Programme Information Hub

We have created a dedicated online information hub for the Developing Senior Systems Leadership programme where you can find key details and full information for participants, sponsors or those with open interest. 

There are various elements of support available throughout; 

 Delivery/Faculty Team 

The NES delivery team are available as are the Faculty from HULT Ashridge, our partners in this programme. More information is available when you onboard to the programme.

 Programme Administration 

Dariane Hughes will be able to answer any technical or logistical queries throughout the programme. Dariane will also host the dedicated email address of nes.dssl@nhs.scot   

 Dedicated coach – walking alongside you

All participants will be assigned/have the opportunity to work with a coach from the outset and throughout the programme on their personalised learning contract and development plan devised during the onboarding period.  

 Your Sponsor – walking alongside you 

Your nominating Sponsor will be expected to play an active role in your development, back at base. You will benefit from establishing a good understanding of what is possible together and how you will commit to working together. This should begin in your early conversations with them about your application. The Sponsor section in your application offers the opportunity to outline these initial commitments. Once your place is confirmed and through the onboarding element of the programme, there is further opportunity to refine and plan forwards how this will look in practice. 

 Your line manager 

Your own line manager may or may not be your Sponsor. Regardless, you will benefit from regular conversations about your learning and reflection across the programme with them. It will be important to secure their commitment to the protected time you need to take part and attend to your personalised learning plan throughout. 

Your peer participants/leadership community 

Much of your learning will be alongside peers from the wider social care, social work and health sectors in Scotland whilst on the programme. Peers learning together, with and alongside one another offers much valued support and challenge, especially in Leadership Development programmes of this nature. The lasting networks you are likely to create with your peers will inevitably be an asset to you in your systems leadership practice going forwards. 

Successful applicants will be expected to commit 100% attendance to all the key aspects of the programme.  Due to the experiential nature of the programme and the importance of creating psychological safety together, it is essential to create and maintain a consistent commitment to all the aspects so that you and your peers maximise the learning.  

The application form invites you and your sponsor the opportunity to describe the commitment you are both prepared to make from the outset too. 

An overview of the key aspects of the programme include; 

1. All face-to-face & residential learning sessions  
2. Full and active engagement in the live collaborative work alongside your peers on the programme 
3. Working with your assigned coach across the programme 
4. Working with your Sponsor(s) to gain insight, and experiences as outlined in the application.  
5. Undertake reflective learning throughout – eg keeping a journal
6. Attend to your own personal Wellbeing and resilience  

 The time commitment & expectations are further explained here (programme overview, key features, date plan).

Successful applicants will be expected to commit 100% attendance to all the key aspects of the programme.  Due to the experiential nature of the programme and the importance of creating psychological safety together, it is essential to create and maintain a consistent commitment to all the aspects so that you and your peers maximise the learning.

The application form invites you and your sponsor the opportunity to describe the commitment you are both prepared to make from the outset.

As a rough guide, expect to commit on average 2 days per month, across the 10-month programme to your learning activities.  A broad breakdown of this is described with the time commitment & expectations in the Participant Commitment guide .

On application to the programme, you are confirming you meet the defined eligibility criteria. 

 You will also commit to: 

• Be prepared to meet with members of the selection panel (between 29th May – 9th June) to review your application and have an informal conversation to ensure the programme is the right fit for you.
• Meet with your Coach, twice during July/ early August to establish your personalised learning contract and development plan that will underpin your learning outcomes and experience. 
• Attend all the face-to-face sessions and residentials 
• Work with your peers in between the face-to-face sessions and residentials and make progress together on a live collaborative piece of work. link insert – what is live collaborative work? 
• Meet with your Sponsor to review your learning and establish opportunities together for you to develop further insights into the executive/senior systems leadership role and operating environment(s) – see Sponsorship at its best for examples. 
• Attend to your own personal Well-being and resilience 
• Undertake guided reading and reflective practice activities

We would urge to read the general and specific sector criteria and talk with your nominating sponsor, before beginning your application.  An overview of the application process and form content can be found here.

 Informal drop in session dates are also available for those of you who would value a conversation to understand more, you might be a potential applicant, a sponsor, or someone with a general interest. The dates/times are listed here.

If this isn’t the right fit for you currently, why not: 

1. Look at other opportunities that the National Leadership Development Programme for social care, social work and health offer here or 
2. Talk to your local learning and development/OD or HR colleagues to see what you can access and be supported with locally 

The application form is a Microsoft Excel form that can be saved as you progress through it. The application process is made up of three stages:

• Section A: Participant Personal Details (step 1 of 3)
  • Applicants consent to a required GDPR agreement, complete personal details and complete a short questionnaire containing equality and diversity monitoring questions.
• Section B: Participant Application (step 2 of 3)
  • Applicants complete a series of questions in order to generate your personal statement in support of your application.
• Section C: Sponsor Assessment and Nomination Form (step 3 of 3)
  • After completing sections A and B, please send your application form to your sponsor in order for them to provide a supporting statement for the applicant indicating why they would benefit from Developing Senior Systems Leadership at this time.

Completed applications should be submitted to nes.dssl@nhs.scot.

We ask you to complete the following questions via online form to generate your personal supporting statement in support of your application. Your statement should be no more than 1000 words in total.

