Director of Corporate Governance, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting a new Director of Governance. This is a brilliant opportunity to help drive improvement on patient safety and risk management while ensuring compliance with regulations and quality standards. Join the largest NHS mental health trust in the country and make a difference every day for our service users, carers and colleagues.

We provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK and aim to be a leader in improving health and wellbeing – locally, nationally and globally.

We serve a local population of 1.3 million people in south London, as well as specialist services for children and adults across the UK and beyond.

Each year we provide inpatient care for over 5,000 people, and treat more than 40,000 patients in the community in Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon.

Dear Candidate,
Thank you for your interest in the role of Director of Corporate Governance at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). We are pleased you are considering joining us at this important point in our journey and we warmly welcome your application.
SLaM provides mental health services to around 1.3 million people across four South London boroughs, as well as a number of specialist and national services to wider populations. We employ over 6,000 staff and work closely with academic and clinical partners to combine care, research and training to drive improvement in the care we deliver. We are proud of our reputation as an organisation that has shaped modern mental healthcare, but we are equally clear that we have more to do to meet the expectations of our patients, families, staff and partners.
The role of Director of Corporate Governance is central to this. As the individual responsible for ensuring our Board of Directors and Council of Governors function effectively, you will help us uphold the highest standards of accountability and transparency. You will be the guardian of our governance structures, ensuring we comply with statutory and regulatory requirements while also creating the right environment for effective decision-making. This is about much more than process. Good governance underpins the culture of an organisation, and we are looking for someone who will help us embed a culture of openness, learning and integrity.
We believe this is a particularly exciting time to join us, as the Board and the Executive leadership Team are evolving and with our. shared ambition to strengthen the Trust and address longstanding challenges. We are completing our CQC Well-led inspection and will receive the full report in the coming months which we hope will give us confidence in our direction and has also highlighted areas where we need to go further. We are investing in new facilities, developing digital systems, and working more closely with partners across health and care to support integrated and preventative approaches. Against this backdrop, your role will be to ensure the organisation’s governance is strong, responsive and forward-looking, enabling us to navigate scrutiny, manage risk, and deliver our ambitions.
We are looking for an outstanding candidate who is both assured and approachable. You will bring the expertise to guide the Trust’s Board and Executive Team through complex issues, while also supporting Governors, staff and stakeholders to engage meaningfully in our work. You will need to balance firmness with empathy, detail with perspective, and compliance with innovation. Most of all, you will need to inspire confidence – in colleagues, in our regulators, and in the patients and communities we serve.
We value diversity of thought and background. It is likely that you will bring prior NHS experience and a strong track record of governance leadership in complex settings. We are particularly interested in your ability to demonstrate integrity, resilience and a genuine commitment to public service.
This is a demanding role, but also a highly rewarding one. You will be working at the centre of an organisation with a profound impact on people’s lives, ensuring that the way we are led and held accountable matches the importance of our mission. We will support you as part of a committed and ambitious leadership team, and together we will work to strengthen the Trust for the future.
Thank you once again for your interest. We look forward to learning more about what you could bring to SLaM and to meeting you during the process.
Yours sincerely,
Jane Bailey
Chair
David Bradley
Chief Executive
Please click here to read the Job Description & Person Specification
All applications must include:
- A full curriculum vitae/resume - this should include your contact address and details, stating your preferred method of contact, highlighting and explaining any gaps in your employment history.
- Quoting the relevant role reference number: A041075
- A covering letter highlighting your skills and experience and allow insights on your knowledge, skill and experience relevant to the role. You should outline your personal responsibility and achievement within previous roles that demonstrates you have the knowledge, skills and competencies to deliver this role, as outlined in the person specification and take the opportunity to highlight your personal values and motivations for applying for the role. (Microsoft Word document)
- Contact details for three referees, these will not be contacted without your permission. (References should validate a minimum period of six years employment)
- A completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (which you will be redirected to once you have submitted your application) *
Right to work checks
If you are successfully shortlisted, our partner, Yoti, will contact you to complete an online right to work check. This is a quick and secure process, ensuring that all necessary legal requirements are met before proceeding further in the recruitment process.
Monitoring
One of Alumni Global’s and SLaM’s objectives is to ensure that its workforce is reflective of the local community and therefore we actively encourage applications from under-represented groups. So that we can successfully achieve these aims, while it is not mandatory we would encourage every applicant to complete the “Equal Opportunities Monitoring form” so that we can measure the effectiveness of our efforts. The Recruiting Manager does not have access to the Monitoring Information Sections of the application form at any stage of the process and the information provided will be kept entirely confidential.
For a confidential discussion on this role please contact:
Thomas Patterson, Managing Director or Pascal Heward, Consultant on +44 77 1811 9454.
Candidate adjustment
If you require any reasonable adjustments to be made as part of the recruitment process please can you advise us so that we can ensure this is accommodated.
Closing date: 25th September 2025
Stakeholder Sessions: TBC
Final Interviews: 13th October 2025
Please ensure you have made a note of the final interview date(s). We recommend that you bookmark this microsite, as any potential updates regarding the role will be posted online.