Appointment details

Chair of NHS England

Summary

• Organisation: NHS England
• Sponsor department: Department of Health and Social Care
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Health and Social Care
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 3 day(s) per week
• Remuneration: £63000 per annum
• Length of term: Ministers will determine the length of the appointment, which will be up to 4 years.
• Application deadline: Midday on 6 January 2025

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   6 December 2024

2. Application deadline

   Midday on 6 January 2025

3. Sifting date

   14 January 2025

4. Interviews expected to end on

   31 January 2025

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Appointment description

NHS England shares responsibility with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 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.

NHS England is responsible or arranging the provision of health services and for more than £186 billion of funds.

The Chair will play a crucial role in supporting and holding the organisation to account to deliver improvements in patients’ care, value for money and broader health reforms, including the Government’s three shifts (from analogue to digital, hospital to community and from sickness to prevention), and while also ensuring financial sustainability.

The Chair will ensure NHS England’s strategic direction is aligned to wider Government health and social care policy and the wider missions of the Government – including the growth mission. The Chair will also ensure that the NHS England Board is accountable to the Secretary of State, Parliament and ultimately patients and the public, for organisational performance.

In delivering these responsibilities, the Chair will be required to: 

• Provide strong leadership and accountability to:

- ensure NHS England’s strategic direction is aligned to wider Government health and social care policy and the wider missions of the Government – including the growth mission;

- support delivery of the three shifts – from analogue to digital, treatment to prevention and hospital to community.

• Provide oversight and scrutiny of organisational performance, holding the executive to account against clear performance goals. In so doing, promote innovation and efficiency; ensure high standards of corporate governance, ensure all operational commitments are met and that the right financial balance is struck throughout.

• Work with Chief Executive to drive continuous improvement in the capability, efficiency and effectiveness of NHS England as an organisation.

• Work with the Chief Executive, maintain effective working relations with Ministers and senior Government officials, ensuring reporting requirements are met and that there is an open book approach to sharing information that enables Ministers to fulfil their statutory duties to Parliament and the Public. Lead and champion the ‘one team’ approach between NHS England and the Department.

• Chair board meetings and provide leadership and strategic oversight to the Board; ensuring the board’s decision-making processes and affairs are conducted with probity and that the Board discharges its duties effectively.

• Participate actively as either the Chair or a member of the statutory and regulatory committees which support the delivery and oversight objectives of the Board.

• Provide counsel, advice and support to the Executive team and the Chief Executive in particular, playing the role of mentor/coach, “critical friend” and where necessary acting as a sounding board for potential proposals and ideas.

• Be responsible for the annual performance assessments of the Chief Executive and the Board’s Non-Executive Directors, and the continuous development of the wider Board’s capability, ensuring it has the right balance of skills and experience. 

• Along with other Board members, represent the Board in the public arena and establish productive relationships with key stakeholders, including chairing Board-to-Board engagement with regulated bodies, those who represent patients and the public, and including partners in the social care sector, who are crucial to providing integrated care for patients. Likewise, maintain strong relationships with key private sector stakeholders who provide valuable NHS services, and actively support the NHS to contribute to the growth mission.

• Be a role model for leading cultural changes that will transform and improve the quality and efficiency of patient services and that will champion the Our NHS People promise for the NHS to become the best place of work for all.

Organisation description

NHS England (NHSE) shares responsibility with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 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 is responsible for arranging the provision of health services and for more than £186 billion of funds.

The Government sets out its priorities for NHSE in a statutory mandate. The Secretary of State has a legal duty to keep NHSE’s performance against the mandate under review and publish an assessment of its overall performance annually.

The Government has decided that NHSE and the Department will increasingly work as ‘one team’ and this will be reflected in both the working practices of staff and the leadership expectations of the Chair and others.  While the organisations will remain distinct legal entities, collaborative working will be the default approach. 

This will support NHS England in its work to address both the near-term challenges of performance recovery and the longer-term challenges which will be the focus of the forthcoming Ten Year Plan. 

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, additional public health functions were conferred upon NHSE following the abolition of Public Health England.

Board composition

Board meetings are mainly held in London, but the Chair will travel for meetings and visits across England.

NHS England

Wellington House,

133-155 Waterloo Rd,

London

SE1 8UG

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

• Strong strategic leadership skills, with a significant record of achievement and of leading change and reform at the highest levels. 

• Deep experience of leadership in the NHS or the wider health and care system and an understanding of the challenges faced.

• An understanding of the contribution local authorities make to delivering positive health outcomes. 

• Ability to lead the board of a major national organisation, delivering robust governance and accountability, and developing executive and board performance. 

• Excellent communicator, with an ability to collaborate effectively with others to drive change in a large, complex system. 

• Committed to improving health and care outcomes for patients and the public, with an understanding of the strategic challenges and opportunities to deliver improvements.

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 Rachael Gingell on rachael.gingell@dhsc.gov.uk or 0207 484 9424. 

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:

• Matthew Style, DHSC Director General, Secondary Care & Integration, as panel chair

• Dame Jane Dacre, Emeritus Professor of Medical Education, University College London

• Louise Ansari, Chief Executive of Healthwatch England

• Libby Watkins, as the Senior Independent Panel Member (SIPM)

The SIPM is independent of both the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. As required by the Governance Code for Public Appointments, we have consulted the Commissioner for Public Appointments on the choice of SIPM for the panel and he was content.

Pre-appointment scrutiny

Pre-appointment scrutiny by select committees is an important part of the process for some of the most significant public appointments made by Ministers. It is designed to provide an added level of scrutiny to verify that the recruitment meets the principles set out in the Governance Code on Public Appointments. This scrutiny may involve the relevant select committee requesting and reviewing information from the Department and the Minister’s preferred candidate. The select committee may also choose to hold a pre-appointment hearing.

If you are confirmed as the government’s preferred candidate for this role, the department will be in touch to confirm next steps. In most cases your name and CV will be provided to the relevant select committee in advance of the hearing.  Following a date being agreed for a pre-appointment hearing with the committee you will be asked to complete a questionnaire in advance of that. Following the hearing, the government will review and respond to the Committee’s report before confirming the appointment. 

Full information can be found in the Cabinet Office’s guidance here. 

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 rachael.gingell@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.

The Department of Health and Social Care also requires all those appointed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to public appointments, to be a fit and proper person, comparable with the requirements placed on board members in the NHS. As such, the successful candidate will be required to undertake security checks to ensure that you meet these requirements. For more information see the Candidate information pack.  

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 ‘essential 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

The Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works as a public office-holder.

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 ten years in any one post. 

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 Permjeet Butler on the public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at permjeet.butler@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.

Contact details

For further information regarding the role of NHS England and the role of Chair please contact: 

Jason Yiannikkou, DHSC Director, System Oversight and Integration

Tel:  0207 210 4386

Email: jasonyiannikkou@dhsc.gov.uk

Attachments

• NHSE Chair Candidate Pack