Associate Director – East of England

Ref: S11367 | Associate Director – East of England | Home-based, East of England

However, travel and overnight stays within the UK will be required as part of this role.

Salary circa £64,700 per annum (Inner London weighting £3,950 per annum or Outer London weighting £2,457per annum may be applied in accordance to where you live)| 35 hours per week | This is a permanent role

We’re looking for an exceptional systems leader to drive our work across the East of England and ensure people affected by stroke have the support they need to rebuild their lives. You’ll lead the Stroke Association’s work in East of England, focusing on what matters most to stroke survivors and ensuring our work has real, measurable impact.

In this influential role, you’ll build strong relationships across health and social care, Local Government, and the wider stroke community. Influencing local policy and practice, and overseeing the effective delivery of high-quality stroke support.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Lead the Stroke Association’s strategic direction and impact in the East of England, ensuring people affected by stroke receive high quality support.
• Build and manage relationships with key health, social care and political stakeholders, acting as a credible and respected systems leader.
• Increase the reach and impact of our locality delivered services to ensure all new stroke survivors in the East of England receive the support they need.

• Lead and develop the East of England team, addressing capacity needs and building volunteer capability to meet local priorities.
• Strengthen partnerships across the stroke community to improve access to support and tackle health inequalities.
• Lead engagement in local policy and pathway development, influencing improvements at health board level.

You’ll have:

• Senior-level experience in advocacy/influencing; service delivery or community engagement and development.
• Senior level experience influencing policy change, ideally in health and social care, at a regional or national level.
• Substantial experience of holding senior-level relationships with partner organisations, ideally in health and social care / the NHS using strong negotiation skills and political judgement.
• Proven experience of leading high performing teams and large geographically distributed teams of paid staff and volunteers, with a strong track record of growing and developing staff and teams.
• Inspiring leadership approach, balancing strategic and operational demands with sound judgement, and strong knowledge of influencing and systems leadership.

The East of England comprises of the areas within the NHS Integrated Care Boards of: Central East (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes), Norfolk and Suffolk and NHS Essex.

This role requires extensive travel across a large geographical locality. Candidates must be able to demonstrate how they can meet this requirement of the role.

To fulfil the role, you must be a resident of the UK and have the right to work in the UK.

Please click here to view the role profile.

To apply email: Businesssupport.recruitment@stroke.org.uk Please submit your CV and a covering letter demonstrating how you meet the person specification set out in the Role Profile and what you bring to the role in terms of your skills and experience.

Please state any preferences for flexible options in your application. Applications from individuals who are seeking flexible working options, including reduced hours or job shares are welcomed.

Closing Date: 31 May 2026 | First interview Date (online): 9 June 2026 | Second interview Date and discussion with team (face to face, London): 17 June 2026

Please note all roles close at midnight

The first interview will be held via Teams video conferencing. Please let us know if this will present any challenges when you email your application.