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Role details

Non-Executive Directors - NHS England

Application deadline 25 April 2023

Summary

• Organisation: NHS England
• Sponsor department: Department of Health and Social Care
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Health and Social Care
• Skills: Accountancy, Audit and Risk, Business, Change Management, Commercial, Communication, Media, Marketing, Human Resources, Insurance, International Experience, Technology / Digital, Legal, Judicial, Major Projects, Procurement, Regulation, Retail, Transformation, Cyber Security, Consumer Advocacy, Casework and Complaints Handling, Social Care, Education
• Number of vacancies: 4
• Time commitment: 3 day(s) per month
• Remuneration: £7883 per annum
• Length of term: Ministers will determine the length of the appointment, which will be up to 3 years
• Application deadline: 11:59am on 25 April 2023

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   31 March 2023

2. Application deadline

   11:59am on 25 April 2023

3. Sifting date

   31 May 2023

4. Interviews expected to end on

   21 June 2023

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the role

Introduction from the Chair

Dear Candidate,

Thank you for expressing an interest in the Non-Executive Director roles on the ‘new’ NHS England Board. ‘New’ because you would be joining us at a time of opportunity when, from 1 July 2022, following legislation the structure of the NHS is seeing significant transformation. This involves the merger of a number of the central organisations into the new NHS England and separately the emergence of 42 Integrated Care Systems (ICS) across England.

The NHS today faces deep challenges, many of which have been building for several years and a number of which have been worsened by the pandemic. The NHS arguably faces its greatest test. Immediate pressures come from the extent of the waiting lists, from urgent and emergency care performance, in accessing primary care and from acknowledged shortages in our workforce. 

There exist questions over the physical capacity, be it estate and infrastructure, bed numbers and diagnostic scanners or indeed the shape and capacity of the workforce. And there exists a range of potential solutions, including investment programmes, potential changes in working practices, the application of technology and both immediate and longer-term workforce planning.

Additionally, continued strong focus on mental health, on maternity services, on the evolving model of primary care, on cancer, on cardiovascular, on the enabling potency of Life Sciences, on the digital agenda and its capacity to transform delivery, to name just a few of the other issues the NHS pursues, remains essential.

The NHS is perhaps better understood as a whole industry, rather than as a single organisation, of different interests and where successful collaboration and agreed prioritisation are key to improving performance. The new NHS England will empower and support ICS going forward. Putting the patient first and at the heart of our thinking is an essential ‘cut through’ to our processes and programmes.

So, the agenda is broad, there is plenty to do and the importance of delivery but also efficiency are key. The Board needs individuals with a range of specific skills but as important a deep commitment to improving health and care in England and a desire to contribute to collective deliberations that will ensure that NHS England is fit for the challenges ahead. The Board needs individuals who will not only be effective participants at Board and committee levels but who are also committed to proactive engagement outside the Board to the NHS and to its front line. Our people are key and therefore directly understanding the challenges they face is hugely important.

One of the essential foundations of a good society is how well it looks after the whole of its population and their health. At the heart of the NHS is the central tenet “accessible to all, free at the point of the delivery”.  To do this we rely upon a passionate, multi skilled, committed workforce. As the population grows, as people live longer, and as medical science discovers ever new ways to improve outcomes so the demands on the NHS continue to grow but also to change. Keeping the interests of the patient as the key determinant of our decisions is key. 

Thank you for taking the time to apply and I look forward to meeting you in due course.

Richard Meddings

Chair of NHS England

Role description

Ministers are seeking to make up to 4 appointments to the board of NHSE.

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 and with private sector experience to consider applying for our roles.

The primary role of NHS England’s Non-Executive Directors is, as a team, to lead in developing the strategy for, and overseeing the work of NHS England by participating fully in the work of the board, both in the context of the board meetings themselves, and more widely.

