Chief Executive

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

London

  • Location London
  • Sector Health
  • Client Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
  • Job Type Permanent
  • Salary/Remuneration Competitive
  • Reference GSe124424
  • Closing Date 9am Monday 15th September 2025

Working together to discover, develop and deliver excellent eye care, sustainably and at scale.

 

Moorfields Eye Hospital is a world leading provider of eye health services in the UK, and the world-class centre of excellence for ophthalmic research and education. We are the oldest and one of the largest centres of ophthalmic treatment, teaching and research in the world, but this is only part of our story.

 

This is an exciting time to join us. Our five-year strategy focuses on driving innovation, advancing research, and transforming patient care and treatment to shape the future of Moorfields. As Chief Executive you will deliver our strategic vision, embed our inclusive culture, and inspire us as we strive to deliver high quality care and continue on our ambitious journey of transformation. You will be an ambassador for our organisation, staff and patients, ensuring that service delivery, care, research and innovation drive forward our ambition for sustainable change at scale.  You will work closely with our Interim Chair, Professor Tim Briggs, to shape and develop our high performing Board and will build strong relationships with current and future partners and stakeholders across London, nationally and internationally.

 

Instrumental to this is our new centre for eyecare research and education, in partnership with UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Charity. This will uniquely bring together clinical services, research, and education in a new state of the art building designed to foster collaboration and accelerate breakthroughs to transform eye care.

 

We operate at the intersection of innovation and service and are internationally recognised for our contributions to the advancement of eye health. In addition to our NHS services, we have a thriving private operation, including hospitals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

 

We are a world leader in higher surgical training to ophthalmologists. We are a place where medical students from top London universities come to learn and nurses receive comprehensive training for both pre- and post-registration. Many of the world’s leading clinicians choose to work at Moorfields, with 20% of The Ophthalmologist’s global Power List employed by us.

As one of only 20 biomedical research centres in the UK, we continue to conduct cutting-edge and world-leading research into the care of eye disorders and diseases. We are focused on shaping the future of ophthalmology by integrating cutting-edge research with compassionate care and world-class training.

We are a high performing organisation, consistently meeting A&E and cancer targets and in the top five nationally for RTT, with significant ambition for transformation so that we can continue to discover, develop and deliver outstanding eye care that is both sustainable and scalable.

 

You will have significant Board level leadership experience, drawn from highly regulated people-facing sectors, and will be able to demonstrate a passion for healthcare and the opportunities and challenges facing Moorfields. Success in leading through periods of change while delivering sustainable organisational and cultural change is essential, and you will need strong commercial acumen and effective partnership collaboration.

 

There is much to be proud of at Moorfields, including a committed and dedicated workforce, but we are facing challenges that are being felt throughout the NHS, including rising demand for services, increased complexity of care, a need to deliver more within a tightened financial envelope and teams that have been under significant pressure since the pandemic. You will be someone who authentically demonstrates our values of excellence, equity, and kindness every day, and who understands the imperative to balance staff wellbeing and accountability, so that people continue to be proud to work at Moorfields.  

Moorfields has a diverse workforce serving a diverse community, and we recognise the importance of our Board reflecting the diversity of both our workforce and population. We are therefore particularly welcoming applications from people with backgrounds that are currently underrepresented at Board level in the NHS.

 

For further information, please refer to our candidate information pack.

 

For a confidential discussion, please contact our dedicated recruitment partners at GatenbySanderson:

 

Will McAlpine, Principal Researcher

E: will.mcalpine@gatenbysanderson.com

T: +44 (0) 7554 050 236

 

Julia St Clare, Senior Consultant and Research Lead

E: julia.stclare@gatenbysanderson.com 

T: +44 (0) 7807 631 564

 

Melanie Shearer, Partner

E: melanie.shearer@gatenbysanderson.com

T: +44 (0) 7785 616 548

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Documents

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