Chief Medical Officer

CPFT provides a wide range of mental health, physical health, specialist, learning disability and neuro-rehabilitation community and hospital services in the East of England. We support a population of just under a million people and employ more than 5,000 staff. Our biggest bases are at the Cavell Centre, Peterborough, and Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge, but our staff are based in more than 50 locations.

We are a health and social care organisation and have clinical teams providing services in inpatient, community and primary care settings. 

Services include:

• Adult mental health
• Forensic and specialist mental health
• Older people’s mental health
• Children’s mental health
• Children’s community
• Adult community physical health services,including community nursing and specialist services
• Minor injuries units and the joint emergency teams
• Rehabilitation services
• Specialist learning disability
• Primary care and liaison psychiatry
• Substance misuse
• Social care
• Research and development
• Teaching Partner of the University of Cambridge

We are a University of Cambridge Teaching Partner and member of Cambridge University Health Partners working with the University of Cambridge Clinical School and Anglia Ruskin University.

We are also a partner in the National Institute for Health Research's Applied Research Collaboration East of England. The NIHR ARC East of England is a five-year collaboration between CPFT, and the Universities of Cambridge, East Anglia, Hertfordshire and Essex along with other NHS Trusts, local authorities, regional Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs), patient-led organisations, charities, and industry partners across the region.

ARC East of England has a focus on improving the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people in complex health systems, while retaining a population health view.

CPFT is proud to be the mental health partner for the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital, working together with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge. Cambridge Children’s Hospital will be the first specialist children’s hospital for the East of England, unique in fully integrating mental and physical healthcare together under one roof, alongside world-leading research.

Read more about our partnerships and the project at www.cambridgechildrens.org.uk

As part of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care System (ICS), CPFT plays a central role in achieving shared outcomes for health, wellbeing, and equity. 

However, from April 2026, the structure of the NHS is changing to make healthcare services more efficient and reduce duplication.

In the East of England region there are six integrated care boards (ICBs) that commission most primary care and specialised care health services. From April 2026, these ICBs will become three larger organisations - Central East ICB, Essex ICB, and Norfolk and Suffolk ICB.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will become part of Central East ICB serving 3.5 million residents across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes.

The ICB’s immediate priority is to ensure continuity of critical business while strengthening its role as a strategic commissioner – managing clinical and financial risk for its population, setting clear priorities, and focusing efforts where they will deliver the greatest impact. Its focus will centre on quality, getting the basics right, improving outcomes for local people, and directing resources where they add the most value.

In practice, this means acting earlier to prevent ill health, improving access to services, co-ordinating care more effectively for people with complex needs, and responding rapidly when people reach crisis. It also means being clear about ICB priorities and making difficult decisions, so it can continue to support people now and for the long term.

Our research and innovation

CPFT is a top research active NHS trust and hosts the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England. We work with global, national and local partners to conduct high quality, ground-breaking research into mental and physical health, and support innovation to improve care services.

CPFT’s research mission is to be a world-leading organisation for mental health and community physical healthcare studies. Our research team aims to embed high-quality research in every aspect of clinical care and offer everyone using our services the opportunity to take part in research to improve care and treatment.

Every year we run studies with thousands of participants to learn more about conditions and find new therapies and treatments that work for different people. Our research translates the latest scientific discoveries and evidence into NHS care at CPFT.

We believe in the value of scientific research to help us understand and treat a range of conditions affecting people of all ages, which is why we run a large, diverse portfolio with hundreds of studies. Research underpins our services at CPFT by building the evidence base for care practice.

We work with thousands of volunteers every year to find more effective and efficient treatments, for better health outcomes and recovery pathways. Research makes a difference for people now and in the future.

Our Vision
The vision of CPFT is to support communities to live healthier lives. We will maximise opportunities for individuals and their families by enabling them to look beyond their limitations to achieve their goals and aspirations.

Our Purpose
CPFT strives to improve the health and wellbeing of the population we care for, and to support and empower our citizens to lead a fulfilling life.