Non-Executive Directors also play a part in representing NHS England externally, alongside the Chief Executive, the Chair and the wider Executive team. The responsibilities of the Non-Executive Directors of NHS England are:

• Working with the Chair and the Executive Board members to develop NHS England’s strategy to ensure that it carries out its statutory responsibilities and delivers its mandate, meeting its targets and objectives, and ensuring that the Executive Team is held to account for doing so
• Ensuring the board reinforces the values of the organisation by setting a high standard for ethics and responsible business, and by maintaining and enhancing NHS England’s reputation as an open and independent body, which puts the interests of the public and patients first
• Contributing to the meetings of the Board, taking an active part in discussions, providing counsel, advice, challenge and support to the Executive Team; contributing to an environment of constructive debate on key issues in order to build consensus
• Ensuring that the Executive Team develops and maintains strong working relationships with the Department of Health and Social Care, the other health arms-length bodies and other stakeholders
• Promoting the Government’s health policy, with an understanding of the value of strategic communication and engagement
• Contributing across a range of specific areas, including: setting and maintaining an appropriate clinical agenda for NHS England and ensuring an appropriate level of resource is dedicated to preventing disease as well as treating disease; ensuring the board drives strong integration between health and care; ensuring the Board listens to the patient voice; ensuring appropriate financial controls are in place, and risks are managed accordingly; contributing to the change management agenda; and ensuring that best practice is followed in all workforce and leadership policies and behaviour
• Ensuring that the Executive Team is held to account for putting in place appropriate financial controls and ensuring compliance throughout the organisation.
• Ensuring the Executive Team is held to account for performance management across the major interfaces for patients with the service.
• Reducing waste and driving efficiencies to enable as much taxpayer’s money as possible is directed towards patient care.

Organisation description

NHS England (NHSE) shares responsibility with the Secretary of State for promoting a comprehensive health system in England, for securing improvements in physical and mental health, and for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of ill-health. NHSE’s role is to lead the NHS in delivering better health, better care and the efficient use of NHS resources. In so doing, NHSE oversees the provision of health services and an integrated system between health and social care. NHSE has a budget of over £150 billion and oversees a health system employing around 1.2 million people.

NHSE will play a leading role in delivering improvements in patients’ care, value for money and broader health reforms. This will include elective service recovery and creating a new integrated system between health and social care.

NHSE was established in 2012 (by the NHS Act 2006, as amended by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and since by the Health and Care Act 2022.) In July 2022, statutory functions of NHS Improvement (Monitor and the Trust Development Authority) were transferred to NHS England. 42 new Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) were created to lead localities in arranging services.

NHSE leads the commissioning of healthcare services in England. Most commissioning has historically been done by Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) throughout England although some is undertaken directly by NHSE. The commissioning done directly by NHSE covers some specialised services including for the justice system and the military, and for other services that require such advanced teams/technology, or relate to rare clinical conditions, and that are therefore more effectively commissioned nationally rather than locally. Under the new framework of the 2022 Act, ICBs have taken on the abolished CCGs’ functions and NHSE can delegate more of its direct commissioning to these local systems. NHS England has plans to delegate responsibility for the commissioning of further primary care services - that is dentistry, eyecare, and pharmacy services - to ICBs from April 2023.

The Secretary of State also delegates responsibility to NHSE for certain public health services – including for example, national immunisation programmes, cancer and non-cancer screening programmes, Child Health Information Services and public health services for adults and children in secure settings. Since October 2021, additional public health functions were conferred upon NHSE following the abolition of Public Health England.

In practice, this means that NHSE should lead and support the NHS in England and take the action necessary to:

• deliver the statutory mandate that the Government sets for it, as well as deliver the aims of the NHS Long Term Plan, and stimulate ongoing development of services to address the changing needs of populations in a way that seeks to reduce inequalities in access, experience, and outcomes
• maintain and improve health care services in a way that is financially and operationally sustainable within the resource limits set by the government
• oversee and support Integrated Care Systems, NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts
• commission specialised health services that cannot be effectively commissioned at local level and deliver national infrastructure to facilitate the delivery of services
• support the long-term sustainability of the NHS, including its workforce, digital and physical infrastructure and progress to deliver a net zero NHS
• perform any functions of the Secretary of State which have been delegated to it
• deliver other specific duties, regulatory functions and powers that cover:
• promoting the NHS Constitution
• improving the quality of services
• innovation and research
• reduce inequalities in access to and outcomes from health services as well as in patient experience
• protecting patient choice
• promoting education and training
• promoting integration between health services and health related services
• promoting and securing public involvement in its decisions
• seeking to achieve objectives and comply with requirements set for it by Government
• meeting the new ‘triple aim’ of better health, better care and efficient use of NHS resources.

