Appointment details

Non-Executive Director - National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Summary

• Organisation: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
• Sponsor department: Department of Health and Social Care
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Health and Social Care
• Skills: Communication
• Number of vacancies: 3
• Time commitment: 2 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: Midday on 2 January 2025

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   22 November 2024

2. Application deadline

   Midday on 2 January 2025

3. Sifting date

   5 February 2025

4. Interviews expected to end on

   7 March 2025

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Introduction

Dear Candidate, 

Thank you for expressing an interest in the Non-Executive Director roles on the NICE Board. 

Since NICE was established in 1999, we’ve delivered vast amounts of guidance. More than many other health technology assessment bodies across the globe. But health and care has changed rapidly since we were created. Digital health technologies, with the potential to transform healthcare, are constantly emerging. Evidence-based healthcare is evolving. The amount of health and care data has grown exponentially, and the healthcare system is facing unprecedented workforce and capacity pressures. 

The life sciences sector is a jewel in our country’s crown that stretches from world leading research in our universities and institutes to a flourishing industrial sector encompassing drugs, devices, diagnostics, med-tech, data and more. To help practitioners and commissioners get the best care to patients fast, while ensuring value for the taxpayer, we must work with our partners in the health and social care system to support this sector as we actively contribute to the Government’s health and economic growth missions, so that advances for patients in the future can be assured. 

We're therefore taking measures to adapt and our Board has a central role in successfully implementing our vision for change.

We are continuing to ensure we maintain our independence, transparency and rigour, but are focusing on improving the relevance, timeliness, usability, and demonstrable impact of our guidance as we evolve our priorities and approach to meet the changing needs of our users and the emerging 10 year NHS Plan. 

We will deliver these aims by:

• Providing high quality, timely advice, including in key areas of new innovation. We are seeking to improve the time taken to develop and update our guidance by aligning and digitising our guidance producing processes and introducing continuous improvement methods. We are exploring opportunities to improve our assessment of value in areas such as health inequalities and piloting ways to assess value in the late stage of the innovation lifecycle.

• Ensuring our advice is relevant to people and communities and the health and care system, by prioritising topics for NICE guidance through criteria on which we have consulted with the public and agreed with system partners, and sustain the growth in our HealthTech programme, aiming to link it into a seamless pathway from regulation to funding.

• Improving the useability of our advice by incorporating relevant Technology Appraisals about new medicines and HealthTech in our guidelines and making the right advice easier to find. 

• Increasing the impact of our advice by working with partners to increase the uptake of NICE's recommendations and expanding the ways in which people and communities can contribute to our guidance.

The Board will help the organisation to navigate these challenges. To do this, we need individuals with a range of specific technical skills but equally important are an intellectual curiosity, a deep commitment to improving health and care in England and a desire to contribute to collective deliberations that will ensure that NICE is fit for the challenges ahead. 

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

Sharmila Nebhrajani OBE 

Chair of NICE

Appointment description

Ministers are seeking to make 3 appointments to the board of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). 

As a Non-Executive Member, you will:

• contribute to the development of the Institute’s objectives, ensuring that they are appropriately reflected in its plans, and assist in monitoring progress towards meeting these objectives

• contribute to the governance of the Institute by ensuring that the Institute’s senior management team is held to account for the performance of the organisation, and help ensure that the Institute meets the highest possible standards in its conduct

• provide counsel, advice and support to the executive team, playing the role of ‘critical friend’ where necessary.  Draw to the attention of the Chair or the Chief Executive any matters that may adversely affect the Institute’s reputation

• with other members of the Board, ensure the establishment and maintenance of good working relationships with NICE’s key stakeholders and, when required, act as an ambassador for the Institute to its stakeholders

• sit alongside 4 independent panel members to hear 1-2 appeals against NICE’s technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies guidance each year

• when required, act as a member of one or more of the Board’s sub-committees (Audit, Remuneration) and, as required, take part in the appointment of the Chief Executive and other Directors.

Organisation description

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an executive non-departmental public body that works to improve the quality, sustainability and productivity of health and social care. NICE helps practitioners and commissioners get the best care to people fast, while ensuring value for the taxpayer. 

To deliver its purpose, NICE produces high quality guidance that is timely, relevant, useable and impactful. Since its establishment in 1999, NICE has developed a reputation as a leader in evidence-based health and social care policy, assessment and decision making for the nation and across the world. 

