East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, Chair and Non-executive Director x3
East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) is recruiting a Chair and three Non-Executive Directors to join its Board at an important time for the organisation.
EKHUFT is one of the largest hospital trusts in England, serving a population of around 700,000 across five hospitals and a number of community sites, and providing specialist services for Kent and Medway. It is also a teaching trust, working closely with King’s College London to train doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals.
The Trust is open about the challenges it faces. Dr Bill Kirkup’s report, “Reading the Signals”, highlighted long-standing failures in safety, clinical behaviour and organisational culture, and the Trust has been working to address these. As part of the national Intensive Recovery and Performance (IRP) Programme, it is receiving additional support to improve quality, performance, financial sustainability and culture. The new Board members will be joining during a period of active Board renewal and executive transition, with formal oversight arrangements in place.
The Chair will provide leadership to the Board and executive team through this period of recovery and improvement; supporting the Chief Executive, strengthening Board-level assurance, and helping the Trust make progress on service transformation and financial sustainability. The role requires experience chairing or leading a large, complex organisation through change, ideally in a regulated or publicly accountable environment, along with the judgement to work effectively with regulators, NHS England and other system partners.
The three Non-Executive Directors will join as equal members of the unitary Board, working alongside the Chair, Chief Executive and executive team to set strategy, monitor performance and support good governance. The Trust is looking for candidates with board-level experience in large, complex, customer-facing organisations, a sound understanding of corporate governance, and the ability to communicate effectively at all levels.
In all four roles, the Trust is looking for people who are experienced, resilient and credible: able to support the executive team constructively while also providing independent challenge.
The Trust welcomes applications from the widest possible range of candidates, and particularly encourages applications from women, from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, and from people with disabilities, who remain under-represented on NHS boards.
For an informal and confidential conversation about either role, and also to apply, please contact Rhiannon Smith or Jenny Adrian at Hunter Healthcare: jadrian@hunter-healthcare.com / 07939 250362.
Key dates
- Application closing date: 3 August 2026
- Shortlisting: w/c 17 August
- Interviews: w/c 31 August