Forthcoming Changes

In February, NHSE took on the functions of NHS Digital, and from April NHSE will take on the functions of Health Education England. This will significantly broaden NHSE’s remit and opportunities to join up key enablers (workforce and digital) for leading the NHS in England. As part of this, NHS England is undertaking the new ‘Creating the New NHS England’ programme, which will include a headcount reduction at the centre of at least 30 and up to 40 percent to further help NHS England to reduce bureaucracy and create a leaner but still expert centre with fewer priorities.

NHS Long Term Plan and NHSE mandate

NHSE and NHS Improvement had already moved to a single leadership model in March 2019. The NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, set out an ambitious ten-year transformation programme for the NHS.

NHSE has a mandate from government (The government's 2022 to 2023 mandate to NHS England (publishing.service.gov.uk)). For 2022/23 the mandate prioritises the recovery and restoration of NHS services, tackling health and healthcare disparities, driving innovation, and continuing progress to integrated ways of working for health and care and implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022 (Health and Care Act 2022 (legislation.gov.uk)).

Mode of operation

The NHS England Board is a unitary board in which both non-executive and executive members work as a team. Formal business meetings are held in public and are broadcast live on the internet. Each meeting takes place alongside a private meeting for reserved business as required. Much preparatory work for the meetings is done by Board members in informal development sessions or ‘deep dives’.

Further information about the NHS England Board and its governance, including the standing orders, scheme of delegation, standing financial structures, and board committees can be found at the following link NHS England » NHS England board

Further details about NHSE and its role in leading the healthcare system can be found here:

• NHS Long Term Plan
• NHS England » NHS Commissioning Board: Annual report and accounts 2021 to 2022 
• NHS England » NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance

Board composition

NHS England » Board members

Future Board Meetings will take place on the following days:

• 18 May 2023
• 27 July 2023
• 5 October 2023
• 7 December 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.

• Extensive senior experience and a track record of achievement in at least one of the following: 
• Clinician 
• Primary Care 
• Digital, data and technological improvement
• Senior management in the public or private sector
• Leadership in local, regional or national government
• Organisational change and value for money
• Procurement

• Able to operate effectively on the board of a high-profile national organisation, with an understanding of corporate governance, and an ability to guide NHS England’s strategic direction

• Sound judgement, with the ability to consider and provide challenge on complex issues from an impartial and balanced viewpoint and to hold the executive team to account

• Strong strategic skills, with a bias towards effective delivery and implementation

• Good communication skills, with a positive and constructive style, able to work as part of a team and take collective responsibility.

Application and selection process

How to apply

In order to apply you will need to create an account or sign in.

Once you are logged into your account, click on 'apply for this role' and follow the on-screen instructions. To apply, all candidates are required to provide:

• a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• a supporting statement
• equality information
• information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues

We will ask you to check and confirm your personal details to ensure your application is accurate.

You will also have the opportunity to make a reasonable adjustment request or apply under the disability confident scheme before you submit your application.

The Advisory Assessment Panel reserves the right to only consider applications that contain all of the elements listed above, and that arrive before the published deadline for applications.

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

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.

An Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) is appointed by Ministers to assist them in their decision making. The role of the Panel is to decide, objectively, which candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the role.

At the shortlisting meeting the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates have best met the criteria, who should be recommended for interview. Ministers will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist. If you have applied under the Disability Confident Scheme and you meet all the essential criteria, then you will also be invited for an interview.

