Non-Executive Director, East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust

United Kingdom

8 Jun

Start your #CareerForLife today

EEAST is made up of exceptional people delivering outstanding care, every hour of every day. Whether it’s on the frontline or behind the scenes, no two days are ever the same and every role helps save lives.

A rewarding and fast-paced environment

Working at EEAST gives you the chance to support your community, provide life-saving care and help people through their darkest moments. It’s a busy, dynamic environment that brings fresh challenges every day.

Working in the east of England

Our Trust provides emergency and non-emergency care to patients in the east of England covering the six counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.

You get to work in one of the most diverse areas of the country; the bustling capital city is on our doorstep and the bracing North Sea envelopes our shores to the east.

We've got historical cathedral towns and cities, brand new communities, rural broadlands and some of the busiest arteries of road and rail networks, including the M25, A14, M1, M11 and A12, and railway lines from London Liverpool Street out to Cambridge, Norwich, Peterborough, Colchester and Southend.

Wherever you go in the east of England there is always something to see and do; but if travelling around the UK and beyond is a must for you as well, the Luton, Stansted, Norwich and Southend airports couldn't make it more easier to stay in touch with loved ones or send you on a deserved holiday or short break.

Dear Candidate,
Thank you for your interest in the Non-Executive Director role at the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), including chairing our People Committee. We are pleased you are considering joining us at an important point in our journey.
EEAST is one of the UK’s largest ambulance services, serving around 6.3 million people across six counties. We provide 24/7 emergency and urgent care, alongside non-emergency patient transport, across diverse urban, rural and coastal communities. Our 6,000 staff and 1,500 volunteers show exceptional commitment in often demanding circumstances.
Our 2025–2030 strategy, the EEAST Way, sets a clear direction: saving lives, supporting partners and investing in our people. It is built around four missions ~ Patient, People, Partnerships and Productivity. The People mission is central to this ambition, making the People Committee Chair a critical role. You will provide assurance to the Board on workforce strategy, organisational development, staff experience and wellbeing, education and training, and equality, diversity and inclusion. You will support cultural improvement, hold the executive to account, and work closely with the Chair, Chief Executive and fellow NEDs.
We are seeking a candidate with senior experience in HR, people or organisational development, or broader executive leadership with a strong track record in inclusive leadership and culture change. Prior board experience is welcome but not essential. You will bring sound judgement, independence, and the ability to offer both support and constructive challenge, with a clear focus on patient safety, clinical quality and staff experience.
We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to building a diverse Board that reflects the communities we serve, particularly encouraging applications from under-represented groups.
This is a meaningful public leadership opportunity in an organisation that makes a difference every day. If you share our commitment to our people and communities, we look forward to receiving your application.
Yours sincerely,
Julie Thallon
Interim Trust Chair, East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Neill Moloney
Chief Executive Officer, East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Please click here to view the candidate pack
Time commitment: 2-5 days per month
‍If you wish to be considered for this role please provide:
- a CV that includes your address and contact details, highlighting and explaining any gaps in your employment history
- a supporting statement that highlights your motivation for applying and your understanding of the NHS and the role. You should outline your personal responsibility and achievement within previous roles and how your experience matches the person specification
- ‍the names, positions, organisations and contact details for three referees. Your referees should be individuals in a line management capacity and cover your most recent employer as well as previous employer(s) from the past six consecutive years. They should also cover any regulated health or social care activity or where roles involved children or vulnerable adults. Your references may be taken prior to interview and may be shared with the selection panel
- if you have previously held a Director, Chair or Non-executive Director position in an NHS funded organisation or a regulated services organisation (see list below), a Board Member Reference (BMR) will also be requested from your former organisation(s), for posts ending after September 2023:
- NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts
- Integrated Care Boards
- NHS England (national and regional teams)
- Arm’s Length Bodies if they deliver regulated services
‍- Independent providers commissioned by the NHS (e.g. private hospitals, social enterprises)
- Community Interest Companies (CICs) delivering NHS-funded care
‍- Joint ventures or partnerships involving NHS statutory bodies
- In accordance with NHSE’s FPPT framework if appointed your references and other background checks will be shared with the Trust
- tell us about any dates when you will not be available
- A completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (see link above) *
Where to send your completed application:
Please forward your completed application to england.chairsandneds@nhs.net quoting reference M3725, copying in thomas.patterson@alumniglobal.com
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 EEAST’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 David Heaton, Principal Researcher, whose details can be found at the bottom of this microsite.
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: Friday 14th August 2026 11am
Stakeholder Event: 15th September 2026
Final Interviews: 15th September 2026
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.