NICE assesses the cost effectiveness of most new medicines through its technology appraisal programme and operates a separate highly specialised technologies programme for the evaluation of a small number of very high-cost drugs for rare diseases. The NHS is legally required to fund drugs recommended by NICE. 

In 2023/24, NICE published or updated 188 pieces of high-quality guidance across all of its programmes It also has a significant portfolio of over 300 guidelines across clinical, public health, and social care. 

NICE has a key role in supporting Government priorities for the health and care system and is a key partner in the development of the Government’s 10-year plan to radically reform the NHS. It works with the Government and organisations such as NHS England, MHRA and NIHR to support patient access to effective new treatments and ensure the UK remains an attractive place for the life sciences industry. 

NICE’s remit across health care, public health and social care means it is well placed to provide a system-wide perspective at the national, regional and local levels, including supporting the Integrated Care Systems. Its work is high-profile and is of significant public, media and Parliamentary interest. Further information on NICE and its portfolio of work can be found here: https://www.nice.org.uk/  

NICE’s offices are currently located in Stratford (London) and Manchester, and NICE’s total funding for 2023/24 was £88m. The current whole-time equivalent workforce is 815.

Useful links:

Board | Who we are | About | NICE

Policies and procedures | Who we are | About | NICE

standing-orders.docx

Board composition

Main office:

2nd Floor, 2 Redman Place

London

E20 1JQ

NICE hold 6 board meetings a year. They are open to the public and held in different locations across the country. Upcoming meetings are scheduled for:

Wednesday 19 March 2025

Public board meetings | Board | Who we are | About | NICE

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

• an ability to contribute effectively on the board of a high-profile, national organisation – supporting its strategic development, and providing scrutiny, support and challenge to the executive team

• sound judgement, based on an ability to consider complex and often sensitive issues, from an informed and balanced viewpoint

• a high-level understanding of and a commitment to the role of NICE in supporting quality outcomes for patients and service users across the health and social care system in England

• expertise in one or more areas of NICE’s work: health economics, health and care, digital health, medical technology, guidance or publishing

Applications are particularly welcomed from those with a background in one or more of the following areas:

• Health economics 

• Nursing or allied health care professions

• Commissioning, especially through integrated care systems

Application and selection process

How to apply

In order to apply you will need to create an account or sign in on the 'Apply for a public appointment' website.

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

Guidance on what to include in your CV/Supporting Statement and tips for applying can be found in the corresponding sections below and on the public appointment website: Publicappointments - GOV.UK.

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.

You will also be required to make any declarations related to standards in public life and ensuring public confidence in your supporting statement.  Further information on this can be found in the relevant section below. 

If you are unable to create an account and apply online, or if you have any problems submitting your application online, please contact Ben Jones on ben.jones@dhsc.gov.uk. 

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

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. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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)

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.

The panel will include:

• Helen Lovell Deputy Director, Medicine Regulation and Prescribing, DHSC senior sponsor for NICE (panel chair),

• Sharmila Nebhrajani, Chair of NICE (panel member),

• Sir Hugh Taylor Chair of the Board of Governors of the Health Foundation as an 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.

In addition, legislation related to NICE sets out how individuals aredisqualified from appointment as a NICE NED, if they are:

•           Chair, or a non-officer member at the NHS Counter Fraud Authority

•           Chair or a non-officer member at NHS Resolution (formally known as the NHS Litigation Authority)

•           Chair, or a non-officer member at the NHS Business Services Authority; or

•           Chair, or a Non-Executive Director of an NHS Trust.

•           A Member of the House of Commons

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 to this document.

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: Daniel.Clemence@dhsc.gov.uk

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.

If you have any complaints about the way your application has been handled, please contact Ben Jones by emailing Ben.Jones1@dhsc.gov.uk  

If after receiving a comprehensive response from the Department you are still concerned, you can write to the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Please contact:

The Commissioner for Public Appointments

1 Horse Guards Road

London SW1A 2HQ

Tel: 0207 271 8938

Email: publicappointments@csc.gov.uk

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 the role of NICE and the role of a NED please contact:

Name: David Coombs

Email: David.coombs@nice.org.uk  

For any queries about your application status or the selection process, please contact  Daniel Clemence in DHSC’s ALB Public Appointments Team:

Email: Daniel.Clemence@dhsc.gov.uk

Attachments

• Candidate information pack