Chair - Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Body
- Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- Appointing Department
- Welsh Government
- Sector
- Health and Social Care
- Location
- The Trust is a national service, with meetings held across Wales and virtually by Teams. As we return to face to face Board and Board development sessions, these are likely to be primarily in Cardiff and St Asaph, however regular regional meetings will also be held to engage with the public and our stakeholders.
- Number of Vacancies
- 1
- Remuneration
- £43,326 per annum plus travel and other reasonable expenses within reasonable limits. This is based on a minimum time commitment of 14.5 days a month.
- Time Requirements
- Minimum days required 174 Minimum days per year.
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
28/03/2022
-
Closed for Applications
25/04/2022 at 16:00
-
Panel Sift
02/05/2022
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Final Interview Date
23/05/2022
-
Announcement
08/07/2022
Announcement
An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.
Date: 08/07/2022
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Judith Paget
- Added
- 29/03/2022
- Panel Role
- Panel Chair
- Positions
- DG Health/NHS Chief Executive Departmental Official
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- Panel Member
- Dr Chris Turner
- Added
- 29/03/2022
- Positions
- Chair – Emergency Ambulance Services Committee Other Panel Member
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- Panel Member
- Melanie Westlake
- Added
- 29/03/2022
- Positions
- Head of NHS Wales Board Governance, Welsh Government Departmental Official
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- Panel Member
- TBC
- Positions
- Senior Independent Panel Member
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Vacancy Description
Function of Body
During recent years, the Welsh Ambulance Service has evolved to become one of the most clinically advanced ambulance services in the world. While solid progress has been made, society continues to change and the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the Trust’s commitment to now embarking on the next stage of its journey as it seeks to capitalise on the lessons learned from the pandemic.
Delivering services to the three million-plus people who live and work in Wales, including the many thousands who visit every year, the Trust has become one of the lynchpins of the Welsh NHS, working to transform itself into a clinically-led service which supports and works across the entire health and care system.
Working with our stakeholders and partners, our ambition now is to fundamentally change the role of the Trust, acting not only as a key provider of urgent and emergency care across Wales, but also acting as the gateway to care for the people of Wales, harnessing the Trust’s 111 service as a first port of call for those in need of urgent clinical help, advice and treatment, both in and out of hours.
This shift will see a reduction in the number of patients taken to hospital and an increase in care delivered at, or closer to home, by a range of specialist practitioners with a variety of clinical skills.
Overseeing the continued the development of the ambulance service and harnessing its potential to increase its role in NHS Wales is one which presents both challenges and opportunities.
There remains much to be done to anchor and consolidate performance in the organisation’s core 999 service in particular, working with partner health boards to resolve structural challenges in the system, while not losing sight of the need to radically alter the way services are provided in future if the service is to keep pace with both growing demand and public expectation.
To help realise this ambition and accelerate the transformation of the organisation, the Trust is looking to appoint Non-Executive Directors to the Trust Board, from as diverse a range of backgrounds as possible to help us to tailor our offering to our population. The Trust is particularly keen to improve the gender balance on its Board and to attract members from different ethnic backgrounds. Especially valued is the contribution that Non-Executive Directors can make to the Trust by drawing from their own lived experiences.
The role of the Board is to focus on four key areas:
Strategy: Developing the strategy, vision, and purpose of the Trust. Identifying priorities, establishing goals and objectives, finding resources, and allocating funds to support the decisions that need to be made around strategic planning.
Embedding Ethical Behaviour: The Board shapes the culture of the Trust in several ways, including by the way in which it engages with staff, the public and stakeholders, the way it manages its agenda, by the nature of the debate at the Board and the relative emphasis given to different performance criteria, by the visibility of its members in the organisation, and by where it chooses to invest time and resources. Board members must live up to the highest ethical standards of integrity and probity.
Managing Risk: The Board is responsible for managing risk and ensuring there is a robust system of internal controls is in place and that they are sighted on the mitigations in place for the principal risks to the delivery of the strategy.
