Job Description

Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust have been working in partnership since 2019, moving to a single Chief Executive and executive team in 2023 and establishing Boards and committees in common in 2024.

Together, we are building a Group model designed to deliver improved outcomes for patients, strengthen clinical sustainability and support collaborative working at scale across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

This is a significant and distinctive Board-level opportunity to shape the future of clinical services across a developing NHS Group.

As Group Chief Medical Officer, you will be a voting Board Director across both organisations, providing professional leadership to the medical workforce and playing a central role in shaping the next stage of the Group’s development. You will lead on clinical quality, patient safety and clinical governance, championing excellence in care while supporting innovation, research and new models of service delivery.

Working closely with the Chief Executive, Chief Nursing Officer and executive colleagues, you will help design and deliver the transformation of clinical services across both Trusts. You will support the development of a consistent clinical model and workforce approach, strengthening collaboration within and between organisations and across system partners.

This is a role that requires visible, credible and compassionate leadership. You will engage and influence clinicians at every level, build strong partnerships internally and externally, and help create a culture in which multidisciplinary teams are empowered to lead improvement and deliver high standards of patient care.

We are seeking a senior medical leader with substantial experience at consultant level and a strong track record in clinical leadership and governance within a complex healthcare organisation. You will bring the ability to lead large-scale change, shape strategic direction and build collaborative relationships across organisational and system boundaries.

This is an opportunity to join an ambitious and evolving Group, working across acute, community and ambulance services, with a shared vision of working together to deliver excellence in care for patients and communities.

We are committed to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Please see enclosed Candidate Brief for further details on the role.

Our executive search partners, Odgers, are supporting this process. For more information, please visit www.odgers.com/96147 or please email Carmel Gibbons, Partner and Head of the Healthcare Practice via vicky.graham@odgers.com to arrange a further discussion in confidence about this opportunity.

Closing date for applications is Friday 19th June 2026

Qualifications

Essential

• Medical graduate
• Higher medical professional qualification
• Postgraduate medical qualification
• Evidence of continues learning and professional development
• Unblemished registration with GMC

Desirable

• Management qualification
• Postgraduate qualifications in either medical education or clinical governance

Experience

Essential

• Substantial clinical experience at consultant level
• Significant experience in medical management in a relevant healthcare organisation
• Strong reputation as a clinician and clinical leader with a proven track record of producing high quality result in the management and leadership of clinical services
• Experience in building organisational capabilities, including establishing a clear strategic vision and director translation into successful outcomes
• Experience of managing clinical governance
• Proven record or establishing productive working relations and effective partnership across internal and external networks

Desirable

• Previous Medical Director experience
• Experience of managing postgraduate training
• Experience of leading a large complex organisation through significant change.

Skills and Knowledge

• Capable of developing strategic plans, generating commitment to these plans and delivering change
• Intellectual flexibility that enables the reasoned assessment of a situation and the ability to draw pragmatic conclusions
• Able to win “hearts and minds”, lead and motivate clinicians, managers and staff and to harness and nurture talent
• High levels of tenacity, drive, enthusiasm and resilience, to achieve goals and to see things through
• Exceptional influencing and negotiating skills

Leadership Qualities

• Self-management
• Personal integrity
• Broad scanning
• Seizing the future
• Political astuteness
• Intellectual flexibility
• Drive for results
• Collaborative working
• Effective and strategic influencing
• Holding to account
• Drive for improvement

Additional Information

The health and wellbeing of our staff is at the forefront of everything we do. We are proud to be able to offer our staff some fantastic benefits including our on-site Nursery, access to our free Beach Hut for those long summer days, our on-site Wellness Centre including a gym and a swimming pool, access to our fantastic staff networks including LGBTQ, Race Equality and DisAbility, and awards ceremonies to recognise your achievements. We believe we can offer support to all of our staff when they need it the most.

We welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of your education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, colour, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and beliefs.

For more information, please see our People and OD Strategy 2026