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Role details

Non-Executive Directors of NHS Blood and Transplant

Application deadline 6 September 2022

Summary

• Organisation: NHS Blood and Transplant
• Sponsor department: Department of Health and Social Care
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Health and Social Care
• Number of vacancies: 3
• Time commitment: 3 day(s) per month
• Remuneration: £7883 per annum
• Length of term: Up to 3 years
• Application deadline: Midday on 6 September 2022

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   29 July 2022

2. Application deadline

   Midday on 6 September 2022

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the role

Introduction from the Chair

Letter from the Chair of NHSBT, Peter Wyman

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the role of Non-Executive Director for NHS Blood and Transplant.

NHSBT is a unique organisation with altruistic donation at the unifying theme across our various activities. We stand for helping people do something extraordinary which saves and improves the lives of others. As an essential part of the NHS, we take pride in playing our part to make the most of every donation. The donors who make our work possible do so selflessly, giving life and changing lives for the better.

The core values of the organisation are Caring, Expert and Quality and we seek to be a role model for best practice across all aspects of public healthcare. The organisation faces a fascinating medley of commercial, operational, and clinical challenges and our Board, and its supporting committees, addresses all of these areas. The non- executive members of the Board bring a diverse set of skills and experiences and typically they contribute extensively to the full Board agenda as well as providing valuable specialist input.

You will be joining us at an exciting time. Earlier this year we finalised our strategy for the next five years which builds on NHSBT’s strong record of continuous improvement, quality, and efficiency. In addition, we expect to be increasingly involved in the supply of both Plasma based products and cellular therapies. Overseeing the successful implementation of the strategy will be an important aspect of the Board’s work. Our Chief Executive, Betsy Basis, recently led a review of our Operating Model ensuring that we are set for future success. This builds on NHSBT’s strong record of continuous improvement, quality, and efficiency.

Of course, we need to be a valued partner across the NHS network to be able to develop influential relationships with stakeholders and partners across organisations and sectors. You will be a leader who can engage, motivate, and inspire people and who is able to promote a culture of excellence, openness and achievement.

This is a first-class organisation with a strong Board. If you are successful, I am sure you will find working with NHSBT a very fulfilling and enjoyable opportunity.

Please visit our website at http://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/ for more information.

Role description

Ministers are seeking to make three Non-Executive Director appointments to the board of NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).

The Department of Health and Social Care values and promotes diversity and encourages applications from all sections of the community. The boards of public bodies should reflect the population they are there to serve. Boards also benefit from fresh perspectives, and we are always keen to encourage candidates new to public appointments to consider applying for our roles.

To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills, and experience to meet all the essential criteria for appointment.

As a Non-Executive Director, you will work with the Chair, other non-executives and the Chief Executive and her Executive team to govern the activities of NHSBT. With them you will share the corporate responsibility for the decisions of the Board and the performance of the organization. You will:

• contribute to the development of strategy, agreeing the goals, business plans and objectives of the organization, taking into account the policies of the various UK health departments as necessary
• monitor and review performance, ensuring that financial controls and systems of risk management are robust and effective
• help shape an inclusive and high performing culture in NHSBT through engaging with and providing ideas and guidance to the NHSBT team
• demonstrate a commitment to patient safety and to patients and staff being able to properly raise concerns
• represent the Board, as required, at official occasions and visits to NHSBT sites.

Organisation description

NHS Blood and Transplant is a Special Health Authority whose mission is to save and improve lives. NHSBT is an essential part of the NHS providing a safe and reliable supply of blood, plasma, solid organs, stem cells, tissues, and related diagnostic services. Technically, NHSBT is a biomedical manufacturer and supply chain organisation, employing circa 6,000 people working across the UK, with a total revenue of over £500million. But at heart, NHSBT is an organisation that enables daily acts of altruism - from our blood and plasma donors, who come out in their thousands every day, to our organ donor families who, in the moment of grief, have it within themselves to consent for donation.

