Chair
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Job summary
South Western Ambulance NHS Foundation Trust is seeking to recruit a Chair who will continue to develop the Trust's external relationships, provide excellent support and challenge to the organisation and lead the Board of Directors and Council of Governors to ensure the continued success of the Trust both for the patients we serve and our colleagues. The post is being advertised and the appointment will be considered by the Trust's Council of Governors, following a formal selection process.
The Chair has a unique role in leading the Board of Directors and Council of Governors. The role combines the duty to lead effective governance, consistent with the Nolan principles and NHS values, with securing a long-term vision and strategy for the organisation.
Main duties of the job
The Chair is responsible for the effective leadership of the Board and the Council of Governors. They are pivotal in creating the conditions necessary for overall Board and individual director effectiveness.
Central to the Chair's role are five key responsibilities:
- Strategic
- People
- Professional acumen
- Outcomes focus
- Partnership
The relationship between the Chair and the Trust's Chief Executive is key to the role's success. To carry out their role effectively, the Chair must cultivate a strong, collaborative relationship with the Chief Executive. Many responsibilities in this role description will be discharged in partnership with the Chief Executive. It is important the Chair and the Chief Executive are clear about their individual and shared roles, and their respective responsibilities towards the unitary Board.
Together, the Chair and the Chief Executive set the tone for the whole organisation. They are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the population the Trust serves and the wider system in which the organisation sits receive the best possible care in a sustainable way
About us
Working for us is an experience like no other. We provide emergency and urgent care, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, operating across the largest ambulance region in England of 10,000 square miles and responding to an average of 2,650 incidents every day.
We remain committed to ensuring that we provide the best possible care for all our patients, which is reflected in our new five-year strategy which has continually improving patient care at its very core.
At the heart of our beautiful and diverse region we employ over 6000 people and are supported by over 575 volunteers.
If you embody our values of one team, compassionate and innovative and are looking to make a real difference to peoples' lives, then we would love to hear from you.
Job description
Job responsibilities
For further details on the role, application progress and job description please read attached information pack.
Person Specification
Values
Essential:
- A clear commitment to demonstrate and uphold the NHS and the Trust's values and principles
Strategic
Essential:
- Experience of leading and delivering against long-term vision and strategy.
- Experience leading transformational change, managing complex organisations, budgets and people.
People
Essential:
- Strong interpersonal, communication and leadership skills
- Experience of building effective teams, encouraging change and innovation and shaping an open, inclusive, and compassionate culture through setting the right tone at the top and championing diversity at, and across, all levels
- Strongly focused on the experience of all staff and patients
- Fully attentive towards issues of equality, diversity, and inclusion
Professional Acumen
Essential:
- Prior Board experience (any sector, Executive or Non-Executive role)
- Prior experience as a Non-Executive Director (any sector)
- Evidence of successfully demonstrating the NHS provider chair competencies in other leadership roles
- An ability to identify and address issues, including underperformance, and to scrutinise and challenge information effectively for assurance
Outcome Focus
Essential:
- A demonstrable interest in health and social care and a strong desire to achieve the best sustainable outcomes for all patients and service users through encouraging continuous improvement, clinical excellence, and value for money
- Strong understanding of financial management, with the ability to balance the competing objectives of quality, operational performance, and finance
- An appreciation of constitutional and regulatory NHS standards
Partnerships
Essential:
- A desire to engage with the local population and to collaborate with senior stakeholders across the health and care system
- Experience managing conflict, finding compromise, and building consensus across varied stakeholder groups with potentially conflicting priorities
Desirable experience
Desirable:
- Prior experience on an NHS Board (Executive, Non-Executive, or associate role)
- Professional qualification or equivalent experience
- Prior senior experience of complex organisations outside the NHS, i.e. private, voluntary, or other public sector providers of similar scale
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
