The health service is seeking a senior leader to act as a conduit between clinical communities and national administration, with a remit to advocate for technology, while understanding its risks

NHS England is offering an annual salary of almost £150,000 in a bid to recruit a new chief clinical information officer to “carry our vision for the power of digital transformation… into senior clinical communities” throughout the healthcare system.

The post is open to qualified medical professionals with “substantial senior clinical experience as a clinical leader in practice [and] with a track record of inclusive clinical leadership and strategic vision”.

As well as disseminating national digital objectives across the clinical workforce, the postholder will be expected to “bring the vision of those… communities back into our organisation, working with our internal delivery functions to design products and services that meet [their] needs and expectations”. The CCIO will have an overall responsibility to “ensure that what is built is safe and clinically effective and has the intended impact across care settings and clinical pathways”, according to the job advert.

Related content

• NHS delays £350m GP IT framework after legal challenge
• One in four GPs yet to provide patients with online access to records
• New owner of remote NHS GP service pledges no disruption or staff cuts after Babylon bankruptcy

The role comes with a remit to “advocate for the huge and ever-growing opportunities associated with digitisation of clinical pathways, and at the same time ensure a deep understanding of associated risk, and oversee the judgements necessary in evaluating the two side by side”.

The advert added: “Technology is an increasingly critical aspect of clinical care, whether through increased used of wearable or embedded monitors, more communication with patients through digital channels, greater use of algorithms to inform clinical assessments, or the use of AI to interpret images or test results. Many of the software products we develop are now, rightly, regulated as medical devices.”

Candidates have until 28 April to apply for a role that, according to NHS England, offers “the opportunity to work with leading-edge technology, with a huge user community, with brilliant clinicians and service leaders and with one of the most extraordinary data sets in the world”.

The successful applicant, who will earn between £131,301 to £146,450 a year, will be based at one or more of the health service’s locations in Leeds, London or Exeter.