Occupations and Terms of Reference › Chief strategy and development officer (CSDO)
Universal terms of reference · POS-011 · version 1.0 · status: draft · next review 2027-10-27
Chief strategy and development officer (CSDO)
To shape the long-term direction of the organisation, so that services, partnerships and investments grow safely and match the needs of the people served.
Each part of this page links to the related trainings, competencies and policies. The links are the same for every facility, so an organisation can see at a glance what a role requires and what it is trained in.
Job description
Job summary. You lead the organisation's strategy, planning, research and development, and new service development. You turn evidence and market needs into a clear plan, and make sure investments are safe, affordable and measured.
Reports to: Chief executive officer.
Leads or supervises: Strategy and planning, and research and development teams.
What you do on a typical day
- Review the strategic plan progress and key indicators each month.
- Prepare options and business cases for new services or partnerships.
- Lead the research and development agenda with clinical leads.
- Review funding and donor opportunities with the CFO.
- Present strategy updates to the CEO and board.
Working conditions and demands
- Works across all services and sites.
- Decisions often involve uncertainty; evidence must be explicit.
- Needs to balance growth with safety and quality.
What good looks like
- Strategy is written, owned and reviewed each year.
- New services are launched only after safety and budget checks.
- Research is ethical, published and used in practice.
Place in the organogram
Reporting line, from the top: see the organogram on the Occupations page. The lines above and below this role are listed in section 3.
1. Golden rules
These rules apply in every setting.
- Every decision that affects patient safety is made on evidence and recorded.
- Patient safety and quality come before financial targets; no trade-off that puts patients at risk is accepted.
- Every staff member can raise a concern without fear of reprisal, and every concern is answered.
- Legal, licensing and accreditation duties are known, owned and reviewed.
- Finances, people and information are managed openly and within the law.
- Mandatory training and policies apply to the executive as much as to frontline staff.
2. Identification
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position code | POS-011 |
| ISCO-08 | 1120 (skill level 4) |
| ESCO | to map |
| Department | Governance |
| Facility types | Hospital, Ambulatory, Transport, Medevac, Fitness, Aesthetic |
3. Reporting line and working relationships
Reports to: POS-003. Supervises: POS-022, POS-023.
| Works with | Nature of the relationship |
|---|---|
| Chief executive officer | Owns the strategy; CSDO drafts and advises. |
| Chief financial officer | Investment cases and funding. |
| Chief medical officer | Clinical service priorities and new services. |
4. Key accountabilities
| Domain | Accountability | Evidence of delivery | Checked | Linked competencies | Linked trainings | Linked policies | Standards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy | Leads the strategic plan, its annual review and progress reporting. | Plan approved by the board; progress reported quarterly | Quarterly | C-01 | T-06 | – | 1 |
| Research and development | Makes sure research is ethical, relevant and used to improve care. | Ethics approvals in place; projects reported | Quarterly | C-02 | T-06 | POL-INC | 2 |
| Investment | Makes sure new services and investments have safety, budget and benefit cases. | Business cases reviewed before approval | Quarterly | C-03 | T-06 | – | 1 |
| Partnerships | Manages partnerships so that they meet safety, data and reputational standards. | Partnership agreements reviewed; issues logged | Annually | C-04 | T-08 | POL-DATA | 2 |
5. Decision rights
| The post holder decides | Consults or escalates |
|---|---|
| Research priorities within the approved strategy | Final investment and new service decisions (CEO and board) |
| Choice of options for detailed appraisal | Partnerships that involve patient data or significant liability (CEO and legal counsel) |
6. Qualifications and experience
| ID | Qualification | Mandatory | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q-01 | Degree in health economics, public health, business or a related field | Yes | Lifetime |
| Q-02 | Strategy, planning or research methods qualification | No | Lifetime |
| ID | Experience | Minimum years | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-01 | Senior strategy, planning or business development in a health or regulated service | 8 | Yes |
7. Training requirements
Recommended common practice. Each facility adapts the list to its national law. Essential items apply in every setting; recommended items apply where resources allow.
