Applicants must meet the NIHR Person Specification, the Specialty specific Person Specification entry Criteria.

All applicants who do not already hold a National Training Number (NTN) or Deanery Reference Number (DRN) in the GMC specialty to which they are applying for will be required to undertake the national clinical recruitment process and attend an assessment/interview for that GMC specialty as appropriate.

For applicants applying where there is no clinical recruitment at that level you will need to hold a National Training Number (NTN) / Deanery Reference Number (DRN) at the right level and in the associated clinical specialty.

Failure to apply to national recruitment (if applicable) will result in any offer of interview for Academic Clinical Fellow being withdrawn and your application being withdrawn from the recruitment process.

Some summary information is included below. However, please see the hyperlinks tab for links to further information about the recruitment process.

When applying to this specialty in this recruitment round, you will not need to give preferences of particular posts, regions, rotations, etc. at the time of applying; just complete and submit an application for the specialty. Any offer will be to the Wessex region as a whole. All recruitment to this specialty in this round will be managed by NHS England – Wessex, who will coordinate all long/short-listing of applications, host all interviews, and make offers.

Applications are equally open to those who may, either from the outset or subsequently, wish to train less than full time or job share.

Please note that there is a strict application policy that applications cannot be accepted after the deadline.

The hyperlinks tab includes a link to the person specification which details the eligibility criteria for this specialty. Before applying please read the Medical Specialty Training person specifications to assess your suitability for the post.

You will also find a link to information about demonstrating your competence for a training post in this specialty. It is very important you find out what is acceptable documentation.

IMPORTANT:A limit has been set on the number of ACF applications that can be submitted, with applicants limited to submitting a maximum of three applications to ACF vacancies..

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There have been changes to the minimum shortlisting scores required for all applicants in relation to the questions for ‘Academic Experience’ and ‘Academic Potential'.

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If applying under the Disability Confident Scheme, please be aware that there will now also be a minimum score that must be achieved in order to be considered for an invite to interview.

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A higher capacity cut off will also be set for non DCS applicants.

Please refer to NIHR guidance for further details

Please visit https://wessex.hee.nhs.uk/medical-dental-training-recruitment/academic/

for the following information:

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Likely locations of posts and possible employers within the training programme

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Interview dates: Thursday 17th December 2026 (AM)

Interview venue: This will be a virtual interview; Details will be sent to those shortlisted.

Interview process: A Microsoft Teams link will be sent by email a minimum of 1 working day prior to interview. Please ensure that you check your inbox and junk mailbox for this invitation.

Length of interview: Please refer the NIHR applicant guidance

Interview structure: Please refer to the NIHR applicant guidance

Enquiries: During the recruitment process please visit the NHS England – Wessex Academic pages on the Wessex Deanery website (https://wessex.hee.nhs.uk/academic-training/about-the-academic-training-programme/)regularly to access up-to-date information relating to this vacancy and information about the recruitment process.

For any queries that cannot be answered by the methods above please contact: england.recruitment.wx@nhs.net

For further national information please visit the Medical Specialty Training website.