Chief Registrar

Job responsibilities

The Chief Registrar job description is intentionally broad to provide both Chief Registrars and recruiting organisations with flexibility and autonomy in shaping the role.

Involvement in senior management and organisational decision-making:

The Chief Registrar should attend departmental and divisional management meetings to gain insight into management processes and the wider social, political, and economic factors influencing healthcare delivery. Where appropriate, they may also attend Board meetings. The Chief Registrar will lead any sessions related to service development, improvement, or transformation for which they have direct responsibility, providing practical exposure to organisational decision-making.

Key main duties of Chief Registrar:

• Act as a link between senior leaders, managers, and trainees to improve communication, engagement, and morale.

• Lead service improvement and transformation initiatives to enhance patient care, efficiency, and outcomes.

• Support and mentor trainees in education, training, and quality improvement projects.

• Contribute to workforce planning and optimise trainee deployment to meet service needs.

• Collaborate across teams and organisational boundaries to engage stakeholders and drive change.

• Attend departmental, divisional, and, where appropriate, Board meetings to gain exposure to senior management and organisational decision-making.

• Maintain a personal development plan and participate in regular appraisals and mentoring.

Qualifications and Training

Essential

• Full Registration with GMC and fitness to practice
• NTN ST4 or above (or equivalent Locally Employed Doctor at ST4 level or above)
• Must have approval of Training Programme Director or Divisional Director if Locally Employed to apply
• Should not already hold a CCT or expected to leave programme before completion of training
• Evidence of satisfactory/more than satisfactory progress through training, including annual review of competence progression (ARCP) outcomes or appraisals

Desirable

• Additional relevant degree (intercalated, master's or doctorate)

Knowledge, Experience and Expertise

Essential

• Evidence of clinical competencies in their speciality appropriate for their stage in training (or equivalent)
• An appropriate knowledge base and ability to apply sound clinical judgement to problems
• Ability to prioritise clinical need
• Ability to maximise safety and minimise risk
• Ability to work without supervision where appropriate

Reseach

Essential

• Understanding of research, including awareness of ethical issues
• Understanding of research methodology and ability to use basic qualitative and quantitative methods
• Knowledge of evidence-based practice

Desirable

• Evidence of relevant academic achievements, including publications and presentations

Leadership and Management

Essential

• Evidence of effective team working and leadership, supported by multi-source feedback or workplace based assessments
• Self-Awareness with knowledge of personal strengths and weaknesses, impact and areas of development
• Interest in and knowledge of the importance of leadership and management for clinicians

Desirable

• Evidence of involvement in local management systems
• Evidence of effective leadership (eg evidence of leading innovations and/or improvements)
• Understanding of the local and national context of the NHS, including economic and political influences

Education and Teaching

Essential

• Evidence of interest in and experience of teaching others
• Evidence of positive feedback received on teaching approaches

Desirable

• Development of teaching programmes
• Participation in teaching courses
• Participation in degree or diploma courses in education
• Participation in action learning sets and/or simulation instructor

Personal Skills

Essential

• Communication: The postholder must demonstrate clarity in written and spoken communication, the ability to adapt language appropriately to the audience, active listening and empathy, the capacity to build rapport and communicate effectively with others, and the skills to persuade, influence, and negotiate, including when working under pressure.
• Problem Solving and Decision Making: The postholder must be able to use logical and lateral thinking to analyse problems and make decisions, demonstrating an analytical or scientific approach and, where appropriate, creativity in problem solving.
• Organisation and Planning: The postholder must be able to effectively manage and prioritise time, information, and tasks, demonstrate thoroughness and reliability (including being well-prepared, self-disciplined, committed, punctual, and meeting deadlines), and plan and deliver work over long timescales while coordinating across teams or agencies with differing priorities.
• Coping with pressure and managing uncertainty: The postholder must be able to work effectively under pressure, manage conflicting demands, demonstrate self-motivation and resilience, and take initiative while working autonomously.
• Team working, leading and managing others: The postholder must be able to build effective teams and partnerships, work well within multidisciplinary teams, understand and value the contributions of others, and demonstrate leadership by making decisions, organising, and motivating team members, for example through quality improvement initiatives.
• Appropriate personal attributes: The postholder must be quick to understand new information and adapt to new environments, demonstrate clarity of thought and expression, be flexible and adaptable to change, show initiative, motivation, curiosity, and enthusiasm, act with honesty, integrity, and respect for confidentiality, take responsibility for their actions, and demonstrate a commitment to personal and professional development.
• Excellent computer literacy skills

Desirable

• Leadership skills gained within the NHS or elsewhere
• Writing experience: The postholder must have experience in writing on clinical and/or non-clinical topics, including peer-reviewed publications or other forms of professional communication, such as blogs or letters to journals.
• Evidence of altruistic behaviour, such as involvement in voluntary work or other activities benefiting others.

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).