Job summary
Are you a passionate and motivated higher specialty trainee ready to take on a senior leadership challenge? We are excited to invite applications for the prestigious Chief Registrar role - a unique and highly rewarding opportunity to develop strategic leadership skills while making a meaningful impact on patient care, workforce wellbeing, and service innovation.
This role offers a minimum of 40% protected time away from clinical duties, enabling you to focus on leading and delivering high-impact local initiatives.
As Chief Registrar, you will drive improvements in key areas such as:
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Service transformation and redesign
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Workforce planning and morale
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Education and training development
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Staff engagement and wellbeing
You will act as a key liaison between the junior doctor workforce, senior clinical leaders, and management teams--bridging the gap and influencing positive, system-level change across the organisation.
In addition, you will be enrolled in a bespoke, nationally recognised leadership and management development programme delivered by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), beginning in August/September 2025. This structured programme provides the tools, mentorship, and network to help you thrive as a future leader in the NHS.
This is a career-defining opportunity for doctors looking to broaden their impact, contribute to healthcare innovation, and build the leadership capabilities essential for consultant-level roles and beyond.
Main duties of the job
As a Chief Registrar, you will take on a pivotal leadership role, helping to shape the future of patient care and medical education. With a minimum of 40% protected time for non-clinical work, this is a unique opportunity to gain hands-on leadership experience and drive meaningful change.
Your responsibilities will include acting as a key link between junior doctors, senior leaders, and managers to foster collaboration and engagement. You will lead quality improvement initiatives, enhance education and training, support workforce planning, and influence service redesign across the organisation.
All activities should place patient safety and high-quality, compassionate care at their core, in line with the principles of the Future Hospital Commission report: Future Hospital - Caring for Medical Patients (2013).
About us
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust provides NHS hospital services for around 900,000 people across Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and south Buckinghamshire.
We brought together Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to create Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust on 1 October 2014.
Our threecore values, and the behaviours that support them, guide everything we do and set out what we expect of our staff in the way they treat patients, visitors, service users and each other,Committed to Excellence, Working Together and Facing the Future.
We are also proud to host the Defence Medical Group South East at Frimley Park with military surgical, medical and nursing personnel working alongside the hospital's NHS staff providing care to patients in all specialties
Job description
Job responsibilities
This prestigious leadership opportunity is open to doctors currently holding a National Training Number (NTN) and enrolled in a medical specialty training programme, ideally one that includes Internal Medicine. While participation in the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) Chief Registrar Leadership and Management Development Programme is primarily designed for those in internal medicine-related specialties, enrolment is not strictly limited to these pathways.
The Chief Registrar role may be undertaken either in-programme or out-of-programme (for training [OOPT] or experience [OOPE]), depending on individual training needs and local workforce considerations.
Where appropriate, any necessary extension to the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) will be negotiated and agreed upon locally, with the involvement of the Head of School. For OOPT arrangements, approval from the relevant Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) will be required.
Prospective applicants must discuss their interest in the Chief Registrar role with both their Educational Supervisor and Training Programme Director (TPD) at an early stage. Formal permission to apply must be obtained from the TPD prior to submitting an application.
In line with GMC requirements, the Chief Registrar post must be undertaken at a site that is GMC-approved for training in the applicants specialty, ensuring the role continues to support their broader development as a future consultant and clinical leader.
Job description
Job responsibilities
This prestigious leadership opportunity is open to doctors currently holding a National Training Number (NTN) and enrolled in a medical specialty training programme, ideally one that includes Internal Medicine. While participation in the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) Chief Registrar Leadership and Management Development Programme is primarily designed for those in internal medicine-related specialties, enrolment is not strictly limited to these pathways.
The Chief Registrar role may be undertaken either in-programme or out-of-programme (for training [OOPT] or experience [OOPE]), depending on individual training needs and local workforce considerations.
Where appropriate, any necessary extension to the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) will be negotiated and agreed upon locally, with the involvement of the Head of School. For OOPT arrangements, approval from the relevant Specialist Advisory Committee (SAC) will be required.
Prospective applicants must discuss their interest in the Chief Registrar role with both their Educational Supervisor and Training Programme Director (TPD) at an early stage. Formal permission to apply must be obtained from the TPD prior to submitting an application.
In line with GMC requirements, the Chief Registrar post must be undertaken at a site that is GMC-approved for training in the applicants specialty, ensuring the role continues to support their broader development as a future consultant and clinical leader.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- oMBBS or equivalent
- oFull registration with the GMC
- oUnderstands the principles and practice of audit
Desirable
- oFurther qualification e.g MRCP or DGM
Competencies
Essential
- Evidence critically reflects on own competence, understands own limits and seeks help when required
Desirable
- oAble to demonstrate ability to develop service provision
Professional Experience
Essential
- oAbility to manage stroke patients including emergencies
- oAbility to clinically evaluate a patient, formulating a prioritized differential diagnosis, initiating an appropriate management plan, and reviewing and adjusting this depending on the outcomes of treatment
- oEvidence of competence to work without direct supervision where appropriate
- oEvidence of experience of independent decision making in regards to reperfusion therapies including thrombolysis and thrombectomy
- oPrevious experience of participating in teaching
Desirable
- oEvidence of involvement of significant service change associated with audit
- oPrevious participation in MRCP and DGM teaching
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- oMBBS or equivalent
- oFull registration with the GMC
- oUnderstands the principles and practice of audit
Desirable
- oFurther qualification e.g MRCP or DGM
Competencies
Essential
- Evidence critically reflects on own competence, understands own limits and seeks help when required
Desirable
- oAble to demonstrate ability to develop service provision
Professional Experience
Essential
- oAbility to manage stroke patients including emergencies
- oAbility to clinically evaluate a patient, formulating a prioritized differential diagnosis, initiating an appropriate management plan, and reviewing and adjusting this depending on the outcomes of treatment
- oEvidence of competence to work without direct supervision where appropriate
- oEvidence of experience of independent decision making in regards to reperfusion therapies including thrombolysis and thrombectomy
- oPrevious experience of participating in teaching
Desirable
- oEvidence of involvement of significant service change associated with audit
- oPrevious participation in MRCP and DGM teaching
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