Our Strategic Aims 
CPFT’s high level strategic aims for the next three years focus on four overarching priorities to support delivery of high-quality integrated care and support staff wellbeing

At CPFT, we put people at the heart of everything we do. Our Pride values - Professionalism, Respect, Innovation, Dignity and Empowerment - shape how we lead and how we work together. If you want to make a genuine difference to communities, lead meaningful redesign, and help build a learning organisation where staff and patients thrive, we would welcome your application.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) are seeking an exceptional Chief Medical Officer (CMO); a pivotal opportunity for a senior clinician who can translate ambitious clinical strategy into meaningful delivery through transformation, innovation, and a focus on quality, outcomes, and experience.

CPFT delivers a broad range of mental health, learning disability, autism, and community services. We are proud of both the care we provide and our staff who provide it. We are focused on redesigning pathways, improving access, strengthening safety and governance, and making care more personalised, integrated, and equitable.

We are looking for an executive-ready clinician who holds full GMC registration and brings a strong, demonstrable track record of leading large-scale transformation.

You will build confidence in change and enable high-performing teams to deliver. You will lead an ambitious clinical strategy aligned to system priorities and population need. You will sponsor clinically led transformation, service redesign, improve pathways, champion innovation.

The post provides executive leadership for medical governance, patient safety, and quality improvement, with robust assurance and a just, learning approach to risk. You will bring sound board-level judgement, influence in complex environments, and a clear commitment to visible leadership across diverse teams.

With a committed workforce, strong relationships across the Integrated Care System, and a genuine ambition to improve lives, CPFT is well placed to shape and respond to the future of health and care in our region.

As a key member of the Executive Team and Board, you will be working with colleagues to deliver and make the changes required in improving health outcomes for our population.

 

System partnership

• Represent CPFT across the Integrated Care System (ICS) and key partnerships, influencing integrated care, research, innovation, and health inequalities work.
• Champion patient and carer engagement, ensuring people with lived experience shape decisions, improvement priorities and how care is delivered.
• Take the lead in redefining the Primary Care Strategy, working in partnership with key stakeholders across the ICS, actively listening and participating throughout the re-design process.

Transformation and improvement

• Drive clinical transformation across mental health and community services — redesigning pathways, improving access and flow, and reducing unwarranted variation through delivery of an ambitious, evidence-informed clinical strategy aligned to system priorities and population needs.
• Use data, insight and improvement science to deliver measurable change in quality, outcomes and productivity.
• Champion innovation, digital enablement and new models of care with system partners.

Culture and compassionate leadership

• Create the conditions for high-performing teams: psychologically safe, inclusive, accountable and learning-focused.
• Strengthen clinical governance and “just culture” approaches — balancing openness, learning and fairness.
• Be a confident, calm leader through complexity, able to engage, listen and act.

Education, training and workforce development

• Lead the Trust’s medical education and training agenda, working with universities, postgraduate deans, and system partners.
• Build a future-ready workforce through faculty development, supervision quality, and strengthening teaching capacity.
• Support talent pipelines and career development across medical, clinical academic and multi professional teams.

You will be a values-led, person focussed and patient centred executive-ready leader with:

• Full GMC registration and significant senior medical leadership experience (ideally within mental health and/or community services or closely aligned pathways).
• A strong track record of leading clinical transformation and delivering measurable improvement in quality, safety, outcomes and productivity.
• Board-level credibility in clinical governance, patient safety, risk and regulation.
• Ability to build high-performing, inclusive teams and role-model an open, just and learning culture.
• Commitment to education and clinical leadership development, including medical training and supervision quality.
• A collaborative, system-minded approach with excellent stakeholder and partnership skills.

If you are an ambitious, compassionate and credible clinical leader with the ability to inspire teams, build high-trust partnerships, and turn vision into measurable improvement, CPFT offers the scale, the ambition and the ecosystem to deliver impact at a national and global level.

