Non Executive Director

Cumbria,-Northumberland,-Tyne-and-Wear-Nhs-Foundation-Trust; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 12,000 - 15,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Lease cars

Childcare schemes

Staff discounts

Season tickets for travel

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust is seeking two new Non-Executive Directors. The roles require independent thinking, constructive challenge and strong judgement to strengthen the Board’s expertise in governance, NHS environment, primary and social care.

Successful candidates will join a values-driven, inclusive board, with commitments to service users and carers. Closing date is 6 November 2026, with interviews in December 2026 and DBS considerations.

Qualifications

• Experience at board level in a large organisation.
• Ability to governance, strategy formulation, change management and financial oversight.
• Ability to engage with service users, carers and partners across sectors.

Responsibilities

• Provide independent challenge and sound judgement to the Board.
• Contribute to shaping the Trust’s strategy and priorities.
• Represent the Trust at regional and national levels.
• Promote NHS values and inclusive culture.

Skills

Board governance

Independent thinking

Challenge/Questioning

Strategic leadership

Public sector experience

Job description

Main area Mental Health Grade Local Pay Contract Fixed term: 3 years (4 days per month) Hours Part time - 7.5 hours per week (4 days per month) Job ref 263-NED-2026

Employer Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site St Nicholas Hospital Town Newcastle upon Tyne Salary Remuneration £13,500 per annum Closing 06/11/2026 23:59

Non Executive Director

Local Pay

Hello!

We are so delighted you are considering coming to work with us at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW).

We know the power of looking into an organisation, one you might want to work in, or one where you are going to get help, and being able to say, 'I've seen somewhere I can fit in and be myself.' We're on a journey to make the Trust an inclusive employer, representative of the community we serve and we want more of our community to consider applying for jobs with us.

Opportunities for you

Spanning east to west coasts from Northumberland to Cumbria and from the Scottish Borders down to Middlesbrough we've got exciting new opportunities available at every level and in every area.

We offer flexible working, helping work fit around family and caring responsibilities, or training and development needs and there's lots on offer in the way of benefits, such as, lease cars, childcare schemes, staff discounts, season tickets for travel and a cycle to work scheme. All this in a vibrant workplace supported by the following staff networks.

• Cultural diversity staff network
• Disabled staff network
• LGBT+ staff network

We also have a number of staff support groups which are open to any staff to attend. These Include:

• Armed Forces and Veterans Staff Network
• Mind, Health and Wellbeing Community
• Menopause toolkit and cafes and staff carer support group

We offer fantastic personal development opportunities through our Collective Leadership Programme and other Organisational Development initiatives. Whatever you are looking for, you will be joining a supportive, friendly team, offering varied and interesting roles, with opportunities for career progression.

We're always seeking to improve as an organisation. Do you want to be part of that?

Please note that it is a requirement of this Trust that all external applicants pay for their own DBS certification if a DBS check is required for the post. The method of payment is a salary deduction from your first monthly pay

Job overview

Thank you for your interest in joining Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust as a Non-Executive Director.

This is an important time for our Trust and for the wider NHS. We are working in a challenging environment, with significant changes taking place across health and care. At the same time, we have a real opportunity to think differently, strengthen our partnerships and continue improving the care and support we provide to the communities we serve.

We are seeking two new Non-Executive Directors who will bring independent thinking, constructive challenge and sound judgement to our Board. Across the two appointments, we are looking to strengthen the Board’s collective expertise in:

• Medical or clinical leadership and practice.
• The NHS and the wider health and care environment.
• Primary care or social care.
• Organisational development and culture.

These areas of expertise are important, but they are not the whole of what we are looking for. How you work, the values you bring and your commitment to the people we serve will matter just as much. Our values are simple but fundamental: we are caring and compassionate; respectful; honest and transparent. We want Board members who will live those values, keep service users and carers at the heart of their thinking, listen to different perspectives and help create an inclusive culture in which people feel valued and able to speak openly.

Main duties of the job

We particularly welcome applications from people whose backgrounds, perspectives and lived experiences will broaden the thinking of our Board and help us better reflect and understand the diverse communities we serve.

