Dear Colleague

Thank you for your interest in the Chief Nursing Officer position at Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (CWICB). This is a pivotal leadership appointment, and I am delighted that you are exploring the opportunity to apply for this important role.

We are already making real progress in Coventry and Warwickshire towards our four key objectives of improving outcomes in population health and health care; tackling inequalities in outcomes, experience and access to services; enhancing productivity and value for money; helping the NHS support broader social and economic development.

Coventry and Warwickshire are committed to improving the lives of children and young people. Through working as part of a strong Local Maternity and Neonates System (LMNS) all of our providers are rated either good or outstanding for maternity care. We are now focussing on delivery of our Maternal Health Equity plan to improve equity and equality for all. To support children and young people who have experienced significant trauma, we are extremely proud of our Positive Directions programme, a new and innovative approach to tackling the physical, mental, and social challenges they face. We have worked closely with children and young people to shape the development and focus of the project, listening to what they need to support them, and designing services around these needs.

Addressing health inequalities is a key area of focus for our ICB.  In a time of financial pressure we have protected the health inequalities funding in Coventry and Warwickshire, focusing on enabling support to happen directly within our local communities. This has enabled a wide array or programmes which target local issues such as debt support in general practice, support for small community and faith based organisations to address mental health in their local area, or targeting cardiovascular disease in Warwickshire North.

As part of the wider Integrated Care System collaboration with our partners is another area in which we are delivering great results for the benefit of our population. One example of this is the Improving Lives of People programme – a pan Coventry programme bringing together social care, community services, acute services and primary care to focus on how we support people throughout their journey and their care transitions in and out of admission, maximising independence, improving experience and reducing costs.

We are seeking a Nurse Leader to join our system at a critical moment for healthcare services.  There is no shying away from the facts; the NHS continues to operate with significant financial, performance and workforce pressures. That said, this role represents an opportunity to channel your strategic influence. Working with system, regional and national leaders to help scale approaches, you’ll help cultivate our mission through support and promotion of integrated working for the benefit of our population. If you have the ambition to work at scale and drive improved outcomes for patients and for our colleagues as well as the facilitative leadership skills to work across organisational boundaries to bring people together for the greater good of patients, I would very much like to hear from you.

We hope you find the information below helpful and naturally, if you’d like a confidential conversation about your possible candidacy, please contact Heather I’anson at Anderson Quigley on 07743 935 502 or contact her at heather.ianson@andersonquigley.com

In Coventry and Warwickshire we are working to help everyone lead healthier and happier lives, be part of a strong community and benefit from effective and sustainable health and care services where and when they need them most. To do this we work together in partnership across health and social care, removing the barriers between services and joining up care around people and populations.

We have well-established ICS leadership and Governance arrangements for our System, along with well-developed, distributed Place based activities which include all key NHS and local authority partners, Primary Care Networks, our Voluntary Community Sector and our communities working together to tackle inequalities.

The two Health and Wellbeing Boards across the two local authorities are a strong asset to our system and provide strength through the cross-sector activities and experiences the members bring. The group work to improve the health and wellbeing of local people with a shared aim to reduce health inequalities and regularly come together, collaborating across the ICS area to reduce health inequalities and strive for better health outcomes for our population.

The system has worked together to develop the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Strategy through our Integrated Care Partnership and the associated Integrated Health and Care Delivery Plan, led by the ICB. This Strategy, informed throughout by the views of local people, partners and stakeholders, identifies our priorities as a system, shaped by local people and communities and the Integrated Health and Care Delivery Plan outlines how we intend to tackle these challenges head-on and deliver on the ultimate aims of the ICS, to improve outcomes in population health and health care, to tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience and access to services, to enhance productivity and value for money and to help the NHS support broader social and economic development.