As the Chief Medical Officer, you'll have the autonomy to support and work in partnership with the Board and wider ICS to implement the change and transformation to meet our health and care ambitions for our populations across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Main tasks, duties and responsibilities

Board leadership and strategy

• Provide strategic leadership to the Trust Board on clinical strategy, quality, safety, outcomes, and transformation.
• Ensure the Trust’s clinical vision aligns with statutory duties, national regulatory expectations (including Care Quality Commission), Foundation Trust governance, and wider ICS system priorities.
• Lead development and execution of the Trust’s clinical strategy, ensuring alignment with the Trust strategy, NHS priorities and ICS plans.
• Act as a visible executive leader, modelling values-based leadership and high standards of professional conduct.
• To consistently achieve and surpass ambitious performance objectives, upholding a strong commitment to delivering outcomes within a results‑driven operating environment.

Quality, safety and clinical governance

• Be the Executive Lead for clinical governance including audit and clinical effectiveness, ensuring robust assurance frameworks and effective oversight of clinical governance, risk management, incident response and regulatory engagement.
• Along with the Chief Nursing Officer, lead improvement in patient safety, incident response, mortality review (where applicable), safeguarding and learning systems.
• Ensure the Trust meets and exceeds regulatory standards (CQC, NHS England requirements, professional standards).
• Oversee effective management of serious incidents, complaints, claims and coronial processes where relevant, ensuring learning is embedded and shared.
• Act as Trust Caldicott guardian and Responsible Officer for the Trust.
• Responsible for medicines management across the Trust and the Pharmacy function.
• Responsible for Mental Health Act compliance and monitoring thereof through the Trusts governance structures.

Transformational change and service redesign

• Lead major transformation programmes across mental health and community care, including:
  -Neighbourhood/community models and integrated teams
  -Crisis and urgent care pathways
  -Inpatient care redesign and therapeutic environments
  -Long-term condition management and rehabilitation
• Champion co-production with service users and carers, and partnership working with primary care, acute trusts, local authorities, voluntary, community, and social enterprise, and social care.
• Drive adoption of evidence-based practice, innovations and digital solutions that improve outcomes and productivity.

Medical workforce and professional leadership

• Provide professional leadership to the medical workforce, including consultants, SAS doctors, resident doctors and wider clinical leaders.
• Line management responsibility for medical leadership roles, pharmacy lead, MHA lead, psychology lead, R&D Director, CCIO, DME
• Lead medical job planning, leadership development, clinical supervision, appraisal and revalidation performance.
• Promote multidisciplinary working and inclusive leadership across clinical professions.
• Ensure robust arrangements for medical staffing, rotas, out-of-hours provision and clinical cover.
• Lead on all matters concerning the conduct, capability or ill-health of medical staff, liaising with the GMC, Royal Colleges, and NHS Resolution in line with maintaining high professional standards.

Medical education, research and innovation

• Lead medical excellence, through oversight of medical education and training governance, including relationships with deaneries, universities and placement providers.
• Lead an active research and innovation culture; sponsor evaluation and spread of best practice, including publishing of research papers.
• Ensure learning from research, audits and improvement work is translated into frontline practice.
• Provide Executive Director leadership to Research and Development, including line management of the Director of Research and Development.
• Oversee the Trust’s Research and Development strategy, including estate and capacity building to support growth across services and professions.
• Provide leadership for relationships with the University of Cambridge Department of Psychiatry and strategic partnerships such as the Cambridge Children’s Research Institute.
• Oversee research training pathways (ACF/ACL) and develop equivalent programmes for non‑medical staff to support recruitment and retention.
• Oversee governance, use and ethical compliance associated with the CPFT Research Database.

Equity, inclusion and population health

• Embed reducing health inequalities into clinical strategy, pathway redesign and quality improvement.
• Use data and lived experience insight to target variation and improve outcomes for underserved groups.
• Actively champion equality, diversity and inclusion across clinical services and leadership.
• Embed statutory Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act compliance into pathway redesign and quality improvement.

System leadership (ICS) and external partnerships

• Represent the Trust within the ICS at executive level, shaping system-wide clinical priorities and transformation.
• Build strong relationships with commissioners, provider partners, regulators and professional networks.
• Contribute to shared clinical standards, pathway integration and mutual aid arrangements across the system.

