Trustee Opportunity: Join HQIP’s Board as a Communications and Marketing Leader

Help shape how healthcare quality improvement is heard, understood, and acted upon across the NHS

If you are a senior communications, marketing or public affairs professional who believes in the power of clarity, storytelling and influence, this is an opportunity to make a real difference on a national scale.

The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) is seeking a Trustee with proven strategic communications experience to join our Board. This is your chance to amplify the voice of an organisation that plays a central role in improving the quality of healthcare in England and Wales, not by delivering care, but by enabling clinicians, providers and policymakers to act on the insights that drive better outcomes.

About HQIP

At HQIP, our mission is straightforward yet essential: to improve health outcomes by driving up the quality of care delivered to patients.

We do this by managing the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP) on behalf of NHS England and other partners, commissioning and overseeing audits and clinical outcome reviews that show where care is excellent, and where improvement is needed.

Our work supports clinicians, providers, and patients to use real-world data to identify variation, challenge complacency, and foster learning. But we understand that data alone does not improve care. It is how that data is communicated, interpreted and acted upon that drives change. This is why communications is a strategic priority for HQIP and why your contribution as a trustee could have national significance.

The Role: Trustee (Communications and Marketing Leader)

As a member of HQIP’s Board of Trustees, you will play a critical role in shaping the strategic direction and governance of the charity. Your focus will be to ensure HQIP communicates with purpose, clarity and influence, enhancing our visibility, extending our reach, and ensuring that our messages resonate with the people who need to hear them most.

You will advise the Board and executive team on brand positioning, stakeholder engagement, campaign strategy, and digital communication. You will help us to tell compelling stories from our work, to champion the value of clinical audit, and to make sure our outputs lead to action.

This is a non-executive, voluntary governance role. The Board meets three times a year (typically virtually or in hybrid format), with the option to support sub-committees or specific strategic initiatives. The standard term is three years, with potential for renewal.

What You Will Bring

We are seeking a communications leader who can combine strategic thinking with a strong understanding of audience engagement and influence. You may have built your experience in the NHS, public service, voluntary sector, or wider industry, what matters is your ability to lead in the following areas:

• Narrative Development and Organisational Storytelling
  You understand how to take complex, data-rich work and translate it into messaging that connects. You will help HQIP build a coherent and compelling voice, aligned with its mission and relevant to its diverse audiences from clinicians and NHS leaders to patient groups and the wider public.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Positioning
  You are adept at navigating multi-stakeholder landscapes. Your guidance on how to engage the NHS, Royal Colleges, regulators, voluntary bodies and the public will help HQIP remain influential, trusted and relevant. You will support us in strengthening relationships that extend our reach and credibility.
• Strategic Communications and Campaigns
  You bring a planner’s mindset and a campaigner’s instinct. HQIP has a wealth of insight and data that can support improvement, but only if people see, share and act upon it. You will support the development of proactive campaigns that promote key findings, share learning, and motivate action at all levels of the system.
• Brand Development and Management
  You know how to build, sustain and protect brand identity in an evolving environment. You will advise on tone, consistency, visual identity and message integrity, ensuring HQIP’s brand is clear, confident and aligned with our purpose and values.
• Digital Engagement and Media Insight
  Whether through digital content, social media, video, web platforms or media relations, you understand how different audiences engage. You will help HQIP make more effective use of its channels and build meaningful dialogue with its stakeholders.
• Governance and Strategic Contribution
  Beyond your communications expertise, you will participate fully in Board discussions on organisational strategy, growth, assurance and impact. You will bring a commitment to transparency, independence and service to the public good.

Why This Role Matters

Clinical audit is a powerful tool, it generates insight, supports accountability, and highlights where improvements must be made. But it cannot fulfil its potential in silence.

HQIP’s ability to influence national conversations on quality, safety and equity in healthcare depends on how well we communicate. The audit programmes we oversee can only improve care if the findings are seen, understood and used. This is where your leadership as a trustee will be vital.

You will help ensure our outputs do not gather dust but shape policies, inspire improvements and empower patients. You will support HQIP to become not only a commissioner of audits, but a national voice for quality, one that speaks with purpose, listens to the system, and helps turn measurement into momentum for change.

Who Should Apply

We are seeking candidates who bring:

• Substantial senior leadership experience in communications, marketing, branding or public affairs
• A track record of developing and delivering strategic communications plans, stakeholder engagement initiatives and campaigns
• Familiarity with reputation management, multichannel strategies and audience segmentation
• Experience in complex, multi-partner environments,  ideally within health, public service, or voluntary sector contexts
• A passion for improving public services and a deep alignment with HQIP’s mission and values

Prior Board or non-executive experience is welcome but not essential. We are keen to hear from candidates who are new to governance but bring fresh perspectives and commitment.

Practicalities and Time Commitment

• Attendance at three Board meetings per year (usually virtual or hybrid)
• Optional involvement in Board sub-committees and working groups
• Initial term of three years, renewable by mutual agreement
• Voluntary role, with all reasonable expenses reimbursed
• Induction and governance support will be provided

How to Apply

If you are passionate about quality improvement and keen to shape healthcare at a system level, we want to hear from you. To express interest in this trustee role, please send a brief cover letter and CV to [email protected]  by 30 May 2025. In your application, please highlight your relevant senior clinical leadership experience and what you believe you can contribute to HQIP’s mission.

For an informal discussion about the role, you may contact our Chief Executive or current Chair via the same email address. Further information about HQIP and our programmes can be found on our website www.hqip.org.uk.

Join us in ensuring that measuring quality of care leads to improving quality of care. Together, we can strengthen the impact of clinical audit and help deliver better outcomes for patients across the NHS.

HQIP is committed to inclusivity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. We particularly encourage senior clinicians from diverse backgrounds to apply.

(Note: This is a voluntary non-executive trustee position. Reasonable travel and subsistence expenses will be reimbursed. Board meetings are held three times a year, two virtual Board meetings and one in-person Board meeting, which will also include the AGM, held in central London,  with sub-committee meetings as needed.)

A Final Word

At HQIP, we believe that what we measure matters, but how we communicate it matters just as much. If you share our belief that better understanding leads to better care, and that strategic communications can drive improvement across the system, this is your opportunity to help shape that impact at scale.

HQIP is committed to diversity and inclusion. We actively welcome applications from all backgrounds and particularly encourage those who are currently underrepresented on charity Boards to apply.