Lead Clinical Safety Officer (CSO)

Are you passionate about improving patient safety through digital innovation?

We are seeking an experienced and highly motivated Lead Clinical Safety Officer (CSO) to lead and develop clinical safety governance across University Hospitals Tees. This is a pivotal leadership role responsible for ensuring that digital systems and transformation programmes are designed, implemented and maintained in a way that protects patient safety and supports high-quality care.

Working closely with the Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO), clinicians, digital teams and suppliers, you will provide expert leadership on clinical risk management, ensuring compliance with national standards including DCB0160 and DCB0129. You will play a key role in shaping the Trust's digital future, providing assurance that innovative technologies, clinical systems and digital transformation programmes are safe, effective and deliver positive outcomes for patients and staff.

This is an exciting opportunity for a registered healthcare professional with significant experience in clinical safety, digital health and risk management to influence strategic decision-making across one of the largest digital transformation programmes in the region.

Main duties of the job
As the Lead Clinical Safety Officer, you will lead the Trust's Clinical Safety function, providing strategic and operational oversight of clinical risk management for digital systems and services across University Hospitals Tees.

You will ensure that patient safety risks associated with digital technologies are identified, assessed, mitigated and monitored throughout the lifecycle of systems and transformation programmes.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading clinical safety assurance activities for digital programmes, system implementations and operational services.
• Ensuring compliance with national clinical safety standards, including DCB0160 and supporting assurance of supplier compliance with DCB0129.
• Leading clinical risk assessments, hazard identification workshops and maintenance of hazard logs.
• Providing expert advice to clinicians, operational teams, senior leaders and suppliers on digital clinical safety risks and mitigations.
• Developing and maintaining clinical safety policies, processes, safety cases and governance arrangements.
• Monitoring, reporting and escalating digital clinical safety risks through appropriate governance structures.

This role offers a unique opportunity to influence the safe adoption of digital technologies and support the delivery of a modern, digitally enabled healthcare service across University Hospitals Tees

Working for our organisation
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust have come together to form University Hospitals Tees. As a result, post holders may be required to work across sites within both organisations.

Across University Hospitals Tees, our ambition is to be the best place to work, ensuring we have the right staff in the right roles at the right time to deliver outstanding patient care and experience.

We are committed to supporting our staff through an inclusive and supportive working environment, offering health and wellbeing initiatives, staff benefits, and opportunities for personal and professional development.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive recruitment process and welcome applications from suitably qualified candidates, including those who first language is not English.

We support the 'Making Every Contact Count' approach to behaviour change in the promotion of health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the full job description and person specification document(s) attached for main responsibilities of the role.

Person specification
Qualifications and Training

• Registered Doctor, Nurse, Pharmacist, Allied Health Professional or other healthcare professional with live professional registration
• Accredited Clinical Safety Officer, or able to demonstrate equivalent knowledge and commit to achieving accreditation within an agreed timeframe determined by UHT
• Degree level professional qualification or equivalent level of knowledge through professional clinical experience.

Knowledge and Skills

• Professional clinical knowledge acquired through registration as a Doctor, Nurse, Pharmacist, Physiotherapist or Allied Health Professional and supported by post-registration experience.
• Specialist knowledge of clinical safety processes and digital clinical risk management acquired through training and practical experience
• Knowledge of DCB0160 and DCB0129 standards and their application within healthcare organisations.
• Knowledge of NHS digital systems, clinical workflows and governance arrangements.
• Knowledge of patient safety, risk management and quality improvement principles.
• Ability to analyse complex clinical, operational and digital information and determine appropriate courses of action.
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly to a wide range of audiences.

Experience

• Significant experience working within a healthcare environment.
• Experience of applying clinical safety and risk management processes to digital systems.
• Experience of digital clinical system implementation, optimisation or support.
• Experience of facilitating risk assessments, hazard identification workshops and maintaining hazard logs.
• Experience of developing and implementing local policies, procedures or governance arrangements.
• Experience of managing staff, including recruitment, appraisal, development and performance management.
• Experience of working with clinicians, operational managers, digital teams and suppliers.
• Experience of managing resources and contributing to budget management activities

Personal Attributes

• Demonstrates integrity, sound judgement and discretion when handling sensitive information and high-risk issues.
• Credible, resilient and professionally confident in advising on patient safety risks and challenging unsafe practice where required.
• Collaborative, approachable and able to build effective working relationships across clinical, operational, technical and corporate teams.
• Analytical, organised and able to manage a complex and changing workload effectively.
• Committed to high standards of patient safety, governance, continuous improvement and professional development.
• Able to travel across UHT sites and work flexibly in line with service requirements

Important - Once sufficient applications have been received this vacancy may close early.

Disclosure and Barring Checks (DBS)
It is the policy of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust that all successful candidates who are new to the Trust who require DBS clearance for the post they have been offered, are required to pay the cost of their DBS. The method of payment for this is via salary deduction from your first month's pay.

Qualifications
Please note the essential qualifications required for the post are outlined within the Person Specification. You are required to provide original evidence of the necessary qualifications for the post at interview should you be shortlisted. You will also be required to provide original copies as part of the pre-employment check screening.

New Starters - Probationary Period

For any new employees commencing employment with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, you will be subject to satisfactory completion of a 6 month probationary period. Please note that internal applications and individuals that are appointed to fixed term appointments of less than 6 months duration are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or a bank member of staff).
Employment References

As part of our pre-employment screening process, all applicants are required to provide references covering their last three years employment history including any gaps. Applicants are requested to ensure e mail addresses for all referees are included on their application form. Personal references are not acceptable.

Working Hours
If the hours advertised for the post are up to full time (37.5 hours per week), applications are still welcomed from individuals who may be seeking to work less than full time hours and all requests will be considered in line with the post being appointed to for the successful applicant.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Everything we do is shaped by our values: Respect, Support, and Collaborate.

At University Hospitals Tees we want our workspaces to be places where everyone feels welcome, valued and safe. We treat people with respect, and we celebrate the differences that make each of us unique.

We welcome applications from everyone, no matter your age, background, race, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, family circumstances or beliefs.

We are here to support you throughout your application and at every stage of your career with us. We believe we work best when we collaborate, learn from each other and build teams that reflect the communities we serve.

Supporting disabled people and people with long term conditions

We are a Disability Confident committed employer aspiring to become a lead employer in 2026.
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