Director of Nursing - Professional & System Development

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the Nursing and Quality Directorate in the North East and Yorkshire region as Regional Director of Nursing Leadership and Systems.

Reporting to the Regional Chief Nurse, the postholder will provide senior professional leadership across the region, lead key regional and national portfolios, and support quality improvement, assurance, transformation, and system partnership working. The role will also oversee the regional quality framework and support Integrated Care Systems to maintain a clear and consistent focus on quality, safety, and patient experience., Aligned with the region, the Regional Director of Nursing Leadership and Systems will lead at regional level on:

Regional portfolios

Supporting Quality Improvement, surveillance and assurance, including safety, safeguarding and patient experience, with providers and commissioners

Supporting clinical sustainability e.g. transformation

Professional leadership across providers and commissioners

System relationships and partnerships

Driving improvements

The post holder will deputise for the Regional Chief Nurse as required.

As Regional Director of Nursing Leadership and Systems will be expected to use expert knowledge of quality care combined with a robust knowledge of the health and care service working in collaboration with relevant colleagues, they will take the regional leadership responsibilities in one or more of the following areas: clinical and professional leadership for nursing and midwifery staff, patient safety (in conjunction with the Medical Directors), patient experience; and support the delivery of national priorities of NHS England, as well as the relevant national strategies e.g. The 10 year Plan.

The post holder will oversee the quality framework across the region and ensure that Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) have a clear and consistent focus on quality and patient experience.

We are seeking an experienced and influential nursing leader with significant senior or Board-level NHS experience, current Nursing and Midwifery Council registration, and a strong understanding of quality, professional regulation and the wider health and care system. Please see the Job Description and Person Specification for further details.

NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.

Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

In March 2025,the Government announcedthat NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.

If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR).This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.

Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.

Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.