Once the shortlist has been agreed by Ministers, you will be advised (by e-mail) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview.

The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. 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. 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.

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 determine merit and decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, Ministers may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.

Ministers may choose to meet with candidates before deciding the outcome. 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.

Once the decision on the appointment has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application, including whom they may approach for feedback. Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment should they agree to take up the position.

Further information about appointments, including tips on applying, can be found on our guidance pages on gov.uk.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

The panel will include: 

• Matthew Style, Director General for NHS Policy and Performance as the Panel Chair
• Richard Meddings, Chair of NHS England as a Panel Member
• Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UK Health Security Agency as a Panel Member
• Jenni Douglas-Todd ,Chair of Dorset Integrated Care System as the Independent Panel Member

Advisory Assessment Panels (AAP) are chosen by ministers to assist them in their decision-making. These include a departmental official and an independent member. For competitions recruiting non-executive members of a board (apart from the Chair), the panel will usually include a representative from the public body concerned.

AAP’s perform a number of functions, including agreeing an assessment strategy with ministers, undertaking sifting, carrying out interviews in line with the advertised criteria and deciding objectively who meets the published selection criteria for the role before recommending to ministers which candidates they find appointable. It is then for the minister to decide who to appoint to the role.

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.

In addition, legislation related to NHS England sets out how individuals are disqualified from appointment as an NHS England NED, if they are:

·         A member of the House of Commons

·         A Chair or Non-executive Director of an NHS Trust

·         The Chair or a Non-officer member of the NHS Business Services Authority, NHS Resolution, or the NHS Counter Fraud Authority

The above is only intended to act as a summary and you should consider the full legislation, which is attached for your ease at Annex A of the candidate information pack.

When sending your application online, you will be asked to confirm that the information you have provided is true and correct and that you are eligible to apply for a public appointment.  As part of this, you will also confirm that you have read any disqualification criteria for the role, and that you are willing to stand down from any other role/s in order to take up appointment.  If you are currently disqualified from appointment, please provide further details in your supporting letter.

For further advice please contact Daniel Clemence via Daniel.Clemence@dhsc.gov.uk

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)

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to undertake Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks in line with the Civil Service guidelines. Additional Security Clearance may also be required for certain roles. However, where this applies, candidates will be notified during the appointment process. Further information on National Security Vetting can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

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

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 employing people with a disability. The scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people. 

As part of implementing the scheme, we guarantee an interview for anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role, set out in the advert, 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. By ‘minimum criteria,’ we mean that you must provide evidence which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as set out in the job-advert.

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 common changes 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 selection / interview process in advance 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. These are:

1. Selflessness - Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
2. Integrity - Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
3. Objectivity - Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
4. Accountability - Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
5. Openness - Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
6. Honesty - Holders of public office should be truthful.
7. Leadership - Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

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 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

As this is an office holder appointment, you will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.

Appointment and tenure of office

Appointments are for the term set out in this advert, with the possibility of re-appointment for a further term, at the discretion of Ministers.  Any re-appointment is subject to satisfactory annual appraisals of performance during the first term in the post. There is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits, taking into account a number of factors including, but not restricted to, the diversity of the current board and its balance of skills and experience. In most cases, the total time served in post will not exceed more than two terms or serve in any one post for more than ten years

Remuneration, allowances and abatement

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

You can claim reimbursement for reasonable travel and subsistence costs 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. However these payments are taxable as earnings and will be subject to tax and national insurance, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.  

Pension and redundancy

This is an office holder appointment and does not attract any benefits under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. You will not be eligible for redundancy pay as you are not an employee. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon the end of your term of appointment because an office holder who is appointed for a limited duration would have no expectation of serving beyond that period.

Application feedback

We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that we are only able to offer detailed 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 the DHSC ALB public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at Appointments.Team@dhsc.gov.uk who 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.

Contact details

For further information regarding NHS England or the role of a NED please contact:

Jason Yiannikkou 

Tel: 020 7210 4386

Email: Jason.Yiannikkou@dhsc.gov.uk   

Attachments

• Candidate information pack