Vacancy -- Chair - Board of Community Health Councils in Wales

Please note that the closing date has been extended to Friday 31 July 2015 to encourage a strong and diverse field of candidates.

The Board of Community Health Councils in Wales is responsible for:

• advising and assisting individual CHCs on their performance

• representing the collective views and interest of CHCs to the Welsh Ministers

• setting standards for CHCs as deemed appropriate by the Board.  For example in; complaints advocacy, scrutiny of the operation of the health service, the process of engagement.

• monitoring the performance of CHCs to ensure consistent standards across all CHCs

• monitoring the conduct of CHC members and officers

• operating a complaints procedure

• ensuring a cohesive and national approach to CHC delivery across Wales by enabling CHCs work in a planned and co-ordinated way.

The Chair will be accountable to the Minister for Health and Social Services for the performance of the Board and its effective governance, upholding the values of the Community Health Councils and promoting the confidence of the public and partners throughout Wales.

The Chair will:

• Provide strong, effective and visible leadership to the Board and externally through his/her connections with a wide range of stakeholders and partners;

• Ensure the Board delivers effectively its strategic aims.  Setting challenging goals and objectives for the CHCs and monitoring progress against these;

• Be accountable for the performance of the Board membership;

• Be responsible for the proper stewardship of public money and other resources for which the Board is accountable;

• Be expected to abide by the Code of Conduct for CHC members.  The Code covers issues such as the values of CHCs, personal conduct, confidentiality and equal opportunities.  It applies to the Chair of the Board of CHCs.  A copy is at Annex 2.

• Undertake an external ambassador role.

The Chair will demonstrate the following qualities:

Knowledge and Experience

• Experience of a leadership role in the development of a successful private, public or third sector organisation, with the ability to look ahead and provide strategic leadership;

• Understanding of the relationship between resource allocation and management and delivery of service priorities within a framework of robust corporate governance;

• A proven track record in building highly effective relationships so as to be able to maintain the confidence of the range of stakeholders;

• Knowledge and understanding of health issues at community, local authority, and national levels

Personal Attributes and Skills

• Ability to lead and inspire staff, to look ahead and identify key issues for the Board;

• Strong interpersonal skills with personal impact and credibility to be an effective advocate and ambassador with strong influencing and negotiating skills;

• Drive and determination, with the ability to instil vision and develop defined strategies to pursue long and short-term goals;

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to be clear and succinct, and to be able to engage with people at all levels;

• Ability to facilitate, understanding of complex issues while demonstrating respect for the views of others;

• Ability to ensure a board work together effectively through their active involvement in a robust and transparent decision making process and to motivate and develop the board to define roles and responsibilities to ensure ownership and accountability.

• Sound judgement, sensitivity and political awareness;

• Capacity to be independent and resilient.

Candidates must also demonstrate:

• A clear understanding and commitment to equality issues and challenging discriminatory practices; and

• A clear understanding and commitment to Nolan’s ‘Seven Principles of Public Life’ as set out in Annex 3.

Welsh language skills are desirable.  All candidates will be expected to display empathy towards the language and demonstrate leadership to strengthen bilingual service provision within the NHS in Wales.

Candidates shortlisted for interview will be required to expand on how they meet the criteria above using examples and evidence.