Chair and Senior Chair of Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Programme

Overview

Grade B - £42,044 (National) or £47,900 (London - for London office based or home-based workers within the boundary of the M25). An additional homeworking allowance of £600 per annum is available for those working from home. Contracted Hours: Full time 37 hours per week. Contract Type: Fixed Term/Secondment until 31 March 2028.

Location: Homebased - Chair - South region 1 post, Midlands 1 post and North 2 posts - regular travel across the relevant region is essential.

Senior Chairs (Grade B with 5% uplift) - can live anywhere within England. You may also be asked to travel nationally on occasions.

Candidates must be willing and able to travel within the stipulated regions. We are seeking candidates who live within the specified regions, and location will be carefully considered to ensure that the role and responsibilities are manageable. Please note that the locations you will be required to visit are not always well served by public transport.

Assessment Dates

Interviews will be held between 24 - 27 February 2026.

Closing date: Sunday 15 February 2026 at 11.59pm.

The Role

The role - You'll be key in helping us deliver our work. In this role, you'll:

Work closely with your regional colleagues, working flexibly to monitor the use of the Human Rights Act and MHA to highlight the experiences of people detained under the MHA who are in long-term segregation and who have a learning disability or autism.

Contribute MHA expertise to the Inspection programme to ensure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety.

IC(E)TR Programme - (Independent Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews) You'll have in the last 2 years as a Chair of the IC(E)TR:

• Supported the delivery of the IC(E)TR programme, making a significant difference to the person's care and helping them to progress to discharge to their own home and improving their lives.
• Managed individual ICETRs both before, on the day and following up on the recommendations, escalating risks and issues as appropriate.

Senior Chair

We are also recruiting for 2 senior chairs to assist in overseeing the program and supporting the MHA Operations Manager. Senior chairs will also be required to undertake IC(E)TRs and will receive a 5% uplift in pay as a senior chair.

What we're looking for

We'll be looking for the following skills, knowledge and experience in your application:

• In-depth knowledge and working understanding of the Human Rights Act and the MHA and the Code of Practice.
• Experience of working in or with inpatient mental health services.
• A passion and commitment to improve the experience of detained patients.

Compliance

Note for internal candidates: This is a secondment/fixed term opportunity. Please read the recruitment and selection policy section on secondments. You must discuss your application with your line manager before applying.

To progress your application, you'll need to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK. Without valid right to work you won't be eligible for the role. We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Some roles may also be subject to a satisfactory DBS check.

Next steps

If you apply, you'll need to create a profile and complete an online application form. Your application will be completely anonymous. See our information for applicants for more details on the process. We contact every applicant to let them know the outcome of their application, so you will hear from us whether or not you are shortlisted.

You can read the full details of the role in the Job Description.

If you'd like an informal chat about the role contact - Meryll Paterson (Operations Manager ICETRS) - . For general enquiries, please email .

The Benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits, including:

• Annual leave starting at 27 days per year, rising to 32.5 days with service, plus bank holidays (usually 8 days per year).
• Training and development opportunities.
• Wellbeing initiatives, such as gym discounts and meditation.
• NHS pension scheme, with around 14% employer contribution.
• Discount schemes (including eligibility for a Blue Light card), reward vouchers, car leasing and more.

Please see our benefits page for the full list.

Equity and Inclusion

We know job descriptions can feel intimidating. If this role interests you, we encourage you to apply. Your unique perspective, skills and experience could be exactly what we need. We promote a workplace where fairness, respect and inclusion are a priority. See our ED&I page for more about this. We welcome applications from everyone, and colleagues can find support and community among our many employee networks. This includes people of any age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, ethnicity, and disability.

A Note on AI

AI tools can be great for research and refining ideas, but we want to learn about you. If you use AI or chatbots to help with your application, keep these points in mind:

• AI can support research, structuring and refining your writing, but your application must reflect your real skills and experience.
• Spell-checking and condensing word counts are fine ways to use AI.
• Do not copy and paste AI-generated answers. These will not help you stand out; we want to hear about your skills and experience.
• Providing false or insincere examples goes against our core values and may lead to your application being withdrawn or termination of employment.