Lead and transform the National Health Service to address the population’s health needs through system integration and digital transformation.

The NHS has faced its greatest challenge over the past year, with Covid-19 materially impacting and changing the service. The NHS is now at a pivotal point, with the need to support the workforce, reduce bureaucracy, embrace technology, and embed the innovative ways of working adopted during the pandemic. The success of the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out has demonstrated the remarkable agility, resilience and capability of the entire service and its people. This platform is one that sets out the direction for the transformation required over the next few years, delivering the NHS Long Term Plan, including addressing the health inequalities inherent within the system and highlighted through the pandemic. Further integration of care has allowed more people to see the benefits of joined-up care between GPs, social care, community health services, hospitals and mental health services. The adoption of digital technology is also transforming the service so that all clinical pathways and ways of working can take full advantage of digital and technology advances.

Against this backdrop, the Board of NHS England now wishes to identify a successor to Sir Simon Stevens as Chief Executive of the NHS.

This is a unique role. The Chief Executive will lead a strong team of experienced executives and is highly visible as the head of the largest free at the point of delivery health system in the world. They will be jointly accountable to the Board of NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care, and to Parliament for the delivery of services worth c.£150bn (2021/22).

The role will focus on five priorities:

• Doing things differently: striving towards a truly integrated system, giving people more control over their own health and the care they receive; encouraging more collaboration between service providers; implementing integrated care systems as the bedrock of the future NHS; delivering the best possible care, with different parts of the NHS joining up better; and the NHS and local government forming dynamic partnerships to address some of society’s most complex health problems.
• Preventing illness and tackling health inequalities: the NHS will increase its contribution and joint working with colleagues in local government and elsewhere to tackle some of the most significant causes of ill health, reduce health inequalities and support people to live longer, healthier and more independent lives and work more closely at a local place and system level. Proportionate national legislative intervention on public health measures must also play its part.
• Backing the NHS’s workforce: supporting the workforce by creating the flexibility NHS organisations need; removing the barriers that prevent them from working together and enabling them to arrange services and provide joined up care in the interests of service users; continuing to increase the NHS workforce by implementing the People Plan, training and recruiting more professionals, and making the NHS a better place to work, so more staff stay in the NHS and feel able to make better use of their skills and experience for patients.
• Making better use of data and digital technology: embedding integration through more effective data sharing across the health and care system, in order to enable the digital transformation of care pathways; providing more convenient access to services and health information for patients.
• Getting the most out of taxpayers’ investment in the NHS: continuing to work to reduce duplication in how clinical services are delivered and decrease spend on administration.
• In the short term, the NHS is focused on recovery from the backlog of elective activity caused by the pandemic. A key aspect of this recovery is the strong focus on looking after the NHS’s people. The Chief Executive will lead the transformation across the whole NHS, and focus on its people, ensuring that everyone recognises that they must continue to look after each other and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, as well as taking action to grow the workforce, train the NHS’s people, and work together differently to deliver patient care.

Candidates will be proven chief executives, with an exceptional record of leading major system integration and digital transformation, at scale. Whilst a background in delivering health services is clearly relevant, the Board of the NHS is interested in candidates from a wider range of consumer-facing sectors. The ability to operate in a highly complex environment with multiple stakeholders is essential, along with a track record of building high performing inclusive teams and of developing diverse talent. A high degree of resilience, the ability to deal with ambiguity, and excellent communication skills are all essential attributes.

The closing date for applications is midnight, Monday 14^th June.

The NHS is committed to a personal, fair and diverse health and care system and welcomes applications from all candidates.

NHS England has retained Russell Reynolds Associates to advise on this appointment. For further information about the position and the terms and conditions of service, including how to apply, please visit: click Apply button below.