Our service transformation is grounded in our strong clinical leadership, including the Out of Hospital arrangements, integrated discharge teams and more. We continue to foster a strong commitment to support and develop our workforce so that they can offer the best care to our patients and communities. We value diversity across our workforce and our ambition is to work together to promote a more inclusive environment, which attracts all candidates and signals our commitment to celebrate and promote diversity. We strive to be a local employer of choice, using employment, education and training to improve health and lifestyle choices as an important part of our strategy.

We’re committed to making things better in Coventry and Warwickshire, and we’re looking for someone who is ready to help us lead the way.

You can find out more about our ICS and our story here.

As a system, we are fortunate to have strength and variety across the local health and social care organisations who make up our ICS. We have developed a strong working relationship which has been demonstrated in recent service transformation and COVID-19 response.

Our Integrated Care Board

Our Integrated Care Board is coterminous to the Local Authority boundaries of Coventry and Warwickshire.

Our Local Authorities

There are two local authorities within the ICS boundary, Coventry City Council and Warwickshire County Council.

Our Providers                                                                                         CQC Inspection rating

Coventry City Council services                                                            Good-Outstanding

Warwickshire County Council services                                                Good

Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust                           Good

South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust                                        Outstanding

University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust              Good

George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust                                                          Requires Improvement

Wider partners and stakeholders

Our GP practices are an integral part of our system, taking the clinical lead jointly with secondary care services within our Place functions. Coventry and Warwickshire also benefits from a large and active voluntary and community sector with representatives from a range of organisations working with ICS partners to develop and deliver services.

The People of Coventry and Warwickshire

Our current operating model

Coventry and Warwickshire offers huge variety and many great places to live and work. It is home to two of the top 50 universities in the country, one of the oldest castles in history and the city of Coventry is UK City of Culture for 2021.

Coventry is the second largest city in the West Midlands and the heart of England. It is surrounded by public parks and rural countryside. As well as showcasing the great outdoors, Coventry is full of history such as the ruins of the Coventry Cathedral.

Warwickshire is one of the most historical and cultural counties in England with visitors from all over the world. The area is also home to the towns of Warwick, Rugby, Nuneaton, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Leamington Spa. These are a mix of large market towns and have rich history and plenty of things to do from urban to rural activities.

The area offers a range of properties for all budgets and lifestyles, from city centre living to suburban family homes, and from new developments to older buildings. The town of Rugby, for example, is an ideal commuter town for both Birmingham and London whilst still having affordable housing prices.

For other useful links to information about living in Coventry and Warwickshire, please visit www.coventry.gov.uk and www.warwickshire.gov.uk.