Gaining Assurance on the Delivery of Strategy and Performance: Holding to account, and being held to account, for the delivery of the strategy in accordance with the strategic and performance frameworks developed by the Board.
Role Description
he Chair will be accountable to the Minister for Health and Social Services for the performance of the Board and its effective governance, upholding the values of the NHS, and promoting the confidence of the public and partners throughout Wales.
The Chair of the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust will:-
– Develop a Strategic Vision for the Trust and its services, identifying and realising the inherent potential and skills within the organisation to develop an innovative and world leading service;
– Provide strong, effective and visible leadership across the breadth of the Trust’s responsibilities, internally through the Trust and externally through their connections with a wide range of stakeholders and partners at a national level, the community, local authority and NHS organisations;
– Ensure the Board collectively articulates and realises the strategic aims of the Trust through appropriate delivery plans and governance arrangements;
– Be responsible for maintaining the highest quality of public health standards and practices, and improving quality and safety of healthcare;
– Be accountable for the performance of the Board at community, local authority and national levels through the agreement of a three year integrated medium term plan (IMTP) and an annual delivery plan and the annual evaluation of achievements against the plan in public by the Minister for Health and Social Services;
– Hold the Chief Executive to account across the breadth of their responsibilities;
– Work effectively with partners, in particular with Health Boards, NHS Trusts, Special Health Authorities, local authorities, the third sector and social care partners, to ensure the planning and delivery of safe, effective services;
– Provide the assurance and governance for the proper stewardship of public money and other resources for which the Board is accountable;
– Provide the assurance for ensuring that the Board is governed effectively within the framework and standards set for the NHS in Wales;
– Undertake an external ambassador role, delivering in the public spotlight and instilling public confidence.
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.
Person Specification
The Trust is looking for some specific skills for this appointment and the Chair will demonstrate the following qualities:
Essential – An excellent communicator with strong strategic leadership skills, with a significant record of achievement at the highest levels in the public or private sectors;
– Ability to provide systems leadership and to work with Health Boards, Trusts, Special Health Authorities, Welsh Government, community groups, patients, and other stakeholders to develop and drive forward the strategic vision;
– Ability to lead, inspire and motivate the Board of a major national organisation, delivering robust Board level governance and accountability, and developing executive and Board performance;
– An excellent understanding of governance and an ability to ensure that the Board works cohesively and actively engages in transparent decision-making;
– An understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion;
– Espouse and promote the highest standards of conduct at Board level in line with the Seven Principles of Public Life (Nolan Principles) and adopted values of the Trust;
– Ability to provide a knowledgeable, impartial, and balanced perspective on a range of sensitive and complex issues; and
– Ability to show an appreciation of bilingualism and culture, and a commitment to promoting and mainstreaming of the Welsh language.
Desirable – An understanding of health issues and priorities in relation to the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust and the wider health system in Wales;
– Exposure to transformational organisational change and digital solutions in the public or private sector; and
– An understanding of risk management, and systems of internal control and assurance.
Additional Information
Contacts:
For further information regarding the selection process or applying for the role, please contact:
Public Appointments Team
Public Bodies Unit
Email: PublicAppointments@gov.wales
For further information regarding the role of Chair to the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust, please contact:
Diary Secretary, Director General, Health and Social Services/NHS Wales Chief Executive, Welsh Government
Email: DStoDGforHealthandSocialServicesChiefExecutiveNHSWales@gov.wales
Trish Mills, Board Secretary, Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Tel: 07508279533
Email: Trish.mills@wales.nhs.uk
How to Apply
To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button on the Welsh Government online recruitment centre. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system. You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.
Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form. To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates. This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4. Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit. The second document is a full, up to date CV. The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.
In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities. We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years.
It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence. You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go. You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.
If you’d like to apply for this opportunity in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.
If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Public Appointments Team on: PublicAppointments@gov.wales.