Maternity and Neonatal Programme Stakeholder Council membership: expression of interest

Overview

The Maternity and Neonatal Programme is pleased to invite expressions of interest from candidates from the maternity and neonatal divisions of the health and care sectors for the role of Stakeholder Council member. 

The Stakeholder Council provides a forum for external stakeholders to influence and contribute to the NHS England Maternity and Neonatal Delivery Programme by providing feedback and strategic advice to the Maternity and Neonatal Delivery and Programme Board. The Council will act to support the Programme in its implementation of the Three-Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services.

The remit of the Council is to ensure that the views of relevant stakeholders are taken into account in the planning and delivery of Maternity and Neonatal Programme activities. The Chair of the Stakeholder Council is also a member of the Maternity and Neonatal Board and is responsible for sharing views and issues of Council members.

As member of the Stakeholder Council, you will be responsible for articulating your views, and the views of the organisation you represent, if applicable. You will act as a ‘sounding board’ to the work of the Programme, bringing your skills and experience to share at Council meetings, actively contributing to discussions and respectively hearing the views of others. Council members also have a role in sharing and disseminating the work and aims of the maternity and neonatal programme among their organisations and those they represent. 

We are seeking expressions of interest to represent the range and diversity of stakeholders connected with Maternity and Neonatal services.

The following groups have been identified to ensure we have accurate and appropriate representation from across the maternity and neonatal space:

• National charities linked to maternity and neonatal.
• Service User Voice representatives or groups, including neonatal representation.
• Frontline staff representatives.
• Specialist groups, including infant feeding and mental health.
• Professional groups and associations
• Academic representatives, both clinical and social science
• NHS trust or systems leadership

There are positions on Stakeholder Council allocated professional organisations, these include Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of General Practitioners, British Association of Perinatal Medicine and Institute of Health Visiting. Professional groups not listed above will need to put in expression of interest.

It is imperative that we secure a membership that appropriately represents our diverse service user population and stakeholders across Maternity and Neonatal services in England. We strongly encourage applications from those organisations representing vulnerable service users and those from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds. Candidates with experience in improving outcomes and care experience for diverse communities are especially welcomed.

We strongly encourage individuals and groups who have not been represented on Stakeholder Council before to apply. Organisations applying should name a representative although deputies can attend with agreement of the Chair. The final composition of the Council will depend on the applications received and each application will be considered on its merits by the Council Chair, a service user representative and senior member of programme team. There is a need to balance including a broad range stakeholder and ensuring membership of Council remains manageable. Where there are more expressions of interest then there is space available the applications will be shortlisted and Chair reserves the right to hold virtual interviews.

Members will be required to attend quarterly Stakeholder Council meetings for 2 hours, provisionally these includes two virtual meetings and two in person at NHS England offices (Wellington House) in Waterloo, London. There may also be ad hoc meetings stakeholders maybe be invited to join to further support programme development.

Membership of Stakeholder Council is voluntary, expect for Service User Voice representatives who will be reimbursed form their time in line with NHS England’s PPV policy. Members of Stakeholder Council should not be employed by NHS England in any other capacity.

Please complete this online expression of interest form and attach your CV by midnight on 13 December 2023.