Overview

Director of Hospitals

We have 2 roles available: one in the Central region and one in the North region. Location: Homebased, with travel across the region and to meetings required. Contract: Permanent. Salary: £95,000 - £113,625 per annum. Closing Date: Sunday 12 October 2025 at 11.59pm.

For an informal discussion or further information on the role, please contact Nicola Wise via her Personal Assistant: Joanna.Green@cqc.org.uk. For general enquiries please contact recruitment@cqc.org.uk.

About Us: We’re the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and we work to improve health and adult social care in England. We regulate health and adult social care, work with the public, systems and providers of care to protect people and promote and improve quality of care. Our vision is to see everyone receiving safe, effective and compassionate care. We’re committed to listening, acting, informing and protecting the public, helping providers and systems of care to improve and innovate, ensuring our people feel valued and do great work, and to working with partners who share our purpose for better care. We’re now looking for two Directors of Hospitals to join us on a full-time, permanent basis.

What’s in it for you

This is an exceptional opportunity for a credible and inspirational leader from the health and social care system who has both specialist hospitals sector expertise and experience in driving improvement and innovation to join our senior leadership team. We’ve built our organisation around our values of Excellence, Integrity, Caring, and Teamwork. That means we are insight-led, proportionate and innovative; transparent, accountable and impartial; just, compassionate and respectful; and collaborative, inclusive and fair. If these values resonate with you and you feel you can embody and represent them, you will discover an outstanding working environment with opportunities for professional development and growth, where your contributions make a lasting impact nationally. What’s more, you’ll be taking on a role with real purpose at a time when hospital care is under increasing scrutiny, and where transformation and having strong leadership, systems and processes in place is more important than ever.

What you will bring

To be considered as our Director of Hospitals, you will need:

• Extensive experience in complex, senior stakeholder engagement across the health and social care system
• Previous experience of working in health, social care, the NHS, regulatory or related fields
• Experience leading large-scale change and driving improvement in complex environments
• Experience of risk management, operational policy development and shaping regulation
• Strong people management experience, including building and developing high-performing teams
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence at the highest levels
• Political awareness and strong business acumen, with the ability to identify opportunities for innovation
• Analytical capability, using data and insight to drive decision-making
• Knowledge of regulation, operational and government policy, and hospital sector expertise
• An understanding of corporate finance, managing budgets and measures of performance
• A future-thinking approach, skilled in horizon scanning and shaping strategy

We particularly welcome applications from individuals with Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions (NMAHP) backgrounds or equivalent system / clinical leadership experience, who can bring valuable insight and expertise to this role.

What you’ll be doing

As our Director of Hospitals, you will provide strategic leadership across our hospital sector work, driving improvement and shaping future policy and practice. You will work closely with the Chief Inspector of Hospitals and co-lead regulatory activity with other Directors across the hospital sector, ensuring operational excellence and sector specialism through your teams.

Additionally, you will:

• Respond to emerging issues and thematic work in the hospital sector
• Lead operational policy development, taskforce management and thematic reviews
• Build strong relationships with providers and key groups to hear the voices of those who use services to improve our registration and assessment processes
• Manage operational risk and drive improvement activities across the sector
• Support the development of a shared view of quality across health and care systems
• Lead and develop high-performing teams, including leading and managing Deputy Directors to deliver local regulation
• Contribute to strategic planning and delivery across the organisation

Next steps

You can read the full details of the role in the Job Description and Candidate Information Pack. Job Description - Director of Hospitals and Candidate Pack - Director of Hospitals.

If you apply, you’ll need to create a profile and complete an online application form / submit your CV. We contact every applicant to let them know the outcome of their application. How to apply: upload a current CV and covering letter (no more than 750 words) via the Recruitment System. Your covering letter should describe your suitability for the role and outline your knowledge and experience of hospital regulation and of improvement within the health and social care system.

The Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including:

• Annual leave starting at 27 days per year, rising to 32.5 days with service, plus bank holidays
• Training and development opportunities
• Wellbeing initiatives, such as gym discounts and meditation
• NHS pension scheme, with around 14% employer contribution
• Discount schemes, Blue Light card eligibility (costs 4.99, valid for 2 years), reward vouchers, car leasing and more

Please see our benefits page for the full list.

Compliance

To progress your application, you’ll need to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK. We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role. Some roles may also be subject to a satisfactory DBS check.

Equity for all

We know job descriptions can feel intimidating. If this role interests you, we encourage you to apply. Your unique perspective, skills, and experience could be exactly what we need. We are committed to fairness, respect and inclusion. If you need adjustments to our process, we’ll work with you to remove barriers. Visit our accessibility page for more. If you’d like to chat, contact recruitment@cqc.org.uk. Please note, adjustments info must be discussed for each application. We promote a workplace where fairness, respect and inclusion are a priority. See our ED&I page for more. We welcome applications from everyone and highlight diverse employee networks on various bases (age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, ethnicity, disability).

Values and vision

Excellence, Caring, Integrity, Teamwork — we are guided by these core values and strive to be a high-performing organisation. We are a disability confident and carer confident employer.

A Note on AI

We acknowledge AI can assist with research and drafting. Your application should reflect your real skills and experience. Do not copy AI-generated content. Misrepresentation may lead to withdrawal of your application or employment.