Eastern AHSN (Academic Health Science Network) is part of the national network of AHSNs established in 2013 to support the understanding, adoption and spread of innovation into the NHS. The AHSN Network employs over 700 specialist staff and acts as the main innovation arm of the NHS.
At Eastern AHSN our purpose is to turn great ideas into positive health impact. As a member of the AHSN Network, we are a specialist advisory firm largely funded by NHS England and the Office for Life Sciences to increase the adoption of innovative technology, care pathways and medicines into the health and care system in the East of England. Our people work on new care pathways and technology-enabled change programmes alongside clinicians and managers in the NHS, and we also support academics and the wider life sciences industry to position their products for use in the NHS. Some of our recent achievements include the roll-out across the East of England of new clinical pathways for eating disorders and ADHD diagnosis in young people; building a secure cloud-based system for storing genomics data across multiple organisations and supporting life sciences companies to secure over £24 million of external funding in 2022-23 alone.
Our team of around 60 people includes clinicians, clinical scientists, health data specialists and life sciences industry professionals, as well as specialist project and programme managers. We have enjoyed significant growth over the last few years, and we continue to grow our team in response to regional business opportunities in health informatics, real-world evaluation and partnership working with the region’s health and life sciences industries. We work closely with the leadership teams of the Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) in the East of England and we enjoy close working relationships with the region’s universities including Cambridge, ARU and the University of East Anglia. We also benefit from the East of England’s status as the home of some of the greatest science and the most brilliant health and care practitioners in the world. We enjoy wide range of trusted relationships with industry, ranging from the multinational life sciences companies on our patch through to the huge number of start-ups who flourish in our region.
Ultimately our role is to convene the most appropriate partners in response to a health system challenge and to support them in the detailed implementation and evaluation work needed to bring their solutions to fruition for the benefit of patients and the NHS.
Eastern AHSN is at an exciting time in its development. All AHSNs have been awarded a further multi-year licence from October 2023 and Eastern AHSN will become Health Innovation East, and we are looking forward to this exciting next stage in our development.
NED (non-exec director) Job Description and Person Specification
Eastern AHSN is an independent company limited by guarantee. It is governed by its Board, which has collective responsibility for the company’s performance. The Board is led by an independent Chair, to whom our non-executive directors and the executive director (CEO) are accountable. It plays a critical role in shaping our strategy, vision and purpose and holds the. company to account for the delivery of our strategy and objectives. The Board is also responsible for ensuring that the strategic risks to the organisation are managed and mitigated effectively.
Eastern AHSN is now seeking up to three exceptional individuals to join our Board as non-executive directors. They will bring their strategic and/or executive expertise to Eastern AHSN as we grow our influence and our capacity to support the adoption and spread of innovation in healthcare across the East of England. We will also require candidates to display previous commercial experience as we continue to grow and diversify our income streams as set out above.
We are particularly looking for candidates with experience in the following areas:
The time commitment and workload for the non-executive directors will be approximately 12 days per year. This includes half days attending our quarterly board meetings, plus approximately half a day preparing for each of those meetings. There will be a similar time commitment for candidates who become a member of either of our two Board sub-committees – the audit committee or the nominations and remuneration committee. Non-executive directors will be expected to attend Board meetings and the meetings of the committee of which they will become a member. We also hold Board development sessions once or twice a year, which are for a whole or half day.
Each non-executive director will have the opportunity to work closely with members of the executive -allowing for a deeper insight into the work of Eastern AHSN and for the non-executive directors to provide the executive with the benefit of their particular expertise, experience and networks.
To apply please submit your CV and a covering letter (maximum two pages) setting out why you are interested in the role and how your experience demonstrates your suitability. Applications should be sent in confidence to [email protected] by midnight on Sunday 24 September.
Following a shortlisting process, panel interviews will be held in the week beginning Monday 2 October. This is likely to be face-to-face in Cambridge. If you require any clarification on the role or any aspect of the application process, please email Teresa Au, our Company Secretary, at [email protected].
NED (non-exec director) Job Decription and Person Specification
We are committed to the employment and career development of people living with a disability. As part of this commitment, we operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants living with a disability who in the collective opinion of the selection panel meet the essential criteria for the role for which they have applied. If you wish to be considered for this scheme, please advise [email protected] by no later than the closing date above.
We really encourage applications from suitably qualified candidates, particularly from diverse backgrounds, so that we truly represent the rich diversity of our region. Please consider filling in an equality and diversity monitoring form. The completion of this form is entirely optional and there are no consequences for your application if you choose not to provide such information. It will not be seen by anyone involved in shortlisting applicants for interview, or anyone involved in the interview itself. The information provided will be kept confidential and will be used for monitoring purposes only.
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