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Job overview
Chair - Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust | Remunerated for circa 3 days per week
A Rare Opportunity of National Importance
Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is one of the country’s most influential organisations working to improve the health of children and young people.
Sheffield Children’s has been dedicated to providing world class services to children and young people for 150 years; we provide a wide range of integrated healthcare, including community and mental health as well as acute and specialist services to patients locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, with an annual income of circa £350m.
We are rated ‘Good’ by the CQC and have many areas of outstanding practice upon which to build as we deliver our strategy ‘Caring Together’. We are proud of our history and achievements and remain ambitious to build on those foundations, determined to deliver even better care outcomes for the patients and families we serve in the future.
Main duties of the job
Following in Professor Laura Serrant’s footsteps, we are seeking to appoint another inspirational, values-driven Chair who will lead us into a new era. This is an exciting time for a new Chair to join us, as we open The Spark, home to the National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT) at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park with the opportunity for Sheffield Children’s to play an even greater role on local, regional and national platforms.
Our partnerships are strong at a local level and nationally. We also work very closely with Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity to fund things that are over and above standard NHS provision.
Few Board Chair roles nationally will offer such an opportunity to influence the life chances of future generations of children and young people – not just in Sheffield and South Yorkshire, but nationally and internationally through our many specialist services with clinicians considered amongst the best in the world.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
As our new Chair you will have the opportunity to lead a highly capable Board that prides itself on keeping patients at the heart of its decisions and be part of an organisation that is committed to enhancing the health and wellbeing for the millions of people who live in our communities. The successful candidate should demonstrate inspirational leadership qualities gained at board level in organisations of complexity and influence, with the capability to not only lead a board of directors, but to play an important leadership role at system and on a national stage.
We want our Board to be as inclusive and diverse as possible. We encourage applications from individuals who bring lived experience that equips them both for the leadership aspects of the role but also brings an understanding of some of the challenges of our local communities. If you share our values, attitudes and behaviours, please contact us.
If you are unable to apply online, please email: [email protected]
Person specification
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 colleagues and patients
- Fully attentive towards issues of equality, diversity and inclusion
Values
Essential
- A clear commitment to the NHS and the trust’s values and principles
- Genuine desire and interest to create a healthier future for children and young people
Strategic
Essential
- Experience of leading and delivering against long-term vision and strategy
- Experience leading transformational change, managing complex organisations, budgets and people
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
Outcomes 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
Professional acumen
Essential
- Prior board experience (any sector, executive or non-executive role)
- 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
Desirable skills, experience and attributes
Essential
- Prior experience as a non-executive director (any sector)
- Prior senior experience of complex organisations outside the NHS, ie private, voluntary or other public sector providers of similar scale
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This advert is for Chair - Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust with Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust in Sheffield, North East and Yorkshire, England. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 31 Jul 2026.
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