Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.

At any one time, around 23,000 people in Norfolk and Suffolk are receiving care and attention from the Trust. We believe in whole life care - seeing people in the context of their whole lives, understanding the importance of good physical health, friends, family, spirituality, culture, home, work, education and a sense of purpose and achievement to experience good mental health.

Nearly 3,800 full and part-time practitioners care for our service users in hospitals, in the community and in their own homes, whilst an additional 1,400+ staff provide non-clinical support, including cleaning, catering, delivering supplies, ward administration, information technology, human resources and financial services.

We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience.

We are committed to delivering quality driven mental health services. Every individual makes a valuable contribution. We are proud of our staff who have been commended for the care they provide. Do you value working positively, respectfully and together? If so, we’d love you to join us!

We will consider flexible working arrangements for our roles, please indicate in your application if this is something you require

JOB DESCRIPTION/PERSON SPECIFICATION
Please read the job description/person specification carefully and ensure your application reflects the knowledge, skills and experience needed.

YOUR APPLICATION
It is important that you complete a formal application form as CV’s alone will not be accepted.

We can provide all our job application materials in alternative formats so that these are accessible to everyone. Should you require any documents within this job pack in an alternative format, please do not hesitate to contact us at recruitment@nsft.nhs.uk.

PLEASE NOTE: If you use a hotmail, msn or yahoo e-mail account, you will need to check your "junk" mail regularly as these email providers will divert any communication from this Trust/NHS JOBS straight into your " junk" inbox.

Job overview

We are seeking an experienced Chief Executive Officer to join our Trust Board and to lead the delivery of our Trust strategy and transformation programme. This is a pivotal role for Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT). We are looking for someone as passionate as we are about improving our care and services to deliver the very best outcomes for people with mental disorder and learning disabilities.

Our Trust has a workforce of over 5,000 hardworking, committed, and dedicated staff, but we have struggled for many years to provide the quality of care that our service users and carers deserve. We are working to build trust and confidence with the communities we serve and our partners. There is, however, much to be proud of with positive signs of improvement. Our CQC rating improved in the most recent inspection report published in February 2023, moving from ‘inadequate’ to ‘requires improvement’ and a rating of ‘good for caring’ overall. We are at an early stage in our improvement and transformation journey and whilst this is an indication we are able to change and improve our services, we still have much more to do. The launch of five new localities in the new year is a key step towards transforming the way in which we work and provide care.

Main duties of the job

This role will be rewarding and challenging in equal measure. You will provide strategic and visionary leadership across our Trust and will be able to demonstrate that you are an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a proven track record in transformation.

We want our Trust Board to provide a broad spectrum of lived experience and are keen to attract candidates who can bring diverse perspectives. We welcome expressions of interest from the widest possible range of backgrounds, particularly those who are under-represented at Board level in the NHS.

Working for our organisation

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you’ll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We’re an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Interviews will be held on 17th December 2024 with stakeholder panels on 16th December 2024

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Degree level education or equivalent professional qualification/ experience relevant to the role
Evidence of continuous personal and professional development
Lived experience and/or deep interest in mental health

Experience

Essential criteria

Experienced Director - substantial demonstrable experience of working as Board-level Director in a complex environment and delivering operational excellence with a focus on continuous improvement
Substantial demonstrable experience of delivering transformative and cultural change A track record of delivering excellence and best practice with demonstrable commitment to patients and their quality of care
Previous experience as a CEO is desirable, as is experience of working with national mental health forums and providing clinical expertise at a national level

Skills

Essential criteria

Being able to work with a high tolerance for ambiguity and the resilience and intellectual ability to quickly adapt to complexity in the context of whole system transformation
The steward of exemplary governance and legal obligations – resilient, with a clear understanding of duties of the Chief Executive in the NHS and knowledge of effective governance and assurance processes, with experience of ensuring an effective framework is in place to deliver and provide assurance to the Board.
Business and financial acumen, spirit and willingness to take calculated risks to find innovative solutions whilst upholding patient safety and business continuity at all times

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.

As a part of the Disability Confident Employer Guaranteed Interview Scheme we interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job vacancy (outlined in the Person Specification).. We encourage you to indicate your eligibility through TRAC jobs when applying.

DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE CHECK (formerly CRB)
FOR POSTS WITH DIRECT SERVICE USER CONTACT - Please be advised that due to recent changes in the DBS Service, organisations no longer receive copies of DBS Disclosures – these are sent directly to candidates only. Therefore, it will be your responsibility, if successful, to ensure that this is taken to the appointing officer as soon as you receive it.

Alternatively, if you have subscribed to the update service, we will be able to check your status once we have your authority to do so.

The Trust has now introduced a DBS Update Service which is a contractual requirement. You need to subscribe when you have applied for your DBS clearance and there is a time limit to subscribe of 19 days after receipt of your DBS disclosure. Please ensure that this is completed within the set time scale.

This update service is an annual subscription at a cost of £13 to you. This will enable the Trust to have instant online access to your DBS record, with your consent, and so will remove the need for you to have to apply for this repeat check again.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation Trust jobs

Chief Executive Officer