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Hywel Dda University Health Board (the Health Board or Hywel Dda) is the local NHS organisation for Mid and West Wales.

As a health board, we plan, organise and provide health services for almost 400,000 people across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire. We manage and pay for the care and treatment that people receive in this area for physical, mental health and learning disabilities.

We currently provide services through:

• Four main hospitals (Bronglais General Hospital in Aberystwyth, Glangwili General Hospital in Carmarthen, Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli, and Withybush General Hospital in Haverfordwest).
• Five community hospitals (Amman Valley Hospital and Llandovery Hospital in Carmarthenshire, Tregaron Hospital in Ceredigion, Tenby Hospital and South Pembrokeshire Health and Social Care Resource Centre in Pembrokeshire).
• Two integrated care centres (Aberaeron and Cardigan, Ceredigion).
• Community facilities, including:
• 48 General Practices (GP surgeries)
• 49 Dental Practices
• 98 Community Pharmacies (chemists)
• 44 General Ophthalmic Practices (including eye health and low vision services)
• 38 sites providing mental health and learning disability services
• care within your own homesHighly specialised services, such as some major trauma treatment, cardiac (heart) care, and complex burns, are organised through the national Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee. These services can be provided outside the boundaries of our area, for example in Swansea, or Cardiff.We provide NHS services across a quarter of the land mass of Wales in Mid and West Wales and our communities are quite spread out in rural areas. Almost half our population 48.8% live in Carmarthenshire, 32.5% live in Pembrokeshire, and 18.7% in Ceredigion. We have a large border with other counties, and so communities in south Gwynedd, north Powys and Swansea / Neath Port Talbot also use our health services.

The Board plays a key role in shaping the strategy, vision, purpose and culture of a Health Board. It holds the Health Board to account for service delivery, performance, delivery of strategy and value for money, and strategic development and implementation.

It is also responsible for ensuring that risks to the Health Board, staff and the public are managed and mitigated effectively. Led by an independent Chair and comprised of a mixture of both Executive and Independent Members, the Board has a collective responsibility for the performance of the Health Board. 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 NHS, and promoting the confidence of the public and partners. They will ensure, through their leadership of the Board, that services are planned and delivered in line with priorities and performance measures set by the Minister for Health and Social Services and Welsh Government policy and guidance.

The Chair will:

Strategy

• Lead the Board’s development of a strategic vision for the organisation, identifying and realising the inherent potential and skills within the organisation to develop an innovative and world leading service;
• Provide independent judgement and advice on issues of quality, strategy, vision, performance, resources, and standards of conduct;
• Constructively challenge, influence and support the Executive Directors to develop proposals on such strategies;
• Support fellow Board Members in providing leadership within a framework of prudent and effective controls to ensure the long term sustainability of the organisation; and
• Ensure that risks to the delivery of the organisation’s strategy are articulated and managed.

Planning

• Be accountable for the performance of the Board at community, regional and national levels through the agreement and delivery of a three-year integrated medium term plan and an annual delivery plan and the annual evaluation achievements against the plan; and
• Ensure the Board provides effective scrutiny of the three-year integrated medium term plan, ensuring that it establishes clear objectives to deliver the strategy; encompasses the necessary quality, workforce, operational and financial resources for the organisation to meet its objectives; and regularly reviews performance against the plan.

Performance

• Receive, review and apply appropriate scrutiny to quality, performance, workforce and financial data and information to compare achievements against targets and, where necessary, support the implementation of remedial action.
• Agree challenging objectives for the Chief Executive and Executives for improving performance; agree objectives for the Vice Chair and Independent Members and undertake annual appraisals; and

• Ensure effective control arrangements are in place to secure the financial viability of the Health Board.

Governance

• Hold the Chief Executive to account across the breadth of their responsibilities, including the performance management and leadership of the executive;
• Provide strong, effective and visible leadership and communication across the breadth of the Health Board’s responsibilities, internally through the Health Board and externally through their connections with a wide range of stakeholders and partners within and outside of the NHS at a national, community, and local authority level;
• Ensure the Health Board’s commitment to the highest standards of governance, such that it acts in the interests of the population and partners it serves and is seen to be accountable for the services provided and the resources used;
• Ensure the provision of accurate, timely and clear information to the Board to meet statutory requirements;
• Seek assurance that internal controls and systems of risk management are robust and well governed;
• Analyse and interpret information provided to the Board, seeking clarification, further assurances, and triangulation of information wherever possible; and
• Ensure the Health Board complies with its Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions, policies and procedures, and relevant legislation and regulations.