General

• Other duties
  This job description is not a definitive or exhaustive list of responsibilities but identifies the key responsibilities and tasks of the post holder. The specific objectives of the post holder will be subject to review as part of the individual’s performance review/appraisal. There may be a requirement to undertake other duties as may reasonably be required to support the ICB in accordance with your grade/level in the organisation.
• Code of Conduct
  The ICB requires the highest standards of personal and professional conduct from all of its employees. All employees must comply with the Code of Professional Conduct appropriate to their professional governing body and to the ICB’s Code of Conduct.
• On-call
  As a senior manager in the ICB you will form part of the on-call rota for ICS system out of hours.
• Policies and Procedures
  All employees are expected to comply with all the policies and procedures drawn up by the ICB.
• Health, Safety and Risk Management
  Staff are required to adhere to and act consistently with all relevant health and safety legislation and ICB policies and procedures in order to ensure that their own and others health and safety and security is maintained. This will include identifying and reporting all risks to health and safety, security of equipment and property and the achievement of ICB objectives in accordance with the ICB’s risk management strategy and policies. Training will be provided.
• No Smoking Policy
  The ICB operates a no-smoking policy. This applies to all staff and visitors. It is a condition of employment for staff that they do not smoke anywhere on ICB premises. Whilst we do not discriminate against employing smokers, they are expected to adhere to this policy and all prospective employees should be aware of this.
• Equal Opportunities
  The ICB is working towards equality and has policies relating to the equality of opportunity in employment and service delivery. All Governing Body members are expected to comply with these policies.
• Confidentiality
  As a staff member, you will gain knowledge of a range of highly confidential matters being given consideration by the ICB. Under no circumstances should such information be divulged or passed to any unauthorised person or person(s). This includes holding discussions with colleagues concerning patients in situation where they conversation may be overheard. Breaches of confidence will result in disciplinary action, which may involve dismissal.
• Infection Control
  All staff have a responsibility to ensure that infection control policies, procedures and guidelines are adhered to and to support the ICB’s commitment to preventing and controlling healthcare associated infections.
• Safeguarding Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults
  The ICB is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all Governing Body member to share this commitment and to understand the requirements of the Government’s Prevent strategy and promote its key principles. Rigorous recruitment checks are carried out and successful applicants may be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and undergo the necessary training.
• Freedom of Information
  All staff must be aware of their responsibilities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. All staff must undertake Information Governance training to ensure they fully understand the implication of the Freedom of Information Act. This job description will be reviewed as necessary and may be amended to meet the changing needs of the ICB. It will also be used as the basis for determination of objectives and the contents will be used as part of the annual appraisal.
• Conflict of Interest
  Staff are required to declare any relevant and material personal or business interests for them or close relatives and will be required to abide by the Conflict of Interest Policy.
• Data protection
  All employees must adhere to appropriate ICB standards/policies in respect of the use of personal information, including guidance on the use and disclosure of information. The ICB also has a range of policies for the use of computer equipment and computer-generated information. These policies detail the employee’s legal obligations and include references to current legislation. Copies of the Policy on the Protection and use of Personal Information and other Information Technology can be obtained from the ICB.
• Criminal convictions
  If during the course of your employment you are convicted of, or charged with a criminal offence (with the exception of a traffic offence) whether it arises from your employment or otherwise, you are required to report the matter to Human Resources, who will decide on the appropriate course of action. Should you be convicted of an offence and receive a custodial sentence, the organisation reserves the right to terminate the contract of employment after careful consideration of the facts. Failure to report a conviction may itself lead to disciplinary action being taken. Any information will be treated confidentiality except insofar as it is necessary to inform other relevant members of management. Additionally, if driving is part of your duties and you are convicted of any traffic offence, you must report them to Human Resources who will decide on the appropriate course of action.
• Risk management
  Staff are responsible for adopting the Risk Management Culture and ensuring that they identify and assess all risks to their systems, processes and environment and report such risks for inclusion within the ICB’s Risk Register. Staff must also attend mandatory and statutory training, report all incidents/accidents including near misses and report unsafe occurrences as laid down within the policies.
• Governance
  All staff have a responsibility to be aware of governance arrangements and ensure that the reporting requirements, systems and duties of action put into place by the ICB are complied with.
• Disclosure and barring
  If your post is one that requires a disclosure (at whatever level) from the DBS, the organisation retains the right to request that a further disclosure is sought at any time as deemed to be appropriate. If you have been appointed and are awaiting the outcome of a DBS check and it proves to be unsatisfactory, your employment will be terminated.

Anderson Quigley is acting as an advisor to the ICB, an executive search process is being carried out by Anderson Quigley in addition to the public advertisement.

The closing date for applications is Friday 15^th March

Applications should consist of:

• A full CV.
• A cover letter outlining your motivations for the role and how you meet the essential criteria of the person specification.
• Please include details of two referees in either your CV or covering letter, though please note that we will not approach your referees without your prior consent and only should you be shortlisted.

Should you wish to discuss the role in strict confidence, please contact Heather I’anson at heather.ianson@andersonquigley.com, or (0) 7743 935 502 or Helene Usherwood at helene.usherwood@andersonquigley.com or (0) 7719 322 669.

The ICB is actively working to achieve a diverse, gender balanced and representative workforce where diversity is actively valued and celebrated, including at board level. With this in mind we welcome applicants from all backgrounds to ensure that our Board reflects the diversity of our communities and encourages diversity of thought.