NHSBT was formed in 2005 by bringing together the National Blood Service and UK Transplant. NHSBT is now one of the largest and most effective organisations of its type in the world. As an organisation, equality of opportunity and appreciation of diversity in its many forms is central not only to its relationships with employees but also to its customers – whether patients or donors. NHSBT stand for helping ordinary people do something extraordinary, saving and improving the lives of others with their valuable donations.

In performing this essential activity, NHSBT engage with millions of people throughout the country and connect directly with more people on a daily basis than any other single part of the NHS. 

To find out more information about NHSBT please visit the corporate website at  https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/. To find out more about the journey of donors please click here to go to our website to view some helpful videos.

Our 5 Key priorities:

• Grow and diversify our donor base - to meet clinical demand and reduce health inequalities 
• Modernise our operations - to improve safety, resilience and efficiency
• Drive innovation - to improve patient outcomes
• Collaborate with partners - to develop and scale new services for the NHS
• Invest in people and culture - to ensure a high performing, inclusive organisation 

Our mission:

NHSBT’s mission is to save and improve lives. This inspires and motivates us every day. As we look to the future, our ambition is to save and improve even more lives, creating a world where every patient receives the donation they need. This is an ambitious vision which will require significant change to what we do and how we work. But we must be ambitious on behalf of the patients who rely on our critical products and services.

Our core purpose

To provide a safe and sustainable supply of blood components, organs, stem cells, tissues and related diagnostic services to the National Health Service

Our Values:

Our three core principles are critical to our service, guiding everything we do and inspiring us to be the best.

• We care about our donors, their families, the patients we serve, and our people.
• We are expert at meeting the needs of those who use our service and those who operate it.
• We provide quality products, services and experiences for donors, patients and colleagues

Diversity and Inclusion

NHSBT is committed to championing and promoting Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. Improving the diversity of our workforce and donors is a key priority for the organisation.  NHSBT is working hard to ensure that we better serve the reflections the communities that we serve. For more information, please see Diversity and inclusion - NHS Blood and Transplant (nhsbt.nhs.uk)

Our strategy

Our strategy sets out how we will deliver against our mission, while adhering to both our core purpose and values. The strategy is summarised via our 5 key priorities, and describes what we will do to achieve each of these priorities and how we will know when we have succeeded. For full details of our strategy, please read our Strategy document in full here.

Board composition

Candidates can live anywhere in the UK. Typically, 3 of the 6 Board meetings each year are held in London, 2 in NHSBT sites across England and 1 meeting in one of the other UK nations.

The dates of the NHSBT Board for the rest of 2022 and 2023 are:

• 27th September 2022
• 29th November 2022
• 31st January 2023
• 28th March 2023
• 20th May 2023
• 25th July 2023
• 26th September 2023
• 28th November 2023

Regulation of appointment

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website 

Person specification

Essential criteria

To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills, and experience to meet all the essential criteria for appointment:

• Ability to operate effectively on the board of a large and complex national organisation, contributing to challenging debate and working with others to reach decisions based on evidence and consensus.
• Ability to develop and deliver robust governance arrangements, including performance, financial and risk management.
• Understanding of the board role of NHSBT with an ability to articulate some of its key challenges.

Desirable criteria

Skills and experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Commercial, financial
• Data and data analytics
• People / HR

Application and selection process

How to apply

For further information please find below links to DHSC's candidate information pack and monitoring form:

• NHSBT NED Candidate Information Pack
• Monitoring Form (PDF)
• Monitoring Form (MS Word)

In order to apply, you will need to provide:

1. A Curriculum Vitae, which includes contact details for you and referees, and details of your education and qualifications, employment history, directorships, membership of professional bodies and any relevant publications or awards.
2. A Supporting Statement, setting out how you meet the criteria for appointment as set out in the person specification for the role and providing details on any potential conflicts of interest or reputational issues.
3. A Monitoring form, which includes different sections covering diversity information, conflicts of interest, standards in public life, whether you would like reasonable adjustments to be made to support your application and whether you wish to apply under the Disability Confident Scheme. Please note that whilst the form must be completed in full, you can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer regarding your diversity characteristics. The information you provide on your characteristics will not be used as part of the assessment process and will not be seen by the assessment panel.

