Executive Medical Director

Job responsibilities

1. Statutory and professional clinical accountability

Accountable for the professional governance and management of concerns relating to all clinical staff.

Upholding professional clinical standards, conduct, and clinical governance.

Holding Corporate Caldicott Guardian responsibilities.

2. Clinical governance, quality, and safety

Holding executive accountability for clinical quality and patient safety across all BrisDoc services, including Patient Safety Incident Investigations (PSIIs), coroners cases, significant complaints, clinical claims, and the management of clinical risk arising from these areas.

Executive oversight of organisational clinical learning and improvement, ensuring effective systems for incident management, learning from patient experience and feedback, quality assurance, and continuous improvement.

Holding executive accountability for the effectiveness of clinical governance and in association with the Director of Nursing, Allied Health Professionals and Governance, for organisational regulatory compliance, including inspection and contractual requirements (e.g. CQC), and providing assurance to the Board that these arrangements operate effectively in practice.

Providing senior clinical leadership and assurance into core governance structures, including being the Executive responsible for the Clinical Quality and Performance Committee, which is formally chaired by a Non-Executive Director.

Working in close partnership with the Director of Nursing, AHPs and Governance (DNAG) to lead and coordinate clinical aspects of organisational regulatory compliance and inspection readiness.

Exercising senior clinical and executive judgement in high-risk, high-impact situations where issues cannot be resolved through routine governance processes.

3. Clinical leadership within the executive team

As a statutory Executive Director, the Medical Director shares collective responsibility for the leadership, performance, and sustainability of the organisation.

Providing clinical advice, challenge and assurance to the CEO and Board.

Bringing a clinical perspective to strategy, risk, digital, workforce and transformation.

With the Director of Nursing, Allied Health Professionals, and Governance, ensuring the clinical voice and clinical considerations are central to all executive business.

Modelling inclusive, compassionate and collaborative leadership.

4. System leadership and partnership working

Representing BrisDoc as a credible senior clinical voice, working with Executive colleagues to engage effectively within BNSSG, the wider South West, and any healthcare area within which BrisDoc operates.

Influencing system-level clinical governance, responses to national requirements and the development of emerging models of urgent and primary care.

Maintaining effective senior relationships with system partners to support collaborative working, safe service delivery, risk management, and organisational resilience, whilst protecting BrisDocs interests

5. Strategic clinical input to service development

Providing senior clinical input into possible new service models, bids, collaborations, innovations, and evaluation.

Ensuring that service development and digital initiatives are informed by appropriate clinical safety and governance oversight, recognising that detailed CCIO-level leadership may sit elsewhere.

Aligning clinical strategies and goals with organisational strategies and business goals.

Supporting and championing new medical technologies and digital transformation of healthcare services.

6. Clinical workforce, culture, and leadership

Executive responsibility for clinical workforce leadership, inclusive succession planning and the development of BrisDocs clinical leadership.

Working in partnership with the Director of Nursing, Allied Health Professionals, and Governance to ensure coherent professional leadership, clinical standards, performance management, and development across all clinical professions.

Promoting a learning culture and psychologically safe environment.

Supporting senior clinical and other recruitment, development, performance, and clinical education.

7. Clinical practice

Undertaking a proportion of clinical sessions or shifts within BrisDoc services to maintain credibility and insight.

Qualifications

Essential

• Full GMC registration with licence to practise
• MRCGP, or equivalent senior medical position, such that clinical participation in at least one of BrisDoc's services is feasible
• Completion of safeguarding (Level 3) and mandatory training, or commitment to complete within six months of appointment.

Desirable

• Additional postgraduate qualifications relevant to leadership, governance, or quality improvement.
• Inclusion on the NHS England Medical Performers List (to enable engagement with the clinical rota).
• Completion of GP vocational training.

Experience

Essential

• A substantial record of senior clinical leadership at Director, Associate Director, Deputy Medical Director or equivalent level within a complex provider organisation.
• Demonstrated leadership of clinical governance, patient safety, incident management, and regulatory engagement.
• Proven ability to operate effectively within NHS systems and multi-agency clinical environments.
• Evidence of providing senior-level clinical assurance, challenge and advice to executive teams, Boards, or equivalent governance forums.

Desirable

• Experience of operating at Executive Director or Board level, with collective responsibility for organisational performance.
• Experience of general practice and/or urgent or integrated primary care services.
• Experience of service development, transformation, or system-level collaboration.

Knowledge

Essential

• In-depth understanding of clinical governance, quality improvement, risk management, and patient safety.
• Strong knowledge of NHS statutory, regulatory, and contractual requirements, including CQC and information governance.
• Understanding of professional clinical standards, accountability, and regulation across clinical professions.

Desirable

• Awareness of digital health, data-driven care, and the clinical governance implications of digital and AI-enabled change.
• Understanding of National Quality Requirements relevant to urgent and primary care.

Skills and Capabilities

Essential

• Effective and inclusive executive leadership capability, able to hold accountability and clinical risk.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to influence diverse stakeholders.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, complexity, and political environments through constructive collaboration.
• Ability to delegate, develop others and build succession.
• Ability to represent BrisDoc credibly at system level.
• Analytical skills, including interpreting quality data and informing executive and Board-level decision-making.

Values, Behaviours and Attributes

Essential

• Commitment to high quality patient care.
• Integrity, judgement, calmness, and resilience under pressure.
• Commitment to openness, learning, inclusion and psychological safety.
• Demonstrates impartiality and objectivity.
• Demonstrates good emotional intelligence (EI), strong communication skills and a collegiate approach.
• Flexible, adaptable, and positive about change.
• Commitment to BrisDoc values and culture.
• Demonstrates collaborative, inclusive and compassionate leadership consistent with NHS leadership values.

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).