Job summary
Joint Director of Corporate Governance, East London NHS FT & North East London NHS FT
East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) & North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT)
Location: London, UK| Full-Time, Permanent
Closing date:28 May 2025
Shortlisting: 6 June 2025
Online stakeholder session: 11 June 2025
Face to Face Interviews: 12 June 2025
Are you a strategic leader with a people-first mindset? Can you transform NHS governance into a powerful enabler of better mental health care, smarter systems, and real impact?
We are seeking an inspirational leader to bring strategic oversight, operational excellence, and a collaborative spirit to shape the future of NHS corporate governance across ELFT and NELFT in North East London. This role is about more than compliance - it's about embedding governance as a strategic enabler, supporting high-quality, people-centred mental health and community health services for the populations we serve.
About the Role
As Joint Director of Corporate Governance, you'll provide strategic leadership across all aspects of corporate governance, compliance, and operational effectiveness, working at the heart of both NHS Trusts.
Main duties of the job
Your Responsibilities:
- Shaping corporate and system-wide governance to support integrated, place-based mental health care and community health care.
- Providing expert counsel to our Chair, Boards, Councils of Governors, and executive leadership.
- Ensuring full compliance with the NHS Provider Licence, Code of Governance, and Well-led Framework.
- Leading and developing high-performing teams across four key functions: corporate governance, secretariat, executive office, and governors and members support.
You'll champion governance as a shared responsibility woven into the fabric of theNHS Trusts, not a siloed function. Through strong relationships and visible leadership, you'll embed a culture where good governance is understood, valued, and seen as a trusted enabler, driving better outcomes, strengthening mental health and community health services, and fostering learning, accountability, and trust.
As a People Person, You Will:
- Strengthen engagement between the Boards, Councils, and members.
- Champion inclusion, accountability, and transparency.
- Raise the profile of administration as a profession, driving continuous improvement and career development within the governance function.
- Ensure governance systems reflect our commitment to service users, population health, and lived experience.
About us
Collaboration Across Trusts:
- Align governance approaches across ELFT and NELFT to deliver efficiencies, clarity, and consistency.
- Lead governance integration with Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and provider collaboratives.
- Drive collaborative governance frameworks that support innovative, equitable, and sustainable mental health and community health services across East London
What We're Looking For:
- Deep expertise in NHS corporate governance at Board level, with a strategic and operational mindset.
- Strong leadership credentials with experience leading high-performing, multi-functional teams.
- Outstanding interpersonal skills and the ability to influence, advise, and support senior leaders.
- A passion for equity, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- A collaborative style and the vision to bring people, systems, and processes together for impact.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Why Join Us?
This is an exciting moment for ELFT and NELFT two values-driven, innovative NHS Trusts leading change across the mental health and community health sectors. If youre ready to lead with purpose, build trusted governance systems, and make a tangible difference for staff and service users in North East London, we want to hear from you.
Apply Now:
We are committed to diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all backgrounds, especially underrepresented groups.
#NHSJobs #MentalHealthCareers #GovernanceLeadership #LondonNHS #ELFT #NELFT
Job description
Job responsibilities
Why Join Us?
This is an exciting moment for ELFT and NELFT two values-driven, innovative NHS Trusts leading change across the mental health and community health sectors. If youre ready to lead with purpose, build trusted governance systems, and make a tangible difference for staff and service users in North East London, we want to hear from you.
Apply Now:
We are committed to diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from all backgrounds, especially underrepresented groups.
#NHSJobs #MentalHealthCareers #GovernanceLeadership #LondonNHS #ELFT #NELFT
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Qualification relevant to the role and/or comparable health governance/assurance experience
- Master's Degree or equivalent experience at a senior level in a relevant environment
Experience
Essential
- Significant and demonstrable experience particularly within corporate governance at a senior level role within the NHS or similar complex public sector organisation operating within a complex and highly political environment, with evidence of extensive engagement, persuasion and influencing at Executive and Non-Executive Board level
- Operating at or near to Board level
- Extensive understanding of NHS corporate governance, including substantial and proven experience in legal and governance frameworks, statutory regulations and corporate compliance
- Proven experience of designing and implementing governance frameworks that ensure service user/patient safety, regulatory compliance and quality improvement
- Strong track record in planning and managing a broad range of complex activities, adapting to changing circumstances
- A track record of developing and embedding robust internal controls and risk management frameworks to support corporate governance in an NHS organisation and particularly identifying, assessing and mitigating risks that could impact on service user and patient care and outcomes
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Qualification relevant to the role and/or comparable health governance/assurance experience
- Master's Degree or equivalent experience at a senior level in a relevant environment
Experience
Essential
- Significant and demonstrable experience particularly within corporate governance at a senior level role within the NHS or similar complex public sector organisation operating within a complex and highly political environment, with evidence of extensive engagement, persuasion and influencing at Executive and Non-Executive Board level
- Operating at or near to Board level
- Extensive understanding of NHS corporate governance, including substantial and proven experience in legal and governance frameworks, statutory regulations and corporate compliance
- Proven experience of designing and implementing governance frameworks that ensure service user/patient safety, regulatory compliance and quality improvement
- Strong track record in planning and managing a broad range of complex activities, adapting to changing circumstances
- A track record of developing and embedding robust internal controls and risk management frameworks to support corporate governance in an NHS organisation and particularly identifying, assessing and mitigating risks that could impact on service user and patient care and outcomes
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.
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).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
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.
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).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
