HEAD CLINICAL UNIT (MEDICAL) GRADE 1 (GENERAL SURGERY) (BURNS)

This senior clinical leadership position is located at Tygerberg Hospital in Parow Valley, where the successful candidate will serve as Head of the Burns Unit within the Department of General Surgery. The role operates within a high-volume specialist tertiary service, requiring a medical specialist capable of independent practice and providing leadership across both normal working hours and after-hours service delivery. As Head of the Clinical Unit, the incumbent holds overall responsibility for the Burns Unit, integrating clinical excellence, operational management, academic teaching and research into a single demanding role. The post is graded at a senior specialist level and forms part of the medical establishment at one of South Africa’s major referral hospitals, serving a wide drainage area.

Applicants must hold an appropriate qualification that allows registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa as a Medical Specialist in either General Surgery or Plastic Surgery. They must be registered with the HPCSA in one of those specialities and have at least three years’ appropriate post-registration experience. The nature of the burns service demands advanced clinical and operative competence, including the ability to manage complex and critically ill burns patients. Proven leadership and managerial capability in a specialist surgical service is essential, as is experience in clinical governance, morbidity and mortality review, audit, quality improvement and protocol development. The role also requires the ability to manage service access, patient flow, referral pathways, human resources and scarce clinical resources in a busy tertiary environment. Teaching and research are integral: experience in undergraduate and postgraduate supervision, curriculum contribution and research publication is required, along with computer literacy, database competence, and strong interpersonal, communication and teamwork skills. Insight into local healthcare delivery, diversity, transformation and equity is also expected.

Key duties involve providing and overseeing safe, effective and efficient specialist burns care, covering operative, peri-operative, critical care and after-hours settings. The Head will provide overall clinical governance and clinical leadership of the Burns Unit, including developing, implementing and monitoring protocols, conducting morbidity and mortality review, and driving clinical audit, patient safety and quality-improvement activities. Strategic and operational management is a core responsibility, including service planning, access and referral management, patient flow, resource stewardship, cost-centre oversight and responsible use of blood products, laboratory services, medicines, consumables and theatre resources. The post holder will lead, supervise and develop medical staff and trainees, managing performance, rosters, professional conduct, mentorship and multidisciplinary teamwork. Liaison with hospital management and departments such as General Surgery, Anaesthesia, Critical Care, Nursing and Rehabilitation is required to strengthen coordinated burns care and referral pathways across the Tygerberg drainage area. The role also includes undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, bedside training, tutorials, specialist supervision, examination participation and academic programme activities. In addition, the incumbent will lead and supervise research, audit, data collection and service-evaluation activities, with active participation in institutional and provincial governance structures where required.

An inherent requirement of the job is the willingness to work commuted overtime, limited to 12 hours, when operational needs demand, along with participation in the after-hours consultant call system. The successful candidate must therefore be adaptable to high-pressure situations and capable of functioning independently within a specialist burns service. This is a full-time, senior medical appointment with a competitive all-inclusive remuneration package that may be structured to suit the individual’s personal needs. No payment of any kind is required when applying for this post. The position offers an opportunity to shape a major burns service, influence clinical standards, train the next generation of surgical specialists and conduct meaningful research in a supportive tertiary academic environment.