Job overview

As Divisional Medical Director, you will share accountability for all aspects of the Diggory Division alongside the Managing Director and Director of Nursing. You will provide strong, compassionate clinical leadership, helping to shape the strategy, culture, and future direction of mental health services within the Directorate.

You will be central to our transformation journey, ensuring clinical quality, developing the next generation of clinical leaders, and embedding research and innovation across services. You will represent CNWL in key system forums, influence regional strategy, and champion the delivery of high-quality, inclusive care.

Interviews will be held mid-January 2027

Main duties of the job

The postholder will be based in London but will be expected to maintain a regular and visible presence across the full geographical footprint of Diggory Division, including services in Milton Keynes and Surrey. This is a fundamental requirement of the role, ensuring accessible clinical leadership, effective engagement with staff and service users, and strong relationships with local partners. The postholder must therefore be willing and able to travel regularly between sites as required.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Diggory Medical Director will be jointly responsible and accountable for all aspects of the Diggory Division alongside the Diggory Managing Director and Director of Nursing.

The Diggory Medical Director will provide clinical leadership and strategic direction for the Division and will ensure, alongside the Diggory Managing Director and Director of Nursing, that services are delivered with high quality, financial and operational sustainability and consistent with the Trust values.

The Diggory Medical Director has a key role in providing a clinical vision to inform service improvement and development across the Division, in keeping with the NHS 10-year plan. You will provide strong clinical leadership to shape and improve care across mental health, community, addictions, health and justice, and sexual health and HIV services.

Diggory is a diverse division delivering mental health, community and addiction services in Milton Keynes, alongside addictions, health and justice, and sexual health and HIV services across London, Milton Keynes and Surrey. The Medical Director therefore has a significant role representing CNWL with system partners, commissioners and external organisations across this broad geography.

The Diggory Medical Director is responsible, through line management and professional leadership of Clinical Directors and for ensuring all aspects of medical governance are adhered to, including effective recruitment, job planning, annual appraisal and revalidation, and management of performance concerns relating to medical and dental staff within the Division.

The Diggory Medical Director will support the development of medical and clinical leadership within the Division.

The Diggory Medical Director will work closely with the Director of Medical Education to support resident doctors and medical students and embed a culture of learning within the Division.

The Diggory Medical Director will, alongside the Diggory Director of Nursing, have responsibility for clinical governance of the Division. You will actively engage in quality improvement, in responding to and learning from incidents, as well as supporting the divisional relationship with external organisations including the CQC.

The Medical Director will work alongside the Managing Director and Director of Nursing to ensure safe, effective and timely care across Diggory services, including effective patient flow through inpatient and community mental health pathways, using quality improvement and clinically led processes and systems.

CNWL is a strong research organisation and the Diggory Medical Director is expected to actively support development of research within the Division.

The Medical Director will have corporate responsibilities which will vary from time to time and scope.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Person specification:

Experience

Essential

• Experience at senior management level with responsibility for clinical operations in complex health care setting (clinical director or equivalent).
• Experience and evidence of delivering high standards of performance to achieve national and local targets within a complex healthcare setting
• Demonstrable track record of leading innovation and service improvement, translating new ideas into measurable improvements in quality, outcomes, access, experience or productivity.
• Experience of managing large-scale change in a complex environment
• Experience of delivering efficiency and productivity targets at operational level
• Experience of working effectively in partnership with other organisations
• Experience of dealing with difficult situations including the resolution of conflict and influencing others to accept demanding outcomes

Desirable

• Experience of business planning in complex organisations
• Demonstrable experience of financial and budgetary management, including using financial, workforce, activity and quality data to redesign services and deliver sustainable models of care.
• Experience of working with commissioners and partners, with an understanding of different NHS and local authority commissioning and contracting arrangements, including Integrated Care Boards and NHS England
• Experience of contributing to successful tenders, service bids and/or the mobilisation of new or significantly redesigned services
• Experience of leading service redesign and remodelling in a complex healthcare environment, demonstrating the ability to improve quality and outcomes while delivering financial sustainability and value

Skills, Knowledge and Aptitudes

Essential

• Strategic and operational leadership skills
• Understanding of the work and priorities of a NHS trust and a good grasp of current policy direction in respect of clinical services in mental health
• Solid understanding of all governance issues
• Highly developed operational management skillsHighly developed operational management skills
• Highly developed operational performance improvement skills
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills necessary to establish and maintain effective working relationships across and between a variety of diverse interest groups, and the ability to communicate effectively where there may be significant barriers to acceptance
• Proven visionary leadership / ability to set out a clear vision for services, to persuade others of the benefits and requirements of the plan for the future, and overcome obstacles
• Ability to create a culture in which staff and service users are empowered to identify, test and implement new approaches to care.
• Demonstrate an ability to lead and motivate

Education, Qualifications and Training

Essential

• On the GMC Specialist Register or the GMC GP Register

Desirable

• Evidence of continued professional development
• Qualification in Business/Medical Management