Chief Executive
Job Description
Job summary
What we do
- We plan and fund local health and care services
- We support GPs, hospitals, mental health teams, community clinics and pharmacies.
- We work with councils and community groups so care is joined-up and easy to use.
- We listen to local people and use their ideas to improve services.
- We want health and care to be fair, simple and close to home.
Our strategy
- Reducing inequalities
- Investing strategically to prevent ill health
- Better supporting people with the greatest needs, so everyone stays well
- Make care more local and easier to access
- Empowered local people that feel more confident about their health and wellbeing
We are seeking to recruit, an experienced and high calibre senior leader with a strong track record of being a Chief Executive, leading in both provider as well as commissioning organisations.
This is an opportunity to lead the newly merged NHS West and North London with a population of approximately 48% of Greater London (c4.5m) and approximately £12bn commissioning budget.
You will lead the Executive Team who are committed to delivering our vision of becoming a strong and effective strategic commissioner, with a credible vision to deliver on the neighbourhood health model to deliver on the left shift and reverse the right drift that has been experienced over the past five years.
Main duties of the job
The size of the ICB footprint means the success of the WNL ICB is inextricably linked to the success of London including NHS London Region, Greater London Authority and the London Councils. The ICB and its previous legacy organisations have a strong financial track record, however the merger has increased the complexity of the provider landscape, including 13 local authorities and 18 NHS provider organisations as well as over 500 GP practices and similar numbers of pharmacy and dental practices. The financial allocation for 26/27 is challenging and requires a strong leader to navigate the tensions as the multi-year financial plan starts to be delivered including the need to work with partners to fully realise the commitment to an investment in the left shift from out of hospital care to communities, the cornerstone of which is the neighbourhood model.
An in-depth understanding of the London challenges and the contribution the ICBs make to that challenge within their new role as strategic commissioners is of critical importance. You will need to bring the courage and conviction required to make commissioning decisions that may not be popular with both NHS and local authority providers, particularly in the context of the impact of the Fair Funding Review on some inner borough councils
About us
We are NHS West and North London. We are the main commissioning NHS organisation for planning and funding health services across our area. Our job is simple: to help people stay healthy and to make sure everyone can get good care when they need it.
We bring together many health and care services across west and north London. This means we help hospitals, GPs, community services, councils and charities work better together for local people.
NHS West and North London (WNL) serves over 4.5 million people and covers 13 London boroughs. (Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster
Job responsibilities
Please see attached Recruitment Pack for full person spec
Applicants are asked to submit:
a CV of no more than 2 pages and supporting covering letter of no more than 2,000 words that highlights skills and experience and allows insights on values and motivations for applying for the role. The covering letter should outline personal responsibility and achievement within previous roles that demonstrate the knowledge, skills and competencies outlined in the person specification
The scoring criteria will be against the Board Competency Framework, which is set out in Appendix 1 of the attached candidate pack. This also includes the job description and person specification.
The selection process will include two stakeholder panels and an interview panel.
Both stakeholder panels will take place online on Tuesday 23 June 2026
The interview panel Wednesday 24 June 2026 in person WNL ICB Headquarters, 15 Ferguson House, Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5JD
If there are any dates candidates would not be available to take part then please include them in the covering application letter, noting this is a time critical appointment. If this is not made known, then it may not be possible to accommodate candidate requirements.
Applications to be submitted directly to the Chair, Michael Bell [email protected]
Person Specification
Personal values
Essential
- Commitment to the principles of public life, NHS values, the NHS People Plan, Nolan principles and the Fit and Proper Persons regime
- Compassionate, people-centred leadership style
- Lives openness and integrity, creating cultures where these thrive
- Collaborative approach across organisational and sector boundaries
- Personally driven, fostering a culture of continuous improvement
Experience
Essential
- Substantial board-level and CEO experience leading significant transformational change
- Career in healthcare or an equivalently complex, regulated, consumer-facing environment
- Proven delivery of strategies that optimise resource use and achieve lasting improvement
Knowledge
Essential
- Extensive knowledge of the health, care and local-government landscape and of social determinants of health
- Expert understanding of strategic commissioning, oversight and control of public funds
- Sophisticated grasp of population-health management, data analytics, predictive modelling and risk stratification
- Deep understanding of healthcare value -- the relationship between outcomes achieved and resources consumed
- Comprehensive knowledge of outcomes measurement, cost-accounting methodologies and comparative-effectiveness analysis
- Expertise in value-based payment reform (e.g. bundled payments, capitation, outcomes-based contracts)
- Thorough knowledge of contracting and utilisation-review techniques and how they drive productivity and quality
Skills
Essential
- Exceptional communication and influencing skills, building confidence across communities, clinicians, politicians and partners
- Strong critical thinking and strategic problem-solving, anticipating and framing complex issues o Advanced data-literacy and analytical capability, converting insights into strategic decisions and commissioning levers
- Proven ability to design and negotiate complex contracts that link payment to outcomes and cost efficiency
- Demonstrated capability to lead utilisation-review programmes that eliminate waste and improve productivity
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details
Employer name
North Central London Integrated Care Board
Address
WNL ICB Headquarters
15 Ferguson House, Marylebone Road
London
NW1 5JD
United Kingdom