Completed applications should be submitted to appointments.team@dhsc.gov.uk

If you have any questions about the appointments process, please contact karen.dinsdale@dhsc.gov.uk / 0113 2545414

Overview of the application process

Public appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process which is conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. We will deal with your application as quickly as possible and will keep you informed at key stages. We aim to conclude the appointment process within three months of the deadline for applications – this is in accordance with the Governance Code.

The assessment process

1. Ministers are responsible and accountable to Parliament for the public appointments made within their department. As a result, they must be consulted at every stage of the appointments process.

2. At the shortlisting meeting, the Panel will select for interview only the strongest applicants who it feels have demonstrated that they best meet all the criteria set out in the person specification. However, if you have applied under the Disability Confident Scheme and you meet all the essential criteria, then you will also be invited for interview.

3. If you apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and you are not shortlisted for interview, we can provide a summary of the assessment of your written application, if you choose to request feedback. However, we regret that due to the volume of applications received, we are only able to offer feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.

4. After shortlisting, Ministers will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist. We will email you to let you know whether you have been invited to be interviewed. Interviews will be conducted either face-to-face, in central London or by video/teleconference. We will confirm arrangements to shortlisted candidates in due course.

5. If you are invited to interview and are unable to attend on the set date, then an alternative date can only be offered at the discretion of the Panel.

6. If invited to interview, the Panel may invite you to make a brief presentation at the start of the interview and will go on to question you about your skills and experience, including asking specific questions to assess whether you meet the criteria set out for the post

7. The Panel will also explore with you any potential conflicts of interest or any other issues arising from your personal and professional history which may impact on an appointment decision

8. Details of the panel’s assessment of interviewed candidates are provided to Ministers, including whether they have judged a candidate to be appointable to the role. It is then for Ministers to decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, Ministers may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.

9. Ministers may choose to meet with candidates before making a decision. Candidates should therefore be prepared for a short time gap between interview and a final appointment decision being made. Candidates who have been interviewed will be kept informed of progress.

10. If following interviews your application is unsuccessful, we will notify you. We appreciate it takes a lot of time and effort to apply for roles, and prepare for and attend an interview, and that feedback is a valuable part of the process. Following interviews, the letter which confirms the outcome of the appointment process will provide the details of who you may approach for feedback on your interview and application, if you so wish.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

Advisory Assessment Panels (AAP) are chosen by ministers to assist them in their decision-making. These include a departmental official, the Chair of the public body (when Non-executive Directors /Members are recruited) and an independent member.

The panel performs a number of functions, including agreeing the assessment strategy, undertaking sifting, carrying out interviews and deciding objectively who meets the published essential criteria for the role before advising Ministers which candidates they find appointable. It is then for the minister to decide who to appoint to the role.

The panel will include:

• Maria Nyberg, Deputy Director as Panel Chair
• Peter Wyman – NHSBT Chair as Panel Member
• Debra Bailey - Non- Executive Director at the NHS Business Services Authority as the Independent Panel Member

Eligibility criteria

In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.

There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. 

You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:

• you are disqualified from acting as a company director  (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);

• have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;

• your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors.

When you apply, you should declare if:

• you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this. 

• you are subject to a current police investigation.

You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points. 

When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)

If you need further advice, please contact  karen.dinsdale@dhsc.gov.uk

Additional information for candidates

Equality and diversity

We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they reflect the diversity of views of the society they serve and this is an important part of the Government’s levelling up agenda.

We collect data about applicants’ characteristics and backgrounds, including information about people’s educational and professional backgrounds, so that we can make sure we are attracting a broad range of people to these roles and that our selection processes are fair for everyone. Without this information, it makes it difficult to see if our outreach is working, if the application process is having an unfair impact on certain groups and whether changes are making a positive difference.

