Job vacancy: Head of School - Paediatrics, NHS England, Fulbourn, Cambridge

Job summary

Main area: Paediatrics
Grade: In line with HoS sessional payments
Contract: Secondment: 13 months (until 31 October 2026)
Hours: Part time - 4 sessions per week (16 hours per week)
Job ref: 990-WT&E-16342-E

Employer: NHS England
Employer type: NHS
Site: Victoria House
Town: Fulbourn, Cambridge
Salary: In line with HoS sessional payments
Closing: 18/08/2025 23:59

Head of School - Paediatrics

In line with HoS sessional payments

Our Organisation

The NHS is building a culture that is positive, compassionate and inclusive – and we all have our part to play.

As employers we are committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all our colleagues. This underpins our values as set out in the NHS Constitution and supports us to be an Employer of Choice, while helping our colleagues to deliver high quality services for our patients and communities.

As a flexible employer, we want to support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a ‘home’ office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

We are an accredited Living Wage Employer which means that every colleague working for our organisation and third-party contractors will earn a real Living Wage. We are one of over 15,000 organisations, who voluntarily chose to pay the real Living Wage.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Education and Training Quality Improvement and Performance

To emphasise the importance and promote the development of a quality learning environment for all learners.

To support Postgraduate Deans in meeting all NHSE statutory requirements.

Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality Improvement

Assist in the development of quality processes which are complementary across the healthcare workforce.

To support the use of clinical skills training and simulation (where appropriate/applicable), stressing the importance of teamwork and human factors.

School Programme Management

To oversee School programme management and advise Postgraduate Deans on the following matters:

Specialty-specific matters and trainee/trainer concerns;

Recruitment to training posts and programmes;

Postgraduate programme management, including assessments, progression, rotations, support and remediation, OOP management, trainee management, careers support, less than full-time training, interdeanery transfer, academic training and other related work-streams.

To oversee the School structure and relevant School meetings within the structure.

Educational and Workforce Development

To advise and support the Postgraduate Dean in educational and workforce development elements, including:

Professional Development of the educational faculty

To support compliance with requirements particularly with regard to the supervision and support for trainees and learners.

To identify learning needs and support provision of educational appraisal, educator development and resource for faculty, trainees and learners.

To create and promote shared learning opportunities to increase effective inter-professional working across the School.

Intelligence Support/ provision

To ensure local intelligence processes inform quality management processes.

To engage with information systems (trainee database, post establishments).

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

Skills

Essential criteria

Demonstrable leadership skills and an ability to influence and motivate others
A strong sense of vision and ability to innovate
Politically astute with an ability to sensitively manage complexity and uncertainty
Ability to problem solve and maintain objectivity
Strong interpersonal, communication, written and presentation skills
Ability to quickly establish personal and professional credibility with colleagues and other key stakeholders
Excellent organisational and time management skills
Committed to own personal development and an ability to support others to develop and progress

Desirable criteria

Ability to rapidly establish academic credibility

Experience

Essential criteria

Considerable experience of working with learners or doctors in training in an educational context
Experience of clinical and educational leadership and innovation, including managing a multi-professional team
Demonstrable track record of delivery in service and education
Understanding of developments involving the relevant Colleges/Faculties, professional bodies, related NHS organisations and regulatory bodies
Understanding of the workforce transformation agenda
Trained and experienced in recruitment, selection and Equality and Diversity in the last 3 years
Active involvement in, and up to date with, appraisal processes
Knowledge of the NHS, its structures and processes, including an understanding of healthcare/multi-professional workforce matters

Desirable criteria

Previous or current appointment as a leader in healthcare education
Awareness of funding streams for healthcare education
Understanding of current health, social care and education policy

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Primary clinical healthcare qualification
Membership/Fellowship of a College, Faculty, professional association and/or regulatory body
Attendance at courses aimed to support educational development (example: educator courses, Train the Trainer, etc.)

Desirable criteria

Educational qualification such as a postgraduate certificate diploma or Masters in Medical Education.

Our commitments to you

We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better patient outcomes. We strive to ensure our people feel trusted, valued and empowered. We’re passionate about nurturing and developing people. When you join us, we want you to grow and excel, and we offer many opportunities for you to do that. We welcome your talent and enthusiasm irrespective of age, disability, neuro-divergence, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. We have policies and procedures to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability and/or who are neuro-divergent.

We welcome applications from disabled candidates. If you meet all the essential criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview.

If applying for this role on a secondment basis, please make sure you have obtained prior agreement from your current line manager to apply for this position.

Please note that we currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies.

To comply with the HM Government Functional Standard GovS 007, and specifically the Personnel Security Standards 2024, individuals employed or contracted by NHS England may be required to undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standards check, dependent on the role.

The NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for the processing of your application; a privacy notice is attached to advise you on how we will process your personal data.

If you have applied via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

You will not be able to track the progress of your application or receive messages through NHS Jobs, and furthermore, as an employer, we will not be able to respond to any emails sent to us via NHS Jobs. If you have a query relating to your application, please contact the recruitment team on [email protected] or 0300 330 1369. You can view our Privacy Notice here.

NHS England