Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership: Contribute to the development and oversight of The Neurodegeneration Initiative’s strategic and business plans and ensure alignment with our charitable purpose.
- Provide strategic leadership and direction to the Charity and the Board, ensuring that the NI achieves its mission, supporting and working with the CEO and Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to cement the vision, strategy and high-level policies for the Charity.
- Provide insight and innovative thinking around clinical trials, academic research and Life Sciences sectors by providing expertise and challenging thinking.
- Guide and inform the decision making and research strategy with awareness of healthcare systems, health data, regulation of medicines/diagnostics/devices, clinical academic and commercially-sponsored research.
- Work in partnership with the board and ELT ensuring that everyone remains focused and aligned on the delivery of the organisation’s charitable purposes to provide greater public benefit.
Governance: Ensure compliance with our charitable objectives and Charity Commission’s requirements.
- Chair the Board of Trustee meetings effectively, seek consensus, ensure full debate on key questions so decisions are made in the best, long-term interests of the Charity and that the Board takes collective ownership of these decisions.
- Ensure that the board that it fulfils its responsibilities for the governance of the organisation and compliance with company and charity best practises.
- Ensure that the governance frameworks are working in the most effective way for the Charity and are reviewed regularly.
- Direct board decision and policy making, bringing impartiality, diversity of thought and objectivity to decision-making, ensuring these decisions are implemented.
- Co-ordinate the Board to ensure it delegates sufficient authority to its committees, the Chair, the Chief Executive and ELT, to enable the business of the Charity to be carried on effectively between meetings of the Board.
- Ensure major risks to which the Charity is exposed are reviewed regularly and systems are established to manage and mitigate those risks.
- Ensure that the Board fulfils its duties to ensure the sound financial health of the Charity, with systems in place to ensure financial accountability.
- Ensure that there is an annual programme of Board and committee meetings and well-structured agendas, with clear purpose and outcomes, supported by high-quality briefing papers.
Financial resilience, funding models and long-term business strategy: Strategically support the public/private partnership model to ensure financial sustainability.
- Establish a mid to long term financial strategy to optimise the public/private potential of Government funding sources (Innovate UK and Office of Life Sciences) and match funding with the Life Sciences/Health Foundation sector.
- Build strategic approaches and opportunities with partnerships, by using your professional networks and sector knowledge.
- Put in place effective measures and outcomes of performance to continue the long-term sustainability of the organisation through partnership working and funding models.
Stakeholder Influence and Advocacy: Champion The Neurodegeneration Initiative’s work as a key contributor within the Government’s “Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme”.
- Work with the Dame Barbara Windsor Dementia Goals programme Advisory Boards/Fora who provide advice and input to the NI:
- A world-class Scientific Advisory Board with global scientific, clinical and regulatory expert members who provide strategic advice on the Dementia Goals’ scientific plan and priorities. This is chaired by Dr Ruth McKernan (Partner, SV Investors and former Executive Chair of Innovate UK).
- The People’s Forum, chaired by the programme’s People’s Champion – Scott Mitchell, husband of the late Dame Barbara Windsor, after whom the Dementia Goals programme is named. Scott and the People’s Forum will ensure that unmet needs of individuals and caregivers – as defined by them – are met through proactive engagement, partnership and transparency.
- The System Partners Engagement Forum, chaired by Raj Long, and with involvement from MHRA, NICE, the NHS and Devolved Governments. This will Provide expert advice on strategic issues relating to the regulation, implementation and system preparedness of dementia therapeutics and diagnostics. It will also discuss existing evidence gaps in dementia research and care and how commercial clinical trials and new innovations in dementia could help address these gaps.
- Work as an Ambassador with external stakeholders, leveraging your health/research background to strengthen partnerships with healthcare providers, academia, clinical researchers, policymakers, the public and patients.
- Act as a senior spokesperson for the Charity and its cause, representing the organisation at external events, functions and meetings.
- Ensure that the work of the Charity is promoted to key stakeholders and the wider public sector to support the ongoing success of the Charity.
- Ensure that the Trustees are encouraged to promote the work of the Charity to their own network of contacts with the public and private sector.
- Ensure the Board and the Charity hear the voices and views of key stakeholders, especially people and patients we provide a service to.
- Develop relationships with other key stakeholders including employees, volunteers, and other charities in related areas of work.
Risk Management: Help identify and mitigate risks
- Manage risks related to clinical research, healthcare policy, the delivery of complex health data programmes and patient involvement, trial participation and health information.
- Assess and mitigate the risk associated with Charity status including audit and regulatory requirements associated with Charity Commission requirements.
Management of the Chief Executive: Undertake line management of the Chief Executive, leading the formal appraisal process and providing support where needed.
- Ensure that the Chief Executive is clear about the key performance indicators by which they will be held accountable.
- Establish and build a strong, effective and a constructive working relationship with the Chief Executive, ensuring they are held to account for achieving agreed strategic objectives.
- Ensure regular contact with the Chief Executive and develop an open and supportive relationship within which each can speak openly about concerns, worries and challenges.
- Support the Chief Executive to maintain close relationships, facilitate change and address any potential conflict with key external stakeholders as appropriate.
- Ensure that the Chief Executive has the opportunity for professional development and has appropriate external professional support.
- Set and review the remuneration package of the Chief Executive and executive leadership team.
Board Development and Succession: Ensure that the Board has the skills it requires to govern the Charity well and these skills are utilised and that the Board has access to relevant external professional advice and expertise.
- Support the organisation as a new Charity to navigate the Charity Commission processes and governance requirements, in line with the Charitable Purpose.
- Ensure that there is a systematic, open and fair procedure for the recruitment of Trustees, future Chairs of the Board and future Chief Executives.
- Lead the development of the Board of Trustees. This includes induction, training, appraisal and succession planning.
- Ensure that the Board of Trustees is regularly refreshed and incorporates the right balance of skills, knowledge and expertise needed to govern and lead the Charity effectively, and which also reflects the wider population.
- Ensure that Trustees act reasonably, always act in the interests of the Charity and comply with the Charity’s code of conduct for Trustees and work within any agreed policies.
- Ensure that the Board of Trustees regularly reviews its performance.