When you submit your application, your responses are collected by the Cabinet Office and the government department(s) managing your application. The data is used to produce management information about the diversity of applicants. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel who review applications against the advertised criteria and conduct interviews.

Disability confident

The Department of Health and Social Care values and promotes diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity for all and to the appointment of disabled people. We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident Scheme. We use the Disability Confident Scheme symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in appointing people with a disability. The Scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people.

As part of implementing the Scheme, we guarantee an interview to anyone with a disability whose application meets all the essential criteria in the person specification for the role and who has asked that their application is considered under the Scheme. Indicating that you wish your application to be considered under the Scheme will in no way prejudice your application.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme.

Reasonable adjustments

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or other needs are not substantially disadvantaged when applying for public appointments. This can include changing the recruitment process to enable people who wish to apply to do so.

Some examples of adjustments are:

• ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats
• making adaptations to interview locations
• allowing candidates to present their skills and experience in a different way
• giving additional detailed information on the assessment process to allow candidates time to prepare themselves
• allowing support workers, for example sign language interpreters
• making provision for support animals to attend.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process.

Principles of public life

Holders of public office are expected to adhere to and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life/the-7-principles-of-public-life--2. These are:

1. SELFLESSNESS - Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family or their friends;
2. INTEGRITY - Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might seek to influence them in the performance of their official duties;
3. OBJECTIVITY - In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merit;
4. ACCOUNTABILITY - Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office;
5. OPENNESS - Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands;
6. HONESTY - Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interest;
7. LEADERSHIP - Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.

Code of conduct for board members

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. In support of this, all non-executive board members of UK public bodies must abide by the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code sets out the standards expected from those who serve on the boards of UK public bodies and will form part of your terms and conditions of appointment.

Management of outside interests and consideration of reputational issues

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully: 

• any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government; 
• any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or or public statements that you have made; 
• and/or - any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported; which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies. 

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).

Status of appointment

This is an office holder appointment and not a position of employment and as such will not be subject to the provisions of employment law. You will not become a member of the Civil Service.  

Appointment and tenure of office

Appointments are for the term set out in this advert. Any re-appointment for a second term will be subject to the requirements of the board at that point and in the future, the skills and experience the appointee brings and their performance in their first term and will be at the discretion of Ministers. The norm for all public appointments is for the term served in post to not exceed two terms or ten years in total.

Remuneration, allowances and abatement

Remuneration for this role is taxable, and subject to National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.

You can claim reasonable travel and subsistence expenses, which are properly and necessarily incurred on official business in line with the travel and subsistence policy and rates for the organisation to which you are applying. A copy of the policy and rates can be obtained from said organisation.

Pension and redundancy

The role does not attract any pension benefits, including under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. As you are not an employee you will also not be eligible for redundancy pay. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon at the end of your term of appointment, as there is no commitment to you serving beyond that point. 

Application feedback

We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that due to the volume of applications received, we are only able to offer feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.

How to complain

We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.

Please contact  Zubeda Seedat within the public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application. Please email zubeda.seedat@dhsc.gov.uk. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.

How to complain to Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA)

If you are not content with the appointing department’s response you may wish to further complain to the Commissioner at publicappointments@csc.gov.uk.Further information on how the Commissioner handles complaints can be found on the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ website https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/regulating-appointments/investigating-complaints/

Data protection

The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.

The DHSC privacy notice can be found at DHSC privacy notice - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Contact details

For further information regarding the role for NHSBT and the role of a NED please contact:

 

Email: companysecretary@nhsbt.nhs.uk or Katrina Smith, Company Secretary

Tel: 07392315919

For any queries about your application status or the selection process, please contact Karen Dinsdale in DHSC’s Public Appointments and Honours Unit:

Email: Karen Dinsdale@dhsc.gov.uk 

Telephone: 0113 2545414