Head of Governance and Quality

Are you looking to make for a change and to make a difference?

As Head of Quality and Governance you will play a pivotal role in shaping the safety, compliance and continuous improvement culture across the organisation. You will lead on all aspects of patient safety, regulatory compliance and accreditation while supporting teams nationally to deliver consistently high standards of care. From CQC readiness to UKAS ISO 15189 accreditation you will be the organisation's go to expert, driving strategic quality initiatives and championing a proactive learning-led governance culture. This is a high impact leadership level position that places you at the heart of safe effective healthcare delivery.

Make a meaningful impact in patient safety and healthcare quality

We are looking for an experienced and driven Head of Quality and Governance to lead our organisation's commitment to safe high-quality care. This is a key leadership role providing strategic direction across quality assurance governance and regulatory compliance.

What you will be doing

• Leading a national Quality and Governance team embedding a culture of learning accountability and continuous improvement
• Driving regulatory compliance with key bodies including the Care Quality Commission CQC and UKAS ISO 15189
• Overseeing incident management and patient safety strategy implementation
• Coordinating and supporting inspections audits and external assessments
• Providing insight from safety and performance data to inform strategic decision making
• Managing the organisation's approach to information governance and GDPR compliance as the Senior Information Risk Owner
• Supporting health and safety standards and driving improvements in internal systems and processes
• Acting as a key member of the leadership team contributing to national strategy and service development

What we are looking for

• Senior leadership experience in healthcare quality and governance
• Strong understanding of CQC frameworks patient safety strategy and accreditation standards
• Knowledge of UKAS ISO 15189 requirements and experience managing external audits
• Experience leading on information governance and data protection compliance
• A registered healthcare professional or significant experience in senior healthcare roles
• Strong analytical and communication skills with the ability to influence at all levels
• Full UK driving licence and willingness to travel nationally as required

Why join us

• You will be part of an organisation that delivers care in some of the most complex and sensitive environments. Your expertise will directly influence national service delivery and improvement helping us deliver care that is safe compliant and always evolving.

To succeed in this role you will need:

• Proven experience in a senior quality and governance leadership role within healthcare
• Strong understanding of patient safety frameworks regulatory compliance and quality assurance
• In-depth knowledge of CQC regulations and inspection readiness
• Experience managing UKAS ISO 15189 accreditation processes
• Confidence in incident management data analysis and driving learning from outcomes
• Familiarity with information governance GDPR and acting as a Senior Information Risk Owner
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills including experience influencing at board level
• Ability to lead and motivate teams across multiple locations
• A relevant healthcare qualification or professional registration OR extensive experience at a senior level in healthcare governance
• A full UK driving licence and willingness to travel nationally as required

Founded by passionate clinicians on a mission to provide expert patient-centred services, Mountain Healthcare leads the clinical forensic healthcare provisions sector in the UK. A premier partner of NHS England and the police, our unique provisions include Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), Police Custodial Healthcare, Secure Estate Healthcare and clinical telephone advice.

Driven by our values Be Kind and Do the Right Thing, Mountain Healthcare provides holistic and trauma-informed care that improves the immediate and long-term health outcomes of patients across the criminal justice system. Through innovative technologies and strategic partnerships, our expert clinicians ensure equal, effective and efficient services to all our patients and always put their health, safety and rights first.

Join the Best Provider, Make the Greatest Difference

Clinical forensic healthcare is a rapidly growing career path as demand for specialist critical services has greatly increased in recent years. At Mountain Healthcare, we understand that to provide the highest quality services for our patients and customers, our people must be the best in the field. We are proud to offer unrivalled staff training and development opportunities such as our unique Forensic Practitioner Gateway, our wide range of accredited and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses, and access to events across the health and justice sector.

Mountain Healthcare aims to create and encourage an environment that is committed to promoting equality, diversity, working inclusively, and valuing the differences that individuals can bring to the workplace. We uphold these principles in our organisational values and behaviours towards each other and our patients. We welcome applications irrespective of age, disability, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexuality, or other personal circumstances.