Deputy Medical Director

Location: Neutral: Either Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh or Belfast

Working across all four countries of the UK, our vision is to be an effective, relevant and compassionate regulator, who supports the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care. As health services in the UK continue to face intense pressure, regulation has a pivotal role to play in protecting patients and promoting the wellbeing of the workforce. We have set ambitious commitments to address inequality, embrace diversity, and support inclusion within healthcare, both as a regulator and an employer. Championing this work is a key element of this role and you will play a vital part in shaping our organisation and our impact on healthcare in the years ahead.

This is an important senior leadership position, coming at an exciting and challenging time of change for us. Our Education and Standards Directorate is central to our work, influencing the future of medical education in the UK and delivering a challenging programme of regulatory work.

This role offers a unique opportunity to enhance the access to clinical advice within the GMC and shape the training for today’s and tomorrow’s doctors, physician associates (PAs) and anaesthesia associates (Aas).  Reporting to the Medical Director / Director of Education and Standards, you will be a critical part of the senior team for the directorate, working collaboratively and flexibly alongside the Director, four Assistant Directors and the Head of Office for Education. You will provide clinical advice, strategic direction and effective leadership of the directorate and across the GMC and will have oversight of the appraisal arrangements for our Associates. With an important and prominent ambassadorial role for the GMC, you will represent the organisation’s work with senior stakeholders and on public platforms, to promote the highest standards of medical education and training to deliver safe, high quality medical care for patients.

To be eligible for this appointment, you must be on the UK medical register with a license to practise and with a track record in a directly relevant area such as medical education, policy implementation or regulation, and will have held a senior clinical role in the NHS. As you will take responsibility for the appraisal of our medically qualified employees and support revalidation processes, experience of this is essential. 

An exceptional strategic thinker, with strong and inclusive leadership skills, you will bring the ability to shape policy and strategy and make a major contribution to a national regulator. You will demonstrate outstanding interpersonal and influencing skills, be politically astute, with excellent relationship-building and communication skills and the clear ability to role model positive behaviours and challenge negative behaviours in line with the GMC’s values.

Our organisation is built on fairness and trust – the trust of patients and the medical profession. Underpinned by our core values of Excellence, Fairness, Transparency, Collaboration and Integrity, we provide an inclusive working environment where everyone is valued and we welcome new perspectives and ideas that you may bring. We have placed equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of our corporate strategy, both as a regulator of an increasingly diverse range of registrants and as an organisation.

We particularly encourage and welcome applications to this role from women, black and minority ethnic people and disabled applicants as part of our commitment to address under-representation in our senior leadership.

You will benefit from being part of an organisation that is genuinely committed to its people with several excellent benefits including 30 days holidays per year, a defined contribution pension scheme with a generous employer contribution of 15%, and hybrid and flexible working. 

To find out more, please click Apply.

For a confidential conversation please call our advising consultants at GatenbySanderson, Duncan Ewart or Katrina Paget on 07471 037071.

Closing date: 5pm Friday 26 September 2025