1. What attracts you to the programme?
2. What 3 development areas will you address by participating in this programme ?
3. Name 3 areas of strength that you hope to build on and share by participating in this programme?
4. Tell us about your career ambitions and your specific career goals in the next 18-24 months? How are you already preparing yourself to realise these?
5. What will you bring to the programme that will enhance the cohort’s shared learning and how will you use your learning to make a positive impact at a self, team / organisation, and whole system level?
6. You will be expected to undertake a piece of live collaborative work with a small team of colleagues in the cohort. What areas of live collaborative work might you be interested in exploring with other systems leaders in the cohort? Please explain your answer.
7. Please tell us about your experience of leading change and delivering sustainable outcomes in complex settings.

Examples should be recent (over the last 2-3 years) and include your personal involvement, the role you played and how you influenced others.

We also ask your sponsor(s) to complete a set of questions via online form in order to provide a supporting statement for the applicant indicating why they would benefit from Developing Senior Systems Leadership at this time. (no more than 800 words overall).

A step-by-step guide to the full application process can be found here.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is the commissioned delivery partner for the Delivering Senior Systems Leadership programme, and as such, is the data controller responsible for the overall control of the personal data being processed and are ultimately in charge of and responsible for the processing.

As data controller, NES is committed to ensuring the confidentiality and security of personal data for which we are responsible. Consent to the GDPR agreement is required for us to hold and process your personal data in order to process your application.

More information on NES Privacy and Data Protection can be found here.

Once you have completed the application, it will be assessed against the general and specific sector criteria by the selection assessment panel.  

 The panel will meet each shortlisted participant, to further understand ‘fit, readiness, motivation and ambition’ before making final decisions. Successful applicants will then be confirmed and notified by the end of June 2023. 

Should you be unsuccessful, we will advise you as soon as possible and be accompanied by relevant feedback. 

In order for your sponsor(s) to provide a strong and cohesive statement in support of your application to Developing Senior Systems Leadership, we encourage you to discuss your application with them and share a copy of your application response.

The application form is a Microsoft Excel form, which can be saved and shared with your sponsor in order for them to complete their statement.

We strongly recommend you discuss your application with your sponsor and share a copy of your application with them. You can review the entire application process here.

Leadership development is served best when learners have sponsorship support back in their workplace to enable them to make the most of the programme. Enabling conditions for extending learning back at base is a key feature of what Sponsors will be interested in and able to leverage their influence in bringing these experiences and insights to life. 

 Why not look at “Sponsorship at its Best” for some practical ideas about what this could include. Remember, if you are putting in an application with a sponsor statement of support, it will be very useful to have a conversation with your sponsor about what can be made possible for you and include these activities and commitments in the sponsor-related sections of the application.

We welcome the support that local, regional and national colleagues from workforce departments across the sectors. We hope you will be able to; 

1. Encourage your own executive/senior teams in your organisations to consider together who might benefit from being Sponsored and help them to think about what that might involve from them in practice. 
2. Encourage interested applicants to think about how they might secure Sponsorship and help them to think about what they are seeking to develop in themselves from this offer – ie does it fit for them at this time? 
3. Signpost potential applicants and their sponsors to more information via the Information Hub or to the delivery team. 

Year 2 will have a cohort of 24.  

These early cohort will help us understand fit , demand and impact of the programme and help our funding partners  make investment decisions for the future Investment decisions for cohorts going into Year 3 are yet to be determined (and will be reliant on further funding).

 All applications will be reviewed by a Selection Panel and supported by the faculty team for the programme. We are committed to providing feedback and signposting unsuccessful applicants to other types of leadership development offers relevant to them. 

Yes. And the selection panel will be keen to ensure a balanced cohort composition made up of the whole social care, social work and health system in Scotland. 

The sponsor section of the application process is an essential part of the whole application and any application without this is not a complete application.  We can only accept and consider complete applications for the programme selection process.

It is therefore key that you work closely with your sponsor to ensure they complete their section of your application before the deadline for applications is closed. Applications open Monday 27th March and close at 5pm on Friday 5th May 2023.

You only need 1 sponsor to complete your application. You may mention you have more than one but you only require one of them to complete your application.

It is therefore key that you work closely with your sponsor to ensure they complete their section of your application before the deadline for applications is closed. Applications open Monday 27th March and close at 5pm on Friday 5th May 2023.

Leadership development is served best when learners have sponsorship support back in their workplace to enable them to make the most of the programme. Enabling conditions for extending learning back at base is a key feature of what Sponsors will be interested in and able to leverage their influence in bringing these experiences and insights to life. 

 Why not look at pages 3 and 4 of  ‘Role of the Sponsor‘  for some practical ideas about what this could include. Remember, if you are putting in an application with a sponsor statement of support, it will be very useful to have a conversation with your sponsor about what can be made possible for you and include these activities and commitments in the sponsor-related sections of the application. 

The application form is a Microsoft Excel form, which can be saved and shared with your sponsor in order for them to complete their statement.

The sponsor section has equal weighting with the participant sections as this is a key element to the learning for the participant, the cohort and the system.

Full details of the application including sponsor details can be found in the Application Process Guide and more details on the Role of the Sponsor are also available.