Job summary
The National Patient Safety Team is searching for an exceptional individual to lead the Advice and Guidance team at a national level on a fixed term/ secondment basis starting in December 2025 until 1 October 2026. This is a unique opportunity to lead a team of clinical subject experts developing advice and guidance, including National Patient Safety Alerts, in order to meet NHS England's statutory obligations in relation to sharing safety information in England.
As the Head of Advice and Guidance the post holder will work as part of a dynamic team, under the direction of the Deputy Director of Patient Safety (Insight), who engage with a wide range of stakeholders from within the NHS and across industry, Royal Colleges and regulatory bodies. This engagement supports the delivery of an effective service supporting staff and stakeholders in the health and social care and those supporting patient safety.
The role calls for an experienced clinician, registered with an appropriate UK regulator, who has extensive senior leadership experience. The right candidate will preferably have wide operational and governance experience and the knowledge and skills to bring information together from wide ranging clinical settings to create cogent and actionable advice and guidance.
Main duties of the job
You will have a good understanding of regional/national patient safety issues and be able to offer and develop solutions through the provision of clinically driven advice and guidance. You will lead, develop and deploy the team to deliver high quality and timely information in line with business plan priorities and statutory duties.
On a day to day basis you will manage a team of clinically skilled staff as they utilise insight and knowledge of patient safety risks to recommend suitable actions that address new, under recognised or emerging risks to patient safety. We are looking for a leader who will support the team through relationship building, knowledge sharing and experience of working with others. The ability to approach problems with positive attitude to resolution is a key aspect of the role. You will lead on the development and implementation of the system to ensure information is properly shared across the team, Directorate and the wider NHS organisations as appropriate.
About us
Our work supports the NHS to deliver high quality services for patients and best value for taxpayers.
Our staff bring expertise across hundreds of specialisms -- including clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
We lead the NHS in England by:
- Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities
- Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential
- Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
- Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
- Delivering value for money
Earlier this year, the Government announced that NHS England will gradually merge with the Department of Health and Social Care, leading to full integration. The aim is to create a smaller, more strategic centre that reduces duplication and eliminates waste.
If successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the recruitment process.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Essential criteria includes:
- Experience of working in either a patient safety or senior leadership role within healthcare.
- Effective stakeholder management at all levels, maintaining relationships with key and high-profile stakeholders, such as key strategic regional and national policy makers.
- Experience of working with information, interpreting, presenting and publishing potentially challenging information that will lead to improved patient safety.
- Significant experience of leading, managing and motivating teams of multi-skilled people to deliver corporate business objectives and through periods of change.
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work with and through others. Excellent communication skills, verbal and written including report writing.
Skills and experience we are looking for include:
- Excellent communication skills and ability to provide complex informationto a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Ability to build and nurture key relationships and maintain networks internally and externally, on a local, regional and national level.
- There will be occasional travel across England with the need for overnight stays (where relevant), some of which maybe consecutive. Hybrid working is supported for this role.
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Secondments
Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Essential criteria includes:
- Experience of working in either a patient safety or senior leadership role within healthcare.
- Effective stakeholder management at all levels, maintaining relationships with key and high-profile stakeholders, such as key strategic regional and national policy makers.
- Experience of working with information, interpreting, presenting and publishing potentially challenging information that will lead to improved patient safety.
- Significant experience of leading, managing and motivating teams of multi-skilled people to deliver corporate business objectives and through periods of change.
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to work with and through others. Excellent communication skills, verbal and written including report writing.
Skills and experience we are looking for include:
- Excellent communication skills and ability to provide complex informationto a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
- Ability to build and nurture key relationships and maintain networks internally and externally, on a local, regional and national level.
- There will be occasional travel across England with the need for overnight stays (where relevant), some of which maybe consecutive. Hybrid working is supported for this role.
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Secondments
Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Healthcare professional with relevant clinical qualification and registration.
- Extensive and senior experience in patient safety investigation, clinical governance and/or clinical risk management.
Knowledge and experience
Essential
- Proven and significant experience of working across a wide range of clinical specialties/environments.
- Proven and significant clinical knowledge, supported by evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development.
Desirable
- Proven and significant knowledge and experience of national-level patient safety policy and strategy development and delivery
Skills Capabilities & Attributes
Essential
- Well developed communication skills with the ability to communicate on highly complex matters and difficult situations.
- High level analytical skills and the ability to draw qualitative and quantitative data from a wide range of sources and present in a clear concise manner.
values and behaviours
Essential
- Values diversity and difference; operates with integrity and openness.
- Personal resilience and ability to provide emotional support to direct reports and colleagues when developing advice and guidance in response to incidents of a distressing nature,
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Healthcare professional with relevant clinical qualification and registration.
- Extensive and senior experience in patient safety investigation, clinical governance and/or clinical risk management.
Knowledge and experience
Essential
- Proven and significant experience of working across a wide range of clinical specialties/environments.
- Proven and significant clinical knowledge, supported by evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development.
Desirable
- Proven and significant knowledge and experience of national-level patient safety policy and strategy development and delivery
Skills Capabilities & Attributes
Essential
- Well developed communication skills with the ability to communicate on highly complex matters and difficult situations.
- High level analytical skills and the ability to draw qualitative and quantitative data from a wide range of sources and present in a clear concise manner.
values and behaviours
Essential
- Values diversity and difference; operates with integrity and openness.
- Personal resilience and ability to provide emotional support to direct reports and colleagues when developing advice and guidance in response to incidents of a distressing nature,
Additional information
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
