Chief Digital Information Officer (Defence Medical Services) - Ministry of Defence - SCS1
Government Digital & Data -
Location
HQ Defence Medical Services, Lichfield
About the job
Job summary
Defence Medical Services is driving significant organisational, people, process and technology change to continue its evolution towards becoming Defence’s Occupational Healthcare delivery organisation for the Information Age. Significant improvements in digital enablement, business intelligence, clinical informatics, knowledge and information management maturity are being pursued in order to allow the organisation to become a truly patient focussed, digital and data driven organisation.
Defence Medical Services is evolving in order to enhance both our digital capabilities and those of our corporate communication team. The Chief Digital Information Officer (CDIO) role is critical to our digital transformation, but also more widely across Defence Medical Services and the HQ Defence Medical Services Portfolio, within which all our major programmes have key digital dependencies.
Major General Tony Finn will be offering an online Q&A session on Thursday 13 August 2026 at 10:00 - 11:00 to provide an overview of the role and welcome any questions you may have. Candidates can access the meeting by clicking here. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process. If you have any issues accessing the session, please contact: People-CivHR-SCSCandidateSupport@mod.gov.uk.
Job description
The Defence Medical vision is for a tech-enabled, agile and resilient Defence Medical system (DMed), integrated across domains, with allies and the UK health ecosystem.
To deliver this vision, DMed is undergoing a significant transformative journey across organisation, people, processes, and technology. The Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) is a strategic leader driving the transition to a fully digital, data-enabled DMed system, ensuring technology underpins clinical excellence, operational readiness, and enhanced patient outcomes in diverse environments.
The CDIO is tasked with delivering innovative digital and data solutions in a complex and evolving environment that align with DMed strategic objectives; optimising healthcare delivery, improving patient experience, and boosting workforce productivity. This includes ensuring all clinical and medical systems adhere to the organisation’s digital strategy, meet interoperability and architecture standards, and avoid technical debt and information silos.
As a key member of the DMed Executive Committee, the CDIO shapes the organisation’s digital, strategic, and operational performance. Reporting directly to the Director of Medical People & Capability the CDIO holds functional authority over all digital elements within DMed pillars, projects, and programmes, driving alignment and excellence across the enterprise.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership
- Strategic and Operational Management: Oversee digital, data, and information management across the DMed eco-system. Lead the development and implementation of the DMed Digital Operating Model, ensuring alignment with MOD strategic objectives and DMS Transformation Programmes
- Digital Strategy: Develop and Implement the Digital Strategy to ensure alignment with DMed goals, intent, and objectives
- Subject Matter Expertise: Advising the DMed boards on digital healthcare, informatics and technology, including data quality, governance, and cyber security.
- Capability Building: Training and developing the digital team, including implementing a military digital clinical career pathway.
- Risk management: Supporting the DMed Senior Information Risk Owner (Dir MP&C) with specialist advice and expertise.
Digital as a Service
- Service Management: Ensuring effective and efficient service delivery in collaboration with stakeholders and delivery partners
- Operational Healthcare: Delivering systems to support healthcare delivery on overseas Operations
Data & Information
- Data Management and Exploitation: Ensuring data governance, quality, and exploitation for insights and trusted decision making
- Information Governance and Cyber and Clinical Safety: Leading the delivery of safe and effective information governance and cyber assurance services, working alongside the SIRO to ensure GDPR compliance and providing Clinical Safety compliance.
Digital
- Interoperability: Aligning strategies and digital solutions with Defence, NHS, and NATO frameworks and standards to support collaboration and ensure compliance
- Artificial Intelligence: Developing and implementing the first DMS AI strategy to enhance operational capabilities, improve patient care, and drive innovation both in the UK and overseas
Cyber Security
- Cyber risk advice: Providing guidance for systems owned by DMS or where DMS is the primary user.
- Cyber assurance: Ensuring assurance for DMS-owned systems.
Corporate Functions
- Ensuring legal and MOD compliance with GDPR and associated HQ Defence Medical Services publications through services delivered by the Knowledge and Information Management, Cyber and Information Security, Data Protection teams, and the Innovation Hub (iHUB) team.
- Assuming ownership, in consultation with the Head of Finance, of the overall HQ Defence Medical Services digital budget and resourcing for delivering the corporate digital capability.
- Developing HQ Defence Medical Services-specific policies, procedures, and standards as required.
- Board and Committee membership, including the HQ Defence Medical Services Board, HQ Defence Medical Services Executive Committee (ExCo) and HE Defence Medical Services Senior Leadership Team, Quality Assurance Committee (QUAC), MOD functional group leads, HQ Defence Medical Services committees including Defence Digital and Technology (DDaT)
Person specification
The successful candidate must be able to provide specific examples that demonstrate their experience and skills against the following essential criteria:
- Proven experience of successful digital delivery in challenging change environments.
- Proven experience leading the development and execution of Digital Health strategy including the integration of Medical Information Systems and capabilities, data and analytics and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence to enable transformational models of care.
- Executive leadership of a major healthcare digital transformation.
- Clinical Transformation & Change Leadership, translating digital capability into patient care improvements.
- Senior responsibility for Information Governance, Clinical Safety, Data Quality and Cyber Security.
- Proven ability to lead at board level, engage diverse stakeholders, and communicate complex issues clearly to support decision-making.
- Experienced in delivering large, complex programmes on time and within budget, managing risks and cross-functional teams effectively.
