Non-Executive Director (Audit Chair)
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Remuneration: £13,000
Commitment: Circa 4 days per month

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT) provides hospital and community healthcare services to people mainly in the west of Suffolk and is an associate teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge. We serve a predominantly rural geographical area and population of around 280,000.

The main catchment area for the Trust extends to Thetford in the north, Sudbury in the south, Newmarket to the west and Stowmarket to the east. Whilst mainly serving the population of Suffolk, WSFT also provides care for parts of the neighbouring counties of Essex, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

In Suffolk and North East Essex, the NHS, general practice and local government are working in collaboration to develop an integrated care system (ICS). The ICS provides a unified approach and plan to improving the health and care of our local people. This partnership includes local NHS organisations including the ambulance service, local government, other health sector bodies, local hospices and community and voluntary sector organisations.

This is an extremely challenging time for all NHS organisations and our Trust is no exception. The Health Service nationally is seeing unprecedented demand, while being asked to deliver increased efficiencies. In addition to this, we are also responding to the ongoing pressures and challenges presented by COVID-19.

All within our Trust appreciate the scale of the task ahead. Our most recent CQC report has given the Trust a rating of 'Requires Improvement'. We have listened to the concerns raised by the CQC and we have put in place robust plans to address these issues. As a Board we are resolute in our commitment to providing the highest quality services to our community.

Despite the disappointment of our recent rating our Trust still has much to be proud of. We have a long history of good operational and financial performance, with many of our services and innovations having received national recognition. The CQC rates our Trust 'Good' overall for being 'Effective' and 'Caring' and they found our staff 'treated patients with compassion and kindness' and that we 'promoted an open culture' with 'visible and approachable' leaders.

We are currently embarking on a programme of cultural transformation at WSFT. We have worked with and listened to our staff to develop our new 'People Plan'. This plan will underpin the transformation as we move towards establishing a more just, compassionate and inclusive culture.

WSFT has also recently been confirmed as one of 40 NHS Trusts across the country to receive funding for new build projects from the government's Health Infrastructure Programme. As a result, we are currently progressing the construction of a new West Suffolk Health and Care facility. In building a new facility, we want to ensure that we provide the people of West Suffolk with a state of the art, twenty first century facility.

We are confident that we have the right foundations to allow us to respond to the challenges and the changes we need to make, but we are under no illusion about the commitment that will be required. It is within this context that we now embark on the process to appoint a Non-Executive Director and Audit Chair to our Trust Board.

We will be looking for a high calibre individual with the skills, experience, and drive to support us in our response to these challenges and on our continued journey. In addition to playing an active role within WSFT, you will play a leading role across the wider system, collaborating with our partners to enable the effective integration of services and improved outcomes for the people of West Suffolk.

As a candidate of interest, you will have significant knowledge and understanding of financial governance and risk, with senior level experience gained within a complex organisation. You will be able to work effectively with Board colleagues and contribute to a broad agenda.

To reflect our ambition of becoming a more inclusive organisation, we are committed to ensuring our Board and leadership team are more representative of our wider workforce. As a result, we particularly encourage and welcome applications from those from underrepresented groups, or with protected characteristics.

If you have the experience and credentials outlined above, we welcome your interest and look forward to receiving your application.

In line with the Trust's Public Constituency, applications will be open to all eligible members of the public who live in our membership area.

Application closing date: Sunday, February 14
Shortlisting Interviews: w/c 1st March
Trust Interviews: w/c 22nd March

Please be advised, due to the ongoing situation and measures relating to Covid-19, interview dates and format will be confirmed later in the process.

For further information or a discussion relating to this appointment or the recruitment process, please contact our recruitment partner Joe Joyce at The Finegreen Group on (url removed) quoting reference WSFT-NED or call (phone number removed)