes, financial management or service redesign at scale.
  • Experience of workforce redesign, succession planning or organisational development initiatives.
  • Experience representing services within regional or national forums.
  • Media, public or Board-level presentation experience.
  • Evidence of championing innovation, research or system-wide improvement initiatives.

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: 15 November 2026

To apply for this job please visit somersetft.tal.net.