Job overview

Join Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust as Deputy Chief Nursing Officer and help shape the future of nursing, midwifery, and allied health professional services across one of the UK’s largest NHS organisations. Reporting to the Chief Nursing Officer, you will contribute to strategic planning and drive continuous improvement in patient care standards.

With over 16,500 NMAHPs across multiple sites, you will champion clinical quality, patient safety, and professional excellence. With strong insight into integrated care and NHS policy, your leadership will ensure services are safe, compassionate, inclusive, and responsive to our communities.

Overseeing safeguarding, quality assurance, compliance, and professional standards, you will work with ambitious colleagues to deliver sustainable innovation. It goes without saying that as a role model for professionalism and improvement, you will influence healthcare agendas and embody our Trust’s values.

This is a rare opportunity for a values-led, politically astute leader with senior nursing experience in complex settings and we would love to hear from you if your skillset matches. If you are passionate about improvement and system-wide impact, take the next best step in your career.

Main duties of the job

• You will provide high-level executive leadership across nursing, midwifery, and AHP services, deputising for the Chief Nursing Officer and acting as a professional ambassador across the Trust and wider system.
• You will lead strategic change, drawing on senior experience in acute or integrated settings to deliver transformational outcomes.
• Driving professional excellence and leading the Trust’s nursing and midwifery strategy, you will align care models with national and local priorities, overseeing initiatives in safeguarding, quality governance, and professional standards.
• You will offer expert professional advice, using your knowledge of NHS policy, research, and innovation, and represent the Trust with bodies like the CQC, NMC, and NHS England whilst driving regulatory compliance, and advancing new roles, alongside mentoring senior clinical leaders through inclusive, values-led leadership.
• You will champion equity, diversity, and inclusion, addressing inequalities and supporting staff progression whilst using your political insight and system leadership skills to ensure high-quality, collaborative delivery of care.
• You will possess high-level political and organisational awareness to guide you in managing competing priorities, engaging stakeholders, and leading system-wide collaboration that enhances care quality and patient outcomes.

Working for our organisation

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) is the largest provider of specialist services, and our Oxford Road Campus in Manchester, the largest health academic campus in Europe.   We are an ambitious organisation, serving over 1 million patients and users annually through our 10 hospitals and extensive community services. With a workforce of 30,000 plus, we are a driving force for innovation, clinical excellence, and system leadership across Greater Manchester.

As a senior leader at MFT, you will shape strategy and transformation at scale, working alongside a diverse, high-performing executive team. Our £3bn plus turnover and leading-edge digital infrastructure, including the Hive EPR, enable us to deliver integrated, patient-centred care and drive continuous improvement.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive, values-led culture where your expertise, vision, and leadership will directly influence organisational direction and population health outcomes. You will have the opportunity to lead complex change, champion research and innovation, and develop future talent in a supportive, collaborative environment.

Join us to make a lasting impact—on our Trust, our communities, and the future of healthcare.