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Salary: Market leading package
Location: Millbank
Are you a dynamic and visionary clinical leader ready to shape the future of mental health care?
Are you ready to continue your journey with an award-winning, industry-leading organisation where quality is at the heart of everything we do - and excellence is more than just a word, it’s our culture? With just under 300 medical professionals on our team, we’re proud to be setting the standard for care and creating opportunities for our people to grow.
Cygnet Health Care is seeking an exceptional Group Clinical Director (GCD) to take on a pivotal executive leadership role. As the most senior medical leader within the organisation, you will play a lead role in the company achieving its objectives, drive the strategic direction, uphold the highest professional standards, and lead a high-performing medical workforce dedicated to delivering safe, effective, and person-centred care.
This is a unique opportunity to collaborate at the highest level across multidisciplinary teams, influence organisational priorities, and champion a culture of innovation, learning, and continuous improvement.
Cygnet distinguishes itself through a unique combination of scale, specialism, and personalisation of care. Our 13,000 staff support 8,300 individuals and with a portfolio of over 150 services, we offer care across a range of services from acute, PICU, Eating Disorders and CAMHS. We have a strong reputation for quality, inclusion, and staff satisfaction. We stand apart through our ability to deliver exceptional, high-acuity care at scale, underpinned by deep clinical understanding, sector-leading quality ratings, and an unwavering focus on person-centred practice.
We keep our focus on maintaining high-quality standards across all our services, consistently achieving sector-leading regulatory ratings across the UK. 81% of services evaluated earned a Good or Outstanding rating by regulators, outperforming the national average. Cygnet has 17% higher CQC Good or Outstanding ratings than the rest of the mental health independent sector and 95% of our hospitals are rated Good or Outstanding by our internal quality assessment team. Our collaboration with 360 commissioning bodies, has not only allowed us to support integrated pathways of care, but has also helped shape local and regional strategies for individuals with complex needs.
Cygnet has also been recognised externally, with recent wins at the HealthInvestor Awards including Specialist Care Provider of the Year and has also been recognised by the Carers Trust, with 20 of our services being awarded Triangle of Care accreditation.
Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, Healthcare, this is a full-time executive role with primary responsibility for leading and overseeing the professional, operational and strategic aspects of the medical and allied health professional (AHP) workforce, and the services delivered by doctors and associated clinicians.
Working in close partnership with the Executive Team, operational leaders and clinical professionals, the post holder will play a pivotal role in developing high-performing, clinically led services that deliver outstanding outcomes for service users, commissioners, families and wider stakeholders.
This is a remote role but will include travel to our Millbank office in Westminster, and sites across Cygnet, so access to a car & UK driving licence is essential.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership & Governance
Provide senior medical leadership to drive organisational strategy, innovation and growth. Advise the Board on clinical, regulatory and professional matters while supporting service development, acquisitions and new opportunities.
Clinical Quality & Safety
Lead the medical governance framework, ensuring high standards of clinical quality, patient safety and regulatory compliance. Oversee risk management, incidents and continuous improvement, providing assurance at Board level.
Medical Leadership & Workforce
Inspire and lead medical teams, fostering a culture of excellence, accountability and development. Support recruitment, retention, succession planning and the growth of future medical leaders.
Regulation & Standards
Act as the organisation’s senior medical advisor, ensuring compliance with regulatory bodies, professional standards and Mental Health Act requirements, and leading responses to inspections and reviews.
Operational & Commercial Impact
Partner with operational teams to enhance service performance, outcomes and growth. Contribute medical expertise to tenders, contracts and commissioner relationships, balancing quality with sustainability.
External Representation & Leadership
Build strong stakeholder relationships and represent the organisation at industry level, enhancing reputation as a leading provider of mental health and social care services.
Corporate Responsibility
Champion organisational values, equality, diversity and safeguarding, acting as a visible, credible executive leader.
We are looking for someone who is...
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Significant senior medical leadership experience within a large, complex healthcare organisation (e.g. Group/Regional/Divisional Medical Director level).
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Strong understanding of clinical and corporate governance frameworks and regulatory environments.
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In-depth knowledge of professional, educational and statutory requirements for medical and AHP staff.
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Broad understanding of current healthcare and social care challenges, including clinical, operational and performance pressures.
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Extensive post-qualification experience with a proven track record in leadership and people management.
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Experience in financial and budgetary management (desirable).
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Demonstrated expertise in strategy and policy development, service redesign and workforce transformation.
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Proven ability to lead organisational change, manage complexity and drive improvement across multidisciplinary teams.
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Experience in workforce planning, succession planning and role redesign.
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Strong background in clinical audit, research, and quality improvement within multi-professional environments.
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Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills, with the ability to influence and bring together diverse stakeholders.
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High emotional intelligence, with the ability to navigate complexity, resolve conflict and build consensus.
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Innovative, credible and solutions-focused leader with strong report writing and presentation capability.
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Committed to continuous professional development, including reflective practice and 360°/multi-source feedback.
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Fully registered GMC & MBBS (or equivalent) qualified, and registered on the specialist register (CCT/CESR), Section 12 and AC Status
Why Cygnet? We’ll offer you…
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Market leading salary and bonus
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Company shares
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Travel allowance
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Generous annual leave entitlement that increases with length of service
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Company paid Life Assurance scheme covering 3x salary
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Contributory pension scheme
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Electric Car Scheme
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Free meals, on-site parking and EAP support
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Research and teaching opportunities, as well as the opportunity to lead and participate in QI & Audit initiatives
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A unique opportunity to lead the development of new services within the independent sector, shaping an innovative model of care from the ground up
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Extensive development opportunities and monthly CPD groups
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Peer‑led “Characters of Care” programme and a comprehensive employee benefit and support programme
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Company Funded Cash plan with the ability to claim up to £1000 per annum worth of benefits including free Physiotherapy, Osteopaths, Optical, dental, consultations, scans and free prescriptions
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Gym Discounts across the UK as well as free online fitness classes with ClassPass, Nutritional Programmes and Fitness Consultations
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Discount schemes including Reward Gateway, NHS Discount and Blue Lights Card
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Smart Health Toolkit, including 24 hour GP service with the option of prescription delivery to your local pharmacy
If you would like to discuss this informally we’d be more than happy to facilitate this. Please contact: Hannah Dunlop via [email protected] or 077 20 497 792
Requirements
The successful candidate will be required to undergo an enhanced DBS and reference check and an offer of employment will be subject to successful clearance.
*Recruitment agencies please note: Speculative emails are not to be sent directly to our clinical staff, these need to go via our internal recruitment team. If speculative candidates are sent directly to a member of the clinical team, we will consider these candidates as our own*
What next?
If you care about making a difference – we want to talk to you.
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