Russell Reynolds Associates Tapped by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to Find New Leader
November 29, 2021 – The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has called in Russell Reynolds Associates to lead its search for a new chief executive officer. The firm is looking for a leader to drive the organization’s transformation and develop its strategic plan over the next five years, and beyond. The CEO will be a transformational leader, who is able to operate in a complex and ambiguous multi-stakeholder environment, said the search firm. The role requires a high level of intellectual curiosity as well as emotional intelligence to lead the organization through change while keeping the confidence of the many stakeholders who rely on its outputs. NICE is open to candidates from a diverse range of backgrounds, and talented individuals may come from health and social care, life sciences, management consultancy or beyond. They will have successfully managed significant transformation programs which have demonstrably increased the effectiveness of an organization.
Candidates should have an awareness of, and appreciation for, evidence-based health and care practice. A general understanding of the science that is driving current and potential near-future innovation in the health and care services would be advantageous but is not essential. Some background understanding of NICE and the sectors in which it operates—health and care, and life sciences—and the political, economic and industrial ecosystem in which NICE operates, would be useful, as would prior experience of working with the U.K. government.
The ideal candidate for this position will have senior management experience, which could be gained in a main or divisional board role in a commercial organization or at board level within the public sector. He or she should have the necessary personal characteristics to command the respect of professional and managerial leaders in the health and social care communities, and in the life sciences industries. In addition, candidates should have an exceptional ability to influence, network and negotiate with a complex and diverse stakeholder group that represents varied interests.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has a reputation as a leader in the provision of robust, independent and trusted advice to the health and care system and is widely recognized as such around the world. The organization was established more than 20 years ago as an independent non-departmental government body with a core purpose “to improve health and well-being by putting science and evidence at the heart of health and care decision-making”.
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Supported by a strong executive team and leading some 680 staff in offices in Manchester and London, the CEO manages a budget of £67 million and is accountable to the chairman of the board. The individual will lead on the strategic direction to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities by supporting the health and care sector and life sciences industry, championing new innovations that can deliver better health for patients and the public. The incoming leader will also refine and redesign the organizational structure to enable NICE to deliver on its ambitious strategy, bringing in new skills as needed at all levels of the organization. The search firm said that the incoming executive will “lead the change and transformation program, creating a culture that is expert and agile, responsive and curious about developments in the outside world so that NICE can respond to the strategic challenges it observes in health care and can develop a flexibility of approach to respond to those challenges it cannot yet see but will inevitably face.”
Global Search Firm
Russell Reynolds Associates is a global leadership advisory and search firm. Its 425-plus consultants in 46 offices work with public, private and non-profit organizations across all industries and regions.
The firm’s public sector, trade and associations practice group serves a wide variety of public sector and not-for-profit organizations, related public bodies, regulators and government-owned companies. It also fills the executive leadership needs of global charities, healthcare providers, and local government and trade associations.
The firm also conducts in-depth organizational culture assessment and measures the cultural fit of key leadership and candidates in the following areas: arts and culture, global development, higher education, non-profit health and human services, public sector, social justice and advocacy, as well as trade and professional associations.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