Corporate responsibilities

• Participate in executive on-call and support major incident/business continuity arrangements.
• Ensure sound governance over budgets, productivity and resource use within the medical directorate.
• Undertake any other duties consistent with the responsibilities of a Board-level executive director.
• Comply with Trust‑wide governance for equal opportunities, health and safety, information governance and data protection.

Mental Health Legislation

• As Executive Lead for Mental Health Legislation, oversee all organisational duties relating to the Mental Health Act 1983 and Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Chair the Mental Health Law Policy Group, ensuring detention activity is monitored and complaint.
• Oversee the Associate Hospital Managers’ function, including recruitment, training and appraisal of lay panel members in partnership with the Head of Mental Health Law and nominated Non-Executive Director.

Essential skills and competencies

Strategic leadership
Shapes direction, builds compelling clinical vision, aligns people and resources.

Transformational delivery
Drives complex change programmes, removes barriers, delivers outcomes at pace.

Quality and safety expertise
Deep understanding of governance, assurance, improvement science and patient safety.

Influence and collaboration
Credible with clinicians and partners; builds coalitions; navigates system complexity.

Communication
Clear, compassionate, confident in board settings and frontline engagement; excellent report writing.

Culture and inclusion
Creates psychologically safe teams; champions EDI and reduces inequalities.

Data and improvement mindset
Uses intelligence to diagnose problems, measure impact and sustain gains.

Resilience and judgement
Calm under pressure; strong decision-making; maintains integrity and professionalism.

Values and behaviours

Living CPFT Pride values, demonstrates NHS values, compassionate leadership, integrity, accountability, and commitment to continuous learning and improvement.

Training and development

• To participate in regular supervision (clinical or management) in accordance with good practice guidelines and Trust policy.
• To participate in the Trust’s annual appraisal process.
• To attend all relevant mandatory training as and when required to do so.

Quality and patient safety

• Protection of children and vulnerable adults – to promote and safeguard the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
• Implementation of NICE guidance and other statutory / best practice guidelines (if appropriate).
• Infection control - to be responsible for the prevention and control of infection.
• Incident reporting - to report any incidents of harm or near miss in line with the Trust’s incident reporting policy ensuring appropriate actions are taken to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.
• To contribute to the identification, management and reduction of risk in the area of responsibility.
• To ensure day-to-day practice reflects the highest standards of governance, clinical effectiveness, safety and patient experience.
• To ensure monitoring of quality and compliance with standards is demonstrable within the service on an ongoing basis.
• To be aware of the responsibility of all employees to maintain a safe and healthy environment for patients/ clients, visitors and staff.

General

• To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.
• To comply with the Professional Codes of Conduct and to be aware of changes in these. To maintain up-to-date knowledge of all relevant legislation and local policies and procedures implementing this.
• To ensure that all duties are carried out to the highest standard and in accordance with currently quality initiatives within the work area.
• To comply with all relevant Trust policies, procedures and guidelines, including those relating to equal opportunities, health and safety and confidentiality of information and to be aware of any changes in these.
• To comply at all times with the Trust’s information governance-related policies. Colleagues are required to respect the confidentiality of information about staff, patients and Trust business and, in particular, the confidentiality and security of personal identifiable information in line with the Data Protection Act. All staff are responsible for ensuring that any data created by them is timely, comprehensive, accurate, and fit for the purposes for which it is intended.

Equality and diversity

• The Trust is committed to equality and diversity and works hard to make sure all staff and service users have access to an environment that is open and a free from discrimination. As a Trust we value the diversity of our staff and service users, and therefore recognise and appreciate that everyone associated with the Trust is different and so should be treated in ways that are consistent with their needs and preferences.
• Therefore, all staff are required to be aware of the Trust’s Equality and Diversity Policy and the commitments and responsibilities the Trust has to:
  -Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and  other conduct prohibited by the Act. 
  -Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. 
  -Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
• We firmly believe that it makes good business sense to have a workforce representative of the communities we serve and so encourage applications from all sections of the community.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties, which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with the manager.

This job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing service requirements, and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exemption Order 1975) and as such it will be necessary for a submission for disclosure to be made to the Criminal Records Bureau to check for previous criminal convictions. The Trust is committed to the fair treatment of its staff, potential staff or users in line with its Equal Opportunities Policy and policy statement on the recruitment of ex-offenders.

