Aspirant Directors Regional Talent Pool – How to apply, use it as an employer and what is the support available
About the Regional Aspirant Director Talent Pool
This is an ambitious initiative focusing on surfacing key future leadership talent, aiding retention and improving diversity by identifying, assessing, supporting and mobilising talent into critical roles and vacancies.
In order to retain and engage our senior talent to reach their potential and to support the delivery of excellent, sustainable health outcomes for our populations, the Midlands Talent and Leadership Team have an ambition to deliver further leadership and career
development support to our aspiring Executive Director community.
To address this, in April 2023 we launched our Midlands Aspirant Director Talent pool with the key objective to achieve the following:
- To provide bespoke and tailored career management support to those wishing to progress to an executive director position within the next two years
- To create greater visibility of diverse talent in the region in order to meet the supply and demand challenges at board level and enhance the diversity profile of boards
To support aspirant director talent in securing positions aligned to their skills and experience - To reduce agency usage and spend in the longer term by deploying talented leaders from our pool into regional board level positions
Who is eligible to apply?
The pool is open to the following:
- Those operating one below board level who have ambitions to progress to a board level position within 2-3 years
- Are performing well in role
- Are employed by a regional NHS or NHS funded organisation
What is the support offer for Aspirant Director pool members?
We appreciate that talent pool members career aspirations will look different from individual to individual and therefore we have developed a range of offers which members can select is the most appropriate to them. This includes the following:
- Executive coaching
- Mentoring from a board leader
- Access to a range of career development workshops on topics like the board appointment process, governance, transitioning from deputy to executive, imposter syndrome, personal branding and networking events
- Mock interview practice
- CV review
- Vacancy sharing and job matching
- Action learning
- Access to psychometrics and 360 tools
How to apply to the talent pool?
If you are an aspiring director who would like to join the pool and access the support available, please email the talent team asking for an enrolment form. If you are deemed eligible, this will be confirmed and you will be sent a comprehensive support pack.
How can employers engage with regional aspirant director talent pool?
We want to nurture our talent in the region in collaboration with employers. Over time, our ambition is that the talent pool is the first port of call for all regional NHS employers to come to when they have substantive or interim board level opportunities suitable for first time directors.
If you have an opportunity that you think might be suitable, please email the talent team with details of the role and the type of leader you are looking for. A senior member of the team will then contact you to discuss role requirements in more detail and where possible, will identify suitable individuals that match these requirements.
Talent Management Support to Systems and Organisations
We will work collaboratively with Integrated Care Systems to facilitate innovation, best practice and improvement in talent management. Contact the talent team if you require advisory support to develop and implement your talent management strategy.
We also provide a range of tools and resources:
Talent Management Toolkit and Resources
A whole host of tools, resources and templates have been developed to support talent management practitioners to embed successful talent management culturally and operationally. These include talent review templates and guidance, strategy templates, slide packs to engage board leaders and line managers and much much more.
You can view and download all of the available resources here
If you have a story or a case study to share that demonstrates how your organisation or system have implemented great talent management practice, we’d love to hear about it.
Our aim moving forward will be to act as conduit for the region to share great practice to support the spread, adoption and dissemination of innovation.
Inclusive Recruitment and Promotion Practices Case Study produced by NHS Employers
NHS Employers on behalf of NHSEI undertook a recent Inclusive Recruitment and Promotion Practices Case Study. This includes numerous case studies from NHS and non NHS organisations showcasing innovation in inclusive talent management practice and the impact of these approaches.
You can review this resource here https://www.nhsemployers.org/case-studies-and-resources/2021/04/inclusive-recruitment-leading-positive-change