Culture and Behaviour

• Demonstrate the Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) of selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership, and ensure the principles are upheld by all Board members;
• Embrace and promote the importance of Welsh language bilingualism and culture on all organisational activities;
• • Instil a culture that encourages staff, patients, families, and the public to raise concerns that are then appropriately addressed;
  • Embrace and promote equality, diversity, and inclusion for the organisation’s population, patients, staff and stakeholders, reflecting and learning from own and the lived experiences of others;
  • Ensure the highest standards of probity, integrity, and governance, and that the organisation’s governance arrangements comply with best practice and statutory requirements;
  • Provide visible compassionate leadership in supporting and promoting a healthy culture for the organisation and reflect this, and the values of the organisation, in their own behaviour; and
  • Bring current and past professional and lived experience, knowledge and influence to the work of the Board, to promote innovation, curiosity, and to challenge norms.
• Engagement
  • Build and maintain close relations between the Health Board’s partners and stakeholder groups to promote the effective operation of our activities;
  • Provide leadership to support and encourage effective working with partners, in particular with Health Boards, NHS Trusts, Special Health Authorities, local authorities, the third sector and social care partners, to ensure the planning and delivery of safe, effective services;
  • Attend Welsh Government, health body peer groups and other stakeholder meetings, where required;
  • Undertake an external ambassador role, delivering in the public spotlight and instilling public confidence; and
  • Be expected, with support, to understand the business of the Health Board through active involvement.
• Board Activities
  • Plan Board meetings with the Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Governance and design a Board development programme to deliver high performance;
  • Facilitate the effective contribution of Board Members and ensure constructive relations within the organisation and between Executive Directors and Independent Members;
  • Chair the Health Board’s Board meetings and lead development sessions and other meetings of members, as appropriate;
  • Participate fully in the work of the Board and Committees, including pre and post meeting engagement and annual evaluations to support good governance;
  • In conjunction with the other Board Members, discharge their duties as Chair of the Health Board’s Charitable Fund (Hywel Dda Health Charities), of which the Board acts as the Corporate Trustee; and
  • Undergo an annual personal performance appraisal, participating in any additional training and development highlighted as a result of the evaluation process to ensure personal objectives are delivered.

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh. The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the recruiting body of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Welsh language skills

Reading

Written

Understanding

Spoken

To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities and experience to meet all the essential criteria for this appointment.

Essential

Values

• Commitment to adhering to the Seven Principles of Public Life (Nolan Principles) and the values of the organisation;
• Ability to demonstrate a commitment to engaging with people who use our services, their carers and families, our staff and stakeholders.

Skills

• An understanding of and commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion, including ability to reflect on and learn from your own lived experiences;
• Ability to show an appreciation of bilingualism and culture, and a commitment to promoting and mainstreaming of the Welsh language;
• Ability to provide, and encourage others to provide, independent challenge and scrutiny whilst maintaining constructive relationships;
• Ability to understand and facilitate the understanding of complex issues;
• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills and ability to act as an effective advocate and ambassador;
• Astute and able to grasp relevant issues and understand the relationships between interested parties, demonstrating sound judgement, sensitivity and political awareness;
• Evident ability to work collaboratively and as part of a team to meet common goals;
• A track record of strategic, leadership, in a public sector, private or third sector organisation;
• Ability to motivate, to define roles and responsibilities, ensuring ownership and accountability;
• Ability to instil vision and lead the development of defined strategies in the pursuit of achieving long, medium and short-term goals.

Experience

• Evidence of and understanding of effective governance.

Personal Attributes

• Commitment to the Seven Principles of Public Life (Nolan Principles) and the values of the health body;
• Strong interpersonal and influencing skills and ability to act as an effective advocate and ambassador;
• Astute and able to grasp relevant issues and understand the relationships between interested parties demonstrating sound judgement, sensitivity and political awareness;
• Capacity to be independent and resilient.
• Desirable Experience
  • An understanding of risk management and systems of internal control and assurance;
  • Demonstrable leadership and strategic change management experience, including culture change;
  • Evidence of and understanding of effective governance;
  • Welsh language skills;

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03/05/2023, 16:00

To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button below. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system. You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form. To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates. This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4. Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit. The second document is a full, up to date CV. The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities. We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years.

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence. You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go. You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you’d like to apply for this opportunity in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Public Appointments Team on PublicAppointments@gov.wales.