 

 

Criteria	Essential	Desirable
Education / Qualifications	Full professional registration with the GMC (with a licence to practise) and on specialist register, with senior clinical leadership experience. MBBS or equivalent formal qualification. MRCPsych/MRCGP or equivalent. Evidence of continuous professional development. Post-graduate qualification(s) relevant to the role.	Approved clinician under Section 12 of the Mental Health Act. Postgraduate qualification in QI. Med ed / research / mental health law. Recognised qualification in leadership or management. Quality improvement qualification (IHI, Lean, QI coaching) or substantial equivalent experience.
Experience	Senior leadership experience at or near board level in a complex healthcare organisation (mental health and / or community preferred). Experience of practising as a consultant in mental health, learning disability or community services and leading high-performing services as a clinical director. Experience and strategic understanding of Integrated Care Systems and the forward health and care economy. Experience of delivering large-scale clinical transformation and measurable improvements in quality, safety and outcomes across complex landscapes and systems. Experience of building successful relationships and partnerships with a wide range of key stakeholders. Clear understanding of NHS regulatory framework and policy (medical agency cap, for example). Expertise in medical revalidation and its importance for upholding public confidence. Quality improvement through corporate strategy development, project and investment evaluation and organisational development. Performance management of finance and budgetary ownership in a challenging and / or regulatory environment. Experience in leading service development and income generation activities.	Experience in an education management role. Experience of a medical management and leadership role in a healthcare organisation at board or near board level. Experience leading digital clinical transformation and data-driven improvement. Experience of leading job planning, appraisal and medical governance. Experience of NHS / public sector. An understanding of the operation of Foundation Trusts.
Knowledge and skills	Knowledge of the professional, educational and statutory requirements of medical staff. Knowledge of the strategic issues facing mental health, learning disability, autism and community-based care services, focusing on driving better population health outcomes and reducing inequalities. Understanding of the culture, climate, and politics of the health and care economy and its partners. Knowledge of the clinical and corporate governance frameworks. Knowledge of current issues facing the NHS and social care. Knowledge of information governance legislation relating to Caldicott Guardian responsibilities and awareness of the CMO role in addressing them. Strategic understanding of the Trust’s values and strategic aims. Ability to explain complex clinical concepts to the Board and Governors, including lay audiences. Ability to ensure the Board prioritises quality in constrained financial environments. Ability to translate innovation, policy and oversight processes into practical actions that improve quality and safety.	Knowledge of Mental Health Legislation (Mental Health Act 1983, Mental Capacity Act 2005) Demonstrate practical application of formal training in leadership and management. Evidence of continued professional development in leadership at board or executive level.
Personal qualities	Values led, visible, inclusive and compassionate. Approachability and resilience; able to inspire confidence and hold others to account when required.
Other	Participation in executive on-call arrangements. Requirement to travel across Trust sites and system partner locations.

 

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

The Trust believes in treating everyone with dignity and respect and encourages applications from all sectors of the community.

We guarantee an interview to candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum essential criteria.

To be considered for the role of Chief Medical Officer, please e-mail your CV, along with a cover letter and supporting statement, before the closing date, to: 

recruitment@cpft.nhs.uk

Closing date
The closing time and date for applications to be received is 5pm on Monday 23 March 2026

Shortlisting
Shortlisting will take place the week of 23 March 2026.

Interview
Should your application be successful, you will be invited to an interview, which will take place the week commencing 20 April 2026 at Elizabeth House, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge.

Full details will be provided along with your invite to interview.

Informal discussion
Our CEO, Steve Grange, is available for a discussion regarding the role. Please e-mail your request to katrina.saunders@cpft.nhs.uk, Executive Assistant, who will then make the appropriate arrangements.

Site visits
Should you wish to visit any of our sites across our geography, please contact recruitment@cpft.nhs.uk for further information. Please note these will be available between 7-17 April 2026.

Recruitment assistance or enquires
Please contact:

Sue Roper
Recruitment Team Manager
E-mail: sue.roper@cpft.nhs.uk
Tel: 01480 757349