Head of Assurance & Governance PMO

Go back NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board Head of Assurance

The closing date is 19 July 2026

The Head of Assurance is a senior leadership role responsible for ensuring the Integrated Care Board (ICB) operates to the highest standards of governance, integrity and transparency. The postholder provides strategic oversight of all corporate assurance functions, including statutory compliance, policy frameworks, the development of robust assurance systems including but not restricted to Board and committee oversight and assurance. As a key advisor to the Board of Directors and Executive Team, they help to shape organisational effectiveness, enabling the ICB to deliver its duties under the Health and Care Act and maintain public confidence in decision making.

This role leads the coordination of the ICB's assurance and regulatory processes, ensuring effective management of corporate assurance, alignment with internal and external audit requirements, and delivery of high-quality reporting to NHS England and system partners. The postholder will support strong relationships across the Integrated Care System (ICS), fostering collaborative approaches to governance that strengthen accountability and performance. They will champion good governance culture across the organisation, promoting continuous improvement, learning and best practice, quality reporting to NHS England and system partners.

Portfolio responsibilities may vary and adapt over time to respond to the needs and strategic priorities of the ICB/ICS. However, the postholder is expected to fulfil the following key functions:

Key Duties & Responsibilities:

• Corporate assurance
• PMO delivery linked to key corporate objectives, improvement plans and CRES
• Risk, Assurance, Audit & Regulatory Compliance
• System leadership, Partnership Governance & Team Management

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside serves a population of over 2.7 million people across nine localities, working with 16 NHS provider organisations, 51 Primary Care Networks, local authorities and voluntary sector partners.

We are proud of Cheshire and Merseyside's record of collaborative working and there are countless examples of brilliant care, but there are also examples of variation in service which only serve to exacerbate health inequalities.

Our vision is for everyone in Cheshire and Merseyside to have a great start in life and get the support they need to stay healthy and live longer.

We will do this by working together, as equal partners, to support seamless, person-centred care and tackle health inequalities by improving the lives of the poorest fastest.

Our values are rooted in the NHS Constitution, and we strive to create a compassionate, collaborative and innovative culture where staff can thrive and make a real difference to local communities.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Corporate Governance, Board Support & Decision-Making

• Advise the Chair, Chief Executive and Non Executive Members on assurance and delivery matters, ensuring clarity of roles, delegations and accountabilities.
• Ensure effective corporate records management and retention practices.
• Own and maintain the corporate policy framework, ensuring standards and governance are embedded across decision making.
• Oversee due diligence and assurance for major business cases, procurements and contractual decisions

Risk, Assurance, Audit & Regulatory Compliance

• Operate a disciplined but pragmatic Assurance PMO for planning/performance initiatives (plans, RAID, milestones, change control).
• Ensure alignment between strategic objectives, risks, controls, assurances and mitigation.
• Coordinate the assurance map across the three lines of defence.
• Produce high quality assurance reports for the Board, Audit Committee and NHS England quality assurance reports for the Board, Audit Committee and NHS England.
• Track and drive delivery of actions arising from audits, reviews and investigations.
• Support the executive lead for the Audit Committee, in delivery of an effective annual programme.
• Liaise with internal and external audit providers and ensure implementation of recommendations.
• Oversee compliance with legislation, Health and Care Act duties and NHS regulatory requirements.
• Promote equality, inclusion, sustainability and other statutory duties within governance processes.
• Champion Nolan Principles, Freedom to Speak Up and an open, learning governance culture.

System Leadership, Partnership Governance & Team Management

• Develop strong relationships across the Integrated Care System, ensuring aligned governance and shared accountability.
• Support joint committees, Section 75 arrangements and collaborative decision making frameworks.
• Promote consistent governance and assurance standards across system partners and arrangements.
• Lead and develop a high performing Assurance team, with clear objectives, KPIs and professional development enabling a high performing team.
• Manage budgets, resources and contracts (e.g., audit, legal,…