Medical Lead

About us

Our purpose is simple: to save lives at sea. 24 hours a day, every day, RNLI lifesavers are ready to launch to the rescue.

We have a unique and exciting opportunity to join our Lifesaving Operations team as a Medical Lead — a vital role ensuring the highest standards of clinical governance and safety for our crews and the people we serve.

Some of the benefits

• Salary dependent on experience
• Flexible working
• 26 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays (pro rata)
• Competitive pension scheme
• Life assurance
• Health and dental cashplan

Your role

As the RNLI’s Medical Lead, you will act as the principal clinical advisor to the Chief Operations Officer, taking strategic ownership of clinical governance and quality assurance across all operational settings.

You will also focus on the following areas:

• Work closely with the Clinical Operations Manager in learning from significant events, supporting the casualty care syllabus and first aid training.

• Work with the Occupational Health Manager on oversight of fitness to serve and medical matters affecting operational lifeboat crew and lifeguards.

• Work with the Lifesaving Effect Management team and with the Clinical Operations Manager to ensure guidance is current and represents best practice as well as supporting important national programmes that are central to the RNLI’s work, such as Fitness to Serve.

• Play a lead role in the development of improved ways of delivering services by deployment of new clinical approaches and for the management and use of clinical data for improvement.

• Work with the RNLI’s Medical Advisory Committee (which provides advisory input on Clinical Governance) and Regional Medical Advisers in the implementation of the quality, safety and clinical leadership and management agendas.

About you

To be considered for this role you will need:

• A Medical Degree (MBChB or MBBS or equivalent), with a relevant postgraduate qualification.
• Current GMC registration with a licence to practice in the UK.
• Experience in pre-hospital immediate care, emergency medicine, or anaesthetics, with up-to-date knowledge of clinical best practices and incident management.
• A proven ability to lead and influence across diverse stakeholder groups, including volunteers, clinicians, and operational teams.
• Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to navigate complex organisational environments and build trusted relationships.

If you would like to use your medical expertise to help contribute to saving lives at sea then this could be the role for you! 

Safeguarding

The RNLI is committed to safeguarding; protecting a person’s health, wellbeing, and human rights, enabling them to live free from harm, abuse, and neglect. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment and have a zero-tolerance approach. The suitability of all prospective employees and volunteers will be assessed during the recruitment process in line with this commitment. This will include relevant criminal record checks being carried out dependent on the eligibility of the role. (England & Wales; DBS check, Scotland; Disclosure Scotland PVG, Northern Ireland; Access NI, Republic of Ireland; Garda Vetting; International, International Child Protection Certificate process).

Diversity at the RNLI

Our staff and volunteers have been saving lives at sea without prejudice for 200 years. We respect and value diversity of background, skills and perspectives within our teams, and consider it essential to help us deliver a world-class lifesaving service. We are an inclusive organisation and welcome applications from everyone. In addition to having the skills needed for the role, we also look for applicants who share our commitment to living our RNLI values (trustworthy, courageous, selfless, and dependable), and helping us work towards Our Vision: To save Every One.