Are you a parent working in the NHS with an ambition to progress your career?

The Leaders Plus NHS Fellowship is delivered via a series of high-quality workshops, roundtable events and online learning resources.

Fellows join a 6-month Programme which has been expertly designed to help you to progress your career whilst balancing your commitments as a parent.

The Leaders Plus NHS Fellowship is open to all NHS clinical and non-clinical staff who are passionate about career development and have childcare responsibilities.

Applicants will need to have a role (or have previously held a role) with significant responsibility, i.e. a management or leadership role.

We are especially looking for individuals who are willing to actively engage with a group of their peers, who are keen to progress their careers and make a difference to others.

An Inclusive Fellowship

The Fellowship is fully inclusive and we particularly welcome applications from the LGBTQIA+ community, ethnic minorities and anyone who identifies as having a disability. We are actively looking for people from these underrepresented communities to apply for the Fellowship as we want to create equal career progression opportunities.

Each module on the Leaders Plus NHS Fellowship will include:

• Workshops: a selection of in person and online highly focused career development workshops
• Peer support: learn from a group of other ambitious working parents in the NHS from a range of trusts and in clinical and non clinical roles
• Action: a practical task or challenge you can use to put the learning into action
• Online interaction: a community in your pocket giving access to support when you need it through the Padlet app
• Fresh Perspectives form outside the NHS: Ge unique insights on challenges you are facing form those outside of the NHS
• 25 CPD credits awarded by the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management
• 27 hours of structured learning, which many past Fellows have used towards their CPD requirements (please check with your professional body to confirm eligibility)

The 6-month NHS Fellowship contains everything you need to progress your career as a parent and is delivered via a series of workshops and targeted resources.

Module 1: Planning for impact  (online, 2h)

We officially welcome you to the Leaders Plus NHS Fellowship Cohort!

• You'll be introduced to your peer group. Over the coming months, you'll support each other to progress your careers - with kids in tow - in the way you want.
• We will explain our parental staircase model, giving you time to consider what you can do practically to overcome some of the challenges you may be facing.
• There is deep thinking time allocated right there in your first session, we use aspects of the Thinking Environment Facilitation approach for this. You'll be invited to join our online peer network to get support from peers between workshops.

Module 2: Liberating assumptions and negotiating what you need (online, 2 hrs) 

• You'll work through the limiting assumptions that could be holding you back as you start to think about your vision for career and family life
• You'll have dedicated time to think about actions you can take to thrive despite the challenges presented when balancing an ambitious career and raising small children.
• You will think about what you need and get research based tools to help you negotiate.

Module 3: Thriving in imperfect environments: vision, authority and self compassion (in person, 10am -4pm)

• Share your vison for work and family life with your peer group
• Learn how to tackle imposter syndrome and approach the working parent juggle with self-compassion.
• Explore new ways of thinking about authority, statis and the role they play in career progression.

Module 4: The Power of Fresh Perspectives from outside the NHS (online 2.5 hrs)

• During the fresh perspectives session, you will network with senior leaders from outside the NHS from across sectors to present challenges you may face in combining a demanding career with family life and get people’s experience of dealing with those.
• Fresh perspectives help us see our own unique situations more objectively. You'll get inspiration to try different approaches to overcoming challenges and thriving progressing your career while enjoying your family life. 

Module 5: Utilising your strengths, implementing  boundaries and building networks and sponsors (in person)

• Explore your unique strengths and how they can support you with your career progression
• Learn about the importance of networks and sponsorship in career progression and how you can utilise this as a working parent
• Think about how to set boundaries, learning form your peer group and the experience of senior leaders outside of the NHS.

Module 6: Action planning and momentum (online, 2 hrs)

• Using the powerful tool of peer consultancy start to work through any challenges you are facing with your longer term action plan
• Learn about tried and tested methods to get goals to stick

Module 7: Conversations that matter: delegation and feedback (in person)

• Explore how easeful delegation can be a game changer for work/ life balance
• Get the skills and framework for having difficult conversations and giving feedback
•  Celebrate all you have achieved and find out how you can get further support from the Leaders Plus community and make a difference in your Trusts and beyond.

Optional: Senior Leader Roundtable: What Working Parents Tell Us About How To Be A Top Employer For Working Parents

You will be asked to invite your senior leaders to a roundtable event so they can learn from Leaders Plus experts about best practice for retaining and attracting working parents.

Optional: Solo Parents (2hrs, online)

Connect with other solo parents and identify how to thrive in your career while raising your children solo.

Optional: Partner Workshops (2 x 1.5 hrs, online) 

If you have a partner, join these two workshops to understand the latest research behind dual career couples and how to find a way that works for you.

Optional: How To Progress Your Career as a Working Parent from a Minoritized Background (1.5hrs, online)

In this closed panel discussion for individuals who identify as from minoritized backgrounds, you will hear from senior leaders who identify as from ethnic minorities about how they progressed their careers with young children in tow and how they have overcome barriers they faced due to being from an ethnic minority.

Each month, there will be approximately one mandatory workshop plus pre-work for 1 to 2 hours. On average the time commitment will be 4 hours per month.

Throughout the Programme you will have access to:

• Three in-person workshops taking place in London, and depending on demand, Manchester or Birmingham
• Four online workshops of 2 hours each

There is no written assessment however you will be invited to complete an action log and you will receive a certificate at the end.

The Fellowship is awarded 25 CPD credits by the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management.
It also includes approximately 27 hours of structured learning, which many past Fellows have used towards their CPD requirements. Please check with your professional body to confirm eligibility.

Costs: The Leaders Plus NHS Fellowship costs £2690 + VAT.

Most of our Fellows receive funding from their employers and we have advice for securing funding from your employer here.

We aim to make the Fellowship accessible to all and have a small number of heavily subsidised places available for those ambitious parents who are facing financial hardship.

The cost of a hardship-funded place is £90 and you can find out more about the criteria here.

We are delighted to have partnered with the Royal College of Emergency Medicine who are generously offering 10 part-funded places to parents working in emergency medicine.

Find out more about those part-funded places here.

We are delighted to have partnered with the Royal College of Psychiatrists who are generously offering 1 part-funded place to parents working in Psychiatry.

Find out more about those part-funded places here.

You can access all the information you need to apply via the application form.

• Please ensure you meet the selection criteria outlined in the Selection Process below, and if you have any questions about eligibility before applying please email Hayley Alderman (hayley.alderman@leadersplus.org) who will be happy to help.
• We are particularly looking for individuals who are passionate about their careers, will contribute to the peer network, and drive a positive movement for change.

Can you answer 'yes' to the following questions?