South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, Non-executive Director (clinical) or Associate Non-executive Director
The Trust is looking to recruit a Clinical Non-executive Director or Associate Non-executive Director to join the Board.
Working collaboratively as part of a unitary board, you will contribute to the development of strategy, support long-term sustainability and help ensure the Trust continues to provide safe, effective and compassionate care. You will also work closely with executive colleagues and partners across the wider health and care system to support system-wide thinking and collaborative leadership in partnership.
The successful candidate will demonstrate sound judgement, strategic thinking and the ability to provide constructive challenge while building positive and collaborative working relationships. Our successful candidate will be passionate about tackling health inequalities.
We particularly want to encourage candidates from groups currently under represented in NHS Board roles.
Essential criteria: Non-executive Director – Clinical
As a Non-executive Director, you will come from a strong senior clinical background in psychiatry or psychology or as an allied health professional. You will enhance oversight of Trust quality, safety, and patient experience, ensuring its effective operation and alignment with Board priorities.
You will offer robust scrutiny and assurance on quality, patient safety, clinical effectiveness and patient experience, as well as supporting a culture of openness, learning and continuous improvement across the Trust.
We are looking for a senior leader with substantial experience operating at Board or senior leadership level within a complex organisation, ideally within the NHS, wider public sector or a similarly regulated environment. We would welcome applications from those who have not worked at board level before but bring a range of lived experience, and the role could be a developmental Associate Non-Executive Director role for the right candidate.
- Strong understanding of governance, audit, risk and assurance
- The ability to interpret complex information and support robust decision-making
- Experience of leading within complex and changing environments
- Commitment to equality, inclusion and compassionate leadership
- An understanding of partnership working across organisational boundaries
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
As a future NHS leader, the successful candidates will be able to demonstrate that they meet the NHS leadership competency framework for board members (please see the candidate information pack below for the six domains). The competency domains are aligned to Our NHS People Promise, Our Leadership Way and the Seven Principles of Public Life (Nolan Principles).
The best boards are those that reflect the workforce and communities they serve. We particularly welcome applications from women, people from local black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and people with disabilities, who we know are all under-represented in these important roles.
Candidate pack: SWLSG NED September 2026 pack L3746
For a confidential discussion, contact our executive search partners at GatenbySanderson: Melanie Shearer – melanie.shearer@gatenbysanderson.com and Jim Canning – jim.canning@gatenbysanderson.com
Key dates
| Closing date for applications* | 5 October 2026 at 9:00am |
| Interview date | w/c 2 November 2026 |
| Proposed start date | Tbc |