If you share our values and feel your experience could help us meet the challenges and opportunities ahead, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Darren Best
Chair, Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust

You can also view a video from Darren telling you a little bit more about the role here

Closing date for applications: 6th November 2026

Interviews will be held over two days during week commencing 7th December 2026

Please note: successful candidates will be subject to the NHS England Fit and Proper Person Test Framework requirements NHS England » NHS England Fit and Proper Person Test Framework for board members

Working for our organisation

You will need to be comfortable working as part of a unitary Board, sharing collective responsibility for the Trust’s decisions and performance. You must be able to offer robust but constructive challenge, work collaboratively with Executive and Non-Executive colleagues, and recognise that no organisation can meet the needs of its communities on its own.

We aim to attract and retain a diverse, talented and committed workforce, who are caring and compassionate, and therefore able to meet the demands of the modern NHS now and in the future. In return we can offer a dynamic working environment in which to build a career.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Person specification

Background and experience

• Empathy, compassion and an understanding of the complex challenges of mental health and disability issues
• Board level experience in a large organisation whether gained in the private, public, or voluntary sector, well respected with strong reputation in their chosen field.
• A good knowledge and experience of corporate governance, strategy formulation, change management and financial management
• Politically astute, able to grasp relevant issues and understand the relationships between interested parties.
• Excellent partnership and relationship management skills; a good understanding of public and voluntary sector organisations
• Accustomed to being held to a high level of accountability and experienced in holding others to account
• Ability to understand and accept the legal duties and liabilities of Non- Executive Directors and the regulatory framework in which the NHS operates.
• Experience of leading and delivering transformational change in an open and inclusive way, with a natural ability to communicate with service users and carers, communities and colleagues as well as managing complex political environments
• Experience of effective joint working with other statutory, third sector or private sector organizations
• Qualified to be a member of the CNTW NHS FT (please refer to the Eligibility section of the recruitment website

Attributes, personal qualities and values

• Commitment to continuously improving outcomes, tackling health inequalities, and delivering the best value for money for the taxpayer
• Commitment to upholding, the NHS principles and values outlined in the NHS Constitution
• Commitment to ensuring that the organisation values diversity, and promotes equality and inclusivity in all aspects of their business
• Commitment to promoting integration where this is in the patients' best interest
• Committed to 'system working', partnering across organisations to deliver on key priorities set out in NHS Long Term Plan
• An effective decision maker who leads by example and can take others with them
• Flexible and adaptable in approach, enabling him/her to respond to the situation accordingly
• Strategic thinker with the ability to communicate a vision and engage followership
• Personal integrity and commitment to openness
• Independent in judgement
• Commitment to the NHS, CNTW and other partners within the system for the benefit of health services and the wider population
• Exceptional engagement skills; and able to communicate well with a range of people including staff and service users.
• Strong inter-personal skills to contribute to discussions to achieve common goals
• Ability to represent the Trust at regional and national levels
• Able to weigh up arguments and summarise key issues
• Commitment to NHS values and principles; understands aims of NHS Foundation Trusts; and demonstrates understanding of role of Governors.
• Ability to contribute to the development of a strong organisational values-driven culture.
• Demonstrates an ability to work effectively and with sound judgement in a highly complex and dynamic environment
• The ability to develop, with service users, carers, colleagues and partners a clear and compelling organisational narrative that describes the future strategy of the Trust, and to communicate this narrative and progress to a wide range of audiences
• The ability to communicate complex health and care issues in laypersons language at public meetings.
• Understand and analyse complex issues, drawing on the breadth of data that needs to inform the Trust’s deliberations and decision-making; and the wisdom to ensure that it is used ethically to balance competing priorities and make difficult decisions.
• The ability to influence and persuade others articulating a well-founded view and to engage in constructive debate without being adversarial or losing respect and goodwill
• The ability to take an objective view, seeing issues from all perspectives and especially external and service user and carer perspectives
• Capability to work across organisational boundaries

Leadership

• Contribute to setting the direction and strategy and aspirations of the Trust and act in a manner consistent with its values
• Create a compelling vision for the future and communicate this within and across organisations
• Work with others in teams and networks and engage, listen, and involve service users, carers and communities to provide services with a view to continuous improvement
• Demonstrate resilience, independence of thought, emotional intelligence, the ability to work through conflict and ambiguity and the ability to demonstrate a range of leadership styles to secure results
• A level of political astuteness with highly developed skills in engaging and influencing
• Demonstrate presence and engage people by the way they communicate, behave, and interact with others

Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment. Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Name Debbie Henderson Job title Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs Email address [email protected]

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