Apply or Nominate now

The Aspire Together Regional Talent Board is aspiring to create a talent pool of individuals who are ready now to take on director roles across the South West of England. To enter this ‘ready now’ pool individuals will be nominated and then assessed to ensure they have the necessary skills and experience to move into a director role.

The first stage of this process requires individuals to be nominated; either by senior leaders within their organisations or by self-nominating. If the nomination demonstrates a suitable level of readiness the individual will then be invited to an assessment centre where their readiness will be assessed in more depth by a panel of senior leaders from within the NHS.

From the 20 November 2019, the South West Regional Talent Board is inviting nominations of individual’s who aspire to work in director positions of either Director of Nursing / Chief Nurse or Medical Director typically situated in a provider, commissioner or system type setting.

Nominations for individuals aspiring to move into all other director level roles or aspiring to take on such roles in another type of organisation e.g. arm’s length bodies or the wider health and care sector, will be welcome and invited at future nomination windows in 2020/21. All roles will have this opportunity as soon as possible, but in a staggered and manageable way that allows assessment to take place within a reasonable time of nomination.

Individuals can either be nominated by their organisation to enter the pool or can apply through a self-nomination process. Further details for both routes can be found in the nomination form and the nomination pack.

Aspire Together Talent Pool – Aspirant Directors

This pool is aimed at those colleagues who are currently not in a director or governing body position, but who are working one below this level currently and have the necessary skills, experience and ambition to move into a director position in the next six months. The nomination and application window for this pool will run from 20 November 2019 until 6 January 2020.

You should only apply to be considered for the pool or nominate someone for the pool if they meet the threshold criteria (see nomination pack) and feel they meet the characteristics set out in the NHS Executive Director Success Profile. The Regional Talent Board and associated talent pool is not a leadership development programme or scheme, so it is important that those nominated are ready now and have already completed the development needed to work at this level.

How to enter the pool

Aspirant Directors

Who should apply/self-nominate? 

  • Anyone seeking to apply for a director or governing body post in the South West in the next 6 months.
  • Any individuals who feel they meet the criteria as outlined in the nomination form and pack.
  • Please read the full nomination pack for additional details.

Who should nominate someone to the pool?

  • Nominations are sought from line managers and other individuals working with candidates who meet the criteria as outlined in the nomination form and pack.
  • All nominations must be approved by a Chief Executive/Accountable Officer or Senior Nominated Leader
  • Please read the full nomination pack for additional details.

Before you nominate someone or apply, you should consider:

  • Will the next role you apply for be a director in a provider, commissioning, or system setting?
  • If successful in the gateway assessment process, are you able consider director opportunities within the next six months?
  • Do you have experience of leading multiple teams or services? This may be through the direct management of multiple teams or through having oversight of a range of different, complex services areas which requires you to influence across multiple teams and groups.
  • Have you had exposure to a unitary board governing body (either within or outside of the NHS)?

Ideally, the answer to all of the above questions should be ‘yes.’ However, if candidates cannot answer ‘yes’ to the questions above but feel they are still suitable to apply to enter the pool, they should supply a covering note to provide detail.

For full details of the application/nomination process and the documents you need to apply or nominate someone for the pool:

Aspire Together Pool – Aspirant Directors

If you have any questions about the process, please contact the team via email: [email protected]