Appointment of Members of the Board of Healthcare Improvement Scotland in Glasgow

HEALTHCARE IMPROVEMENT SCOTLAND is the national improvement organisation for health and social care in Scotland. Their core purpose is to enable the people of Scotland to experience the best quality health and social care, with a specific focus on safety. Their role is to be at the heart of national efforts to understand, shape and improve the quality and safety of health and social care. They ensure that the people of Scotland can rely on and trust the services they are using, and that those who are delivering care are supported to continuously improve. They are uniquely positioned in the system because of their ability to combine assurance, improvement, engagement and evidence, which means they can:

• ensure care is safe, effective and evidence-based, person-centred, and equitable;
• deliver improvement programmes for care that people receive in different settings;
• inform decision making across the system with our learning, intelligence and evidence;
• support change and reform through methodology and resources.

MEMBER ROLES

It is important that the Healthcare Improvement Scotland Board has members with a variety of different skills and experience which will enable the Board to work effectively. It is unlikely that anyone joining the Board will have all the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to fully carry out the role from the start of their appointment. What we are looking for are those who can put their skills, knowledge and experience to use for the benefit of the Board, and who have the capacity and commitment to grow and develop into the roles. That capacity and commitment is important as we adapt to face emergent and ongoing challenges. Non-executive members are expected to make a full contribution to the work of the Board, including participation in its governance committees.

Responsibilities

You will work with the Chair and other members of the Board to:

• maintain public confidence in the organisation as a public body and ensure the Board acts in the best interests of patients and the public;
• ensure the Board develops vision, strategies and clear objectives to deliver organisational purpose in the context of Scottish Government policies and priorities;
• account individually and collectively for the effectiveness of the Board as it governs the organisation;
• provide purposeful scrutiny and assurance on the decisions the Board makes ensuring the appropriate systems are in place to hold the executives to account rigorously and effectively;
• chair or participate as a member of key committees as part of the accountability processes within the Board;
• actively support and promote a healthy culture for the organisation and reflect this in your own behaviour;
• uphold the highest ethical standards of integrity and probity - being honest and trustworthy - and comply with the Board’s Code of Conduct.

Qualifications

If you have any questions about the roles, please contact Pauline Symaniak at HIS at his.boardadmin@nhs.scot. You can find out more about HIS at www.healthcareimprovementscotland.scot/. The HIS Chair will be holding an online information session (on MS Teams) on Tuesday, 11 August between 5.00 pm and 6.30 pm. If you would like to attend, please contact Pauline Symaniak at his.boardadmin@nhs.scot who will be able to provide you further details as well as a Teams link to join the meeting.

REMUNERATION AND TIME COMMITMENT

Remuneration is £312.00 per day. The time commitment will vary week to week, but on average, you will need to commit to four days per month. Reasonable expenses incurred will be reimbursed. The appointments are non-pensionable.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Priority Criteria

Successful applicants will need to demonstrate evidence of one or both of the following priority criteria:

• experience of community engagement; and/or
• an experienced Human Resources professional.

Essential Criteria

Successful applicants should also demonstrate evidence of both of the following essential criteria:

• understanding and experience of governance and scrutiny;
• strong communication skills.

Full details are contained in the Applicant Information Pack.

TO APPLY FOR THIS ROLE, FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS:

• Download and save the Applicant Information Pack to refer to.
• Read the ‘person specification’ and ‘how to apply’ section in the Applicant Information Pack and write a supporting statement and a tailored career history, noting the word limits.
• Save a copy of your supporting statement and tailored career history to your device as one PDF.
• Navigate back to this job advert and click on the ‘apply’ button.
• Complete the personal information and conflict of interest questions.
• Attach your PDF.
• Where the system asks for 'Resume', this is where you should upload your one PDF that includes the tailored career history and supporting statement, and submit it by 5.00 pm on Monday, 24 August 2026.

PLEASE NOTE you do not have the option to edit your application or your supporting statement and tailored career history, once you click ‘submit’. You must have all your information and PDF attachment to hand before submitting your application. Late applications, and those without a supporting statement and tailored career history, cannot be considered by the selection panel.