CEO sought to lead partnership of county's health organisations with annual salary of up to £197,500

The NHS has advertised for the role leading the Integrated Care System's board in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, with an annual salary of up to £197,500.

The ICS, which brings together NHS services and local councils, replaced the county's sustainability and transformation partnership in April as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

The job advert says the right candidate will have a "vision to deliver a new healthcare approach for patients".

It says: "As CEO of the ICS’s Integrated Care Board (ICB) you will work with your colleagues, your community and your partners to deliver a long-term strategy to achieve this.

"There are now 42 ICSs covering the whole of England, each serving between 500,000 and three million people.

"Each ICB will hold a substantial budget for commissioning high quality patient care and the authority to establish performance arrangements to ensure this is delivered.

"Final appointment as ICB chief executive would be dependent on the passage of the Health and Care Bill, and, subject to any potential amendments made to that Bill, be made formally by the ICB chair on establishment.

"These are significant, high-profile roles at the cutting edge of public sector reform."

It says the successful candidate will have significant board level and CEO experience; strong, strategic leadership skills, critical reasoning and numeracy, with the experience of stewardship of significant public funds.

The NHS says that ICS's are partnerships of health and care organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined up services and to improve the health of people who live and work in their area.

They exist to tackle inequalities, enhance productivity and value for money and support broader social and economic development in their area.

The Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICS consists of the local clinical commissioning group, The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, The Robert Jones Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, primary care/GPs, Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council, along with the voluntary sector.

Speaking earlier this year when the county's ICS formed, Mark Brandreth, ICS executive lead, said: “We have made great progress developing our relationships and working together over the last few years.

"As well as our collective response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have some great local examples such as the multidisciplinary care home team in Telford and Wrekin which includes care home staff working closely with primary care colleagues to deliver enhanced support, utilising digital technologies to enable remote consultations.

"In Shropshire, public health, the voluntary and community sector and primary care have been working collaboratively on a social prescribing model that supports people in the community where they live. We want to continue to embed and accelerate this joint working through our ICS development plan.”

Applicants were invited to apply for the role before it closed on Sunday, with interviews scheduled to take place in October.