Non-Executive Director - Audit Committee Chair, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) operates across more than 90 sites in South London, providing not only core mental services for their four local boroughs, but over 50 specialist mental health services nationwide.

Part of the Sought London Mental Health and Community Partnership, they work closely in partnership with a variety of organisations across London including South West, and South East London Integrated Care systems, Kings Health Partners and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience.

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 Non-Executive Director – Audit Committee Chair 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 a Non-Executive Director is central to this. As members of our Board, you will help us uphold the highest standards of accountability and transparency. You will provide support and constructive, considered and appropriate challenge to the Executive Directors holding them to account for the delivery of the strategy and the performance of the Trust. You will ensure the Trust places patient safety at the heart of its work and that mechanisms are in place to ensure staff are able to speak up.
We believe this is a particularly exciting time to join us, as the Board and the Executive leadership Team are evolving to reflect our shared ambition to strengthen the Trust and address longstanding challenges. We have just completed 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 also highlight 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 Trust has a strong strategic vision, 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 your financial expertise, and broader experience, to support the Trust’s Board and Audit Committee through complex issues. 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. We will value your expertise and knowledge, from areas of work in the NHS and beyond. We are particularly interested in your ability to demonstrate integrity, resilience and a genuine commitment to fairness and equity.
This is a highly rewarding role. You will be supporting an organisation with a profound impact on people’s lives, ensuring that the way we lead and hold accountability matches the importance of our mission. We will support you as part of a committed and ambitious Board, 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:
  Non-Executive Director (Audit Committee Chair): A041132
- 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 Michael Earnshaw, Director of Research on +44 77 1905 59 71.
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.
Non-Executive Director (Audit Chair)
Closing date: 30th October 2025
Stakeholder Sessions: TBC
Final Interviews: w/c 17/11/2025 - TBC
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.