Leadership Q&A: Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust

In the latest edition of our Leadership Q&A, Mel Coombes MBE, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust tells us about the trust’s vision for the future, and how you can be a leader at the heart of it

Why should people apply for these roles?

It’s an incredibly exciting time here at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust. The Board is in the process of “resetting” the trust direction, which has resulted in some changes to the organisation’s core purpose.

This year, the trust made the very difficult decision to recalibrate its service portfolio and from 2024 will no longer provide adult physical health services. This has provided the trust with a huge opportunity to focus on, and become, a centre of excellence for all-age mental health, learning disability and autism services, as well as develop its new ambition of becoming a leader in the development of integrated children’s services.

The trust considers children’s services as core to the organisation’s strategic direction and is actively exploring opportunities to develop its offering further to create an integrated children’s service for children and young people in Coventry and Warwickshire.

Given these significant changes in strategic direction, there is a huge amount of work to be done and we’re recruiting to several exciting new posts to make it a reality:

Deputy Chief Finance Officer
Director of Digital and Data
Director of Nursing
Director of Learning Disability and Autism
Director of Adult and Older People’s Mental Health Services
Director of Children’s Services
Deputy Chief Medical Officer – Learning Disability and Autism
Deputy Chief Medical Officer – Adult and Older Adult Mental Health
Chief Pharmacist

These posts provide a once-in-a-career opportunity for the right aspiring executives to join the trust and shape a future for Coventry and Warwickshire, empowering staff, and the communities we service to help us create something truly unique.

These roles will be focused on amplifying the voices of the communities we serve to make sure all decisions and services are designed with our communities at their heart. This is a time of significant shift and step change that will improve the quality of our services and the lives of people in the communities we serve.

What type of people is CWPT looking for?

We know that we still need to make sure we get the basics right. We are looking for people who have excellence in their bones.

These roles will be key to getting our “house in order” so that we can be sure we are building our aspirations on solid foundations, and we need people who know what outstanding looks like and can empower our staff to deliver it, through passionate leadership. The people who are successful in securing these roles will not be afraid of hard work; they will be ready to roll up their sleeves and get down and get it done.

We are looking for people who will give our clinically-led directorates the right tools and information to make informed decisions. It’s critical to the trust board that decisions are based on data and are demonstrated to be in the very best interests of the communities we serve.

Successful candidates must be creative and have a real focus on partnership working. They will strive to do more with our communities to ensure we are making the right decisions for the right reasons, with a clear focus on financial efficiency whilst delivering outstanding services.

Our trust aspires to gain university trust status and these roles will be instrumental in making that happen.

What makes CWPT a place people will want to be a part of?

Not only is CWPT in an exciting state of transition, providing the right candidates with the opportunity to really shape and influence the future direction of the trust, but it’s also located in a thriving location, right in the centre of the country.

With excellent transport links across the UK, Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull offer easy access to all major cities by train or car. Trains from Coventry take just one hour to London and 20 minutes to the centre of Birmingham. Nearby Birmingham International Airport, which is in Solihull and just a 20-minute drive from Coventry, is the third largest airport in the UK outside of London.

In the heart of the UK, there is something for everyone, from the diverse and vibrant city of Coventry to the beautiful rolling countryside and picturesque villages of Warwickshire. There is a wealth of entertainment and history to be explored here, from restaurants to museums, galleries, parks, theatres and gardens. The award-winning Ricoh Arena hosts concerts, exhibitions, conferences and sporting events and the Birmingham NEC is also close by.

For families wishing to make a home here, there are excellent state schools as well as high-ranking public schools. We also have top colleges and universities nearby, such as the University of Warwick and Coventry University, which is voted top for nursing teaching in the country and one of the best student experiences nationally.

We have a clear focus on inclusivity across the organisations and are proud to have one of the most diverse boards in the county. We also offer an extensive list of staff networks that meet regularly and offer an excellent wellbeing package to all who work for us.

How will joining CWPT advance the candidates’ career?

We are clear that these roles are perfect for aspirational executives, and if successful, candidates will join us at a time that will be career-defining.

These roles offer people a huge potential to be a part of something brilliant and new, as the trust establishes itself as a national centre of excellence for all-age mental health and learning disability and autism services, as well as becoming a leader in the development of integrated children’s services. These are clear stepping-stone roles into executive positions and provide new opportunities for professional development.

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