| ID | Training | Tier | When | Validity | Linked policies | Linked competencies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-01 | Facility induction | essential | at_entry | Once | POL-WHISTLE · POL-EQUAL · POL-DATA | – |
| T-02 | Safeguarding adults | essential | periodic | Every 3 year(s) | POL-SAFEG | – |
| T-03 | Safeguarding children | essential | periodic | Every 3 year(s) | POL-SAFEG | – |
| T-04 | Data protection and confidentiality | essential | annual | Every 1 year(s) | POL-DATA | – |
| T-05 | Incident reporting and open disclosure | essential | periodic | Every 2 year(s) | POL-INC | – |
| T-06 | Governance, accountability and assurance | recommended | periodic | Every 3 year(s) | – | C-01 · C-02 · C-03 |
| T-07 | Emergency and major incident command | essential | annual | Every 1 year(s) | POL-INC | – |
| T-08 | Speaking up, inclusion and equality leadership | essential | periodic | Every 2 year(s) | POL-WHISTLE · POL-EQUAL | C-04 |
8. Health, fitness and language
| ID | Requirement | Frequency | Tier | Minimum in low-resource settings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-03 | Fitness-to-work assessment at entry and after serious illness or injury | Every 12 months | recommended | Fitness check at entry |
| Language | Level | Mandatory |
|---|---|---|
| Official language of the country of practice | professional | Yes |
| English | working | Yes |
9. Competencies by level
| ID | Competency | Foundation | Practitioner | Expert | Assessed by | Revalidate | Linked trainings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-01 | Strategic planning and option appraisal | Contributes to plans | Leads planning for a service | Designs the organisational strategy and its review | Strategy review | Every 12 months | T-06 |
| C-02 | Research design and ethics | Follows research ethics | Leads a research project | Sets the research agenda and ethical oversight | Research audit | Every 12 months | T-06 |
| C-03 | Business case and investment appraisal | Reads a business case | Writes a business case | Judges investment risk and value for the organisation | Business case review | Every 12 months | T-06 |
| C-04 | Leading change and partnerships | Works in a team | Leads a partnership | Leads organisational change and external partnerships | 360 feedback | Every 24 months | T-08 |
10. Performance evaluation
- Probation: 6 months, with a sign-off review (recommended value).
- Appraisal: every 12 months against the competencies and indicators below.
| ID | Indicator | Target | Data source | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PI-01 | Strategic plan milestones met | set in plan | strategy tracker | Quarterly |
| PI-02 | Business cases reviewed before approval | 100% | approval records | Quarterly |
| PI-03 | Research projects with ethics approval | 100% | research register | Quarterly |
| PI-04 | Partnership reviews completed on time | 100% | partnership register | Annually |
11. Career ladder and promotion
| Level | Role | Minimum experience to move on | Qualifications | Competency minimums | Trainings required | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive | Chief strategy and development officer (CSDO) | 8 years (recommended) | Q-01 | C-01 expert, C-03 practitioner | T-06 | Executive appointment and performance review |
12. Policies the post holder follows
Each policy is a standard template that the facility adopts and adapts. Templates are maintained centrally, so every facility works from the same version.
POL-SAFEG · Safeguarding adults and children
Purpose: Protect patients from abuse, neglect and harm, and make sure every concern is recognised and acted on.
Scope: All staff, volunteers and contractors.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff, volunteers and contractors.
Key rules:
- Recognise signs of abuse and neglect and record them factually.
- Report every concern to the designated safeguarding lead the same shift.
- Do not investigate alone.
- Share information only as the safeguarding procedure allows.
POL-DATA · Data protection and confidentiality
Purpose: Keep patient and staff information private, secure and used only for care and legal purposes.
Scope: All staff who access records or systems.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff who access records or systems.
Key rules:
- Access only the records needed for your work.
- Keep records secure; do not leave screens or paper unattended.
- Do not share information without a lawful basis.
- Report any breach to the data protection officer within 24 hours.
Linked trainings: T-10 · Review every 12 months · Template 0.1 (draft)
POL-WHISTLE · Speaking up (whistleblowing)
Purpose: Let staff raise patient safety or conduct concerns without fear of reprisal.
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
- Raise a concern with your line manager or the named speaking-up officer.
- If that route fails, escalate to the board or the national regulator.
- Retaliation against anyone who speaks up is a disciplinary offence.
- Concerns are recorded, investigated and the outcome given to the person raising them.
Linked trainings: T-01 · Review every 12 months · Template 0.1 (draft)
POL-EQUAL · Equality, diversity and inclusion
Purpose: Give every patient and colleague fair access, respectful treatment and reasonable adjustments.
Scope: All staff and patients.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff and patients.
Key rules:
- Treat every person with dignity regardless of background.
- Make reasonable adjustments, including interpreters, for language and disability.
- Report discrimination through the speaking-up route.
- Monitor access and outcomes by group.
Linked trainings: T-01 · Review every 24 months · Template 0.1 (draft)
POL-INC · Incident reporting and open disclosure
Purpose: Report and learn from incidents and near misses, and tell patients honestly when things go wrong.
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
Scope: All staff.
Key rules:
- Report every incident and near miss the same shift.
- Give the patient and family an honest account and an apology where appropriate (open disclosure).
- Take immediate action to protect others.
- Learn: contribute to the review and follow the agreed actions.
13. Standards that name this role
14. Record history
| Date | Change | Approved by |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-27 | Draft record, batch 1 of the position build | Awaiting approval |