Make a difference
Positive community impact
Learn, develop, grow
Salary: Circa £400/day
Location: Milton Keynes, MK15 9AB
Hours: Circa 22.5 hours per week
This is a Temporary, Part Time vacancy that will close in 23 days at 23:59 BST.
The vacancy
Programme Director
Central East Hospice Collaborative
Freelance ¦ Circa £400/day ¦ Circa 22.5 hours per week ¦ 18 months ¦ Flexible working with some face-to-face requirements
Please be aware - The role is hosted by Willen Hospice (Milton Keynes) on behalf of the Central East Hospice Collaborative, which acts as the contracting organisation – EACH employee benefits listed below will not apply.
Across Bedfordshire, Luton & Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough and Hertfordshire, thousands of people are living with advanced illness — and the people who matter to them are living with it too. Nine hospices serve those communities. Together, as the Central East Hospice Collaborative, we believe we can do this better than we can apart.
This role has been created because better collaboration means better outcomes. It means fewer gaps in care, less unwarranted variation, more people reached, and hospice care recognised and funded as the essential part of the system it is. That’s what we’re working towards — and we need the right person to lead.
The Role:
Two priorities sit at the heart of this role, both ultimately in service of one thing: the best possible outcomes for people with palliative and end-of-life care needs across our region.
Strategic clarity:
At the start of our collective relationship with our new ICB, a key part of your role will be assisting us align our individual hospice strategic approaches with the ICB strategy, demonstrating where we add value and could add more. This will need to be based on strategic analysis of data and outcomes.
Operational effectiveness:
You will identify where shared services, shared procurement or reduced duplication will make us more efficient — freeing up resource to go where it matters most: patient and family care.
Both strands require someone who keeps outcomes for people front and centre, and who is comfortable working with ICB commissioners, hospice leaders and colleagues and other key partners.
What You’ll Be Doing:
- Mapping the current landscape — services, populations, funding, data and commissioning relationships — across all nine member hospices, with a clear eye on where we must improve provision for our communities.
- Developing and maintaining a clear, evidenced programme of work that advances our shared ambitions and can demonstrate impact for patients and families
- Representing the Collaborative as a single, credible voice at ICB and wider system forums — making the case for hospice care as core provision
- Identifying and progressing shared services and procurement opportunities to maximise the resource available for care
- Building trusted relationships across the system, navigating differing priorities with diplomacy and pace
What We’re Looking For:
- Senior leadership experience in complex health and care systems, with strong knowledge of palliative and end-of-life care and the hospice sector
- A genuine commitment to improving outcomes and equity of access for people with advanced illness and those important to them
- The ability to build consensus across multiple organisations without formal authority
- Strong analytical capability — designing meaningful data capture, interpreting insight, and presenting persuasive findings that make the case for change
- Confidence influencing at system level, including on sensitive or contentious issues
Why This Matters:
This is a rare opportunity to shape how hospices work together — and how they are recognised and resourced within Integrated Care Systems — at a pivotal moment. The decisions made in the next 18 months will affect what care looks like for people across our region for years to come.
Location, Structure and Practicalities:
The role is hosted by Willen Hospice (Milton Keynes), which acts as the contracting organisation — issuing the contract, providing an administrative home, and offering a base to work from. The Programme Director’s accountability for the work sits with Helen Glenister, Chair of the Collaborative, on behalf of all nine member hospices.
Flexible working is available, including home working and the option to be based at member hospices. Some face-to-face working and regional travel will be required.
How to Apply
Please send a CV and a brief covering note demonstrating how you meet the brief to:
Closing date: 17 June 2026.
For an informal conversation about the assignment, please contact Helen Glenister, Chair of the Collaborative: helen.glenister@isabelhospice.org.uk; 07973 221671
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a conversation with members of the Collaborative in the week commencing 6 July 2026.
The Company
The benefits
Enhanced holiday plus holiday purchase scheme
Flexible / hybrid working
Employee Health Cash Plan
Employee Assistance Programme
Employer pension scheme (up to 7% employer contribution) inc. life assurance cover
Free eye tests
Cycle to work scheme
Enhanced maternity & paternity pay
The organisation
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) ensures the best possible quality of life and makes every moment count for children and families across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. Our family-centred approach includes specialist nursing care, symptom management nursing, short breaks, wellbeing activities, therapies, care at end of life, bereavement support, counselling and volunteer services in the family home; all meeting the individual needs of the child, young person and whole family.
In 2020, all three of our hospices; The Nook (Norfolk), The Treehouse (Ipswich) and Milton (Cambridge) were rated OUTSTANDING by the Care Quality Commission.
Our people are central to our success. We have a talented workforce of staff and volunteers in Care, Fundraising, Retail, Facilities, IT, Finance, Marketing & Communications and Human Resources.
We’re over 440 employees strong, with a team of more than 2,000 volunteers across the organisation including over 50 shops and a Retail Distribution Centre.
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Published
4 days agoClosing
in 23 days{Expiry}