Merit-based competition for the Head of Cardiology at Costa del Sol

The General Directorate of Personnel of the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) has announced, through a merit-based competition system, the filling of the intermediate management position of Head of the Cardiology Medical Service at the Costa del Sol University Hospital in Marbella (Málaga). The call is formalized in the Resolution of August 17, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Government of Andalusia (BOJA) number 161, of August 20, 2026, on page 11170.

The position, within the hospital scope, is classified in professional scale group A1 and is assigned level 28, with the basic and complementary remuneration established in the current SAS regulations. The resolution, signed by the Director General of Digital Health and Technological Infrastructures, Ismael Vargas Pina, substituting for the Director General of Personnel, exhausts all administrative remedies.

Regulatory Framework

The call is based on Law 44/2003, of November 21, on the Organization of Health Professions, which regulates access to clinical management functions, including the leadership of health units and teams. The procedure is governed by Decree 132/2021, of April 6, which regulates the provision of management positions and intermediate roles in SAS health centers, and by Decree 189/2026, of July 30, regarding the organic structure of the Ministry of Presidency, Health, and Emergencies.

Requirements and Applications

Cardiology specialists linked to the National Health System, whether as permanent statutory personnel, career civil servants, or permanent contractual staff, may participate. The required criteria include:

• Holding the title of Area Specialist Physician in Cardiology.
• Holding Spanish nationality, or nationality of a EU Member State or the European Economic Area.
• Providing accreditation of the specific occupational risk prevention course for intermediate management.
• Not having been dismissed from service nor being disqualified from exercising public functions.

Applications shall be submitted through the Electronic Professional Window (VEC) of the SAS, within a period of ten business days from the day following the publication in the BOJA. A Management Project must be submitted along with the application; failure to do so will be grounds for exclusion.

Selection Process and Scoring Scale

The process consists of two phases evaluated by a Selection Committee chaired by the hospital’s General Management:

• Evaluation of curriculum and professional competencies, with a maximum of 60 points and a minimum requirement of 40%.
• Public presentation and defense of the Management Project, valued up to 40 points, with the participation of the unit’s professionals accounting for 20% of the final grade.

The scale in Annex I divides the merits into three blocks: healthcare (maximum 40 points), teaching (maximum 15), and scientific (maximum 30). The person who obtains the highest score will be appointed by the Management Directorate, with the publication of the final resolution in the BOJA.

Relevance

This call opens the door to the renewal of the clinical direction of one of the reference hospital services on the Costa del Sol, in a process open to Cardiology specialists from all over Andalusia. The leadership combines the healthcare activity inherent to the specialty with the planning and control of multiprofessional teams; therefore, its resolution will condition the management and healthcare quality of the area for the coming years.

Source: Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía, number 161, August 20, 2026, section 2.2 (Competitive examinations, contests, and other calls), page 11170 (official reference: 00342399).