Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Chief Executive
Attractive salary; Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust provides a wide range of inpatient and community mental health services across Bolton, Manchester, Salford, Trafford and Wigan, alongside specialist mental health and addiction services across Greater Manchester and beyond. With 7,000 dedicated staff, an annual income of around £510m, and services delivered from 109 locations, we play a vital role in the health and wellbeing of our communities.
We have taken decisive action to address significant failings in care quality, safety, culture and leadership identified in 2022. Our sustained focus on improvement has delivered real progress, recognised through our exit from NHS England’s Recovery Support Programme. Building on these achievements, we now look to the future with confidence, purpose and a clear commitment to being great places for care and great places to work, aligned with the three shifts set out in the NHS 10‑year plan.
With the planned retirement of our outstanding Chief Executive, Karen Howell, we are seeking an exceptional leader to drive the next phase of our improvement journey. You will lead a motivated Executive Team and shape a modern, compassionate, community‑first mental health system for Greater Manchester. This role offers a rare platform for you to make a profound and lasting impact in a high‑profile organisation with significant potential. You will ensure our services are safe, compassionate and responsive, while championing prevention, early intervention and stronger resilience for our diverse communities delivered in partnership with system colleagues.
You will bring experience at or close to Chief Executive level in complex health or care settings, a progressive record of transformation, and the ability to quickly build trusted relationships across organisational boundaries. Visible, kind, inclusive and collaborative, you will inspire our staff and partners; demonstrating deep commitment and resilience as you seek to improve outcomes and experience for our staff and those they serve.
For more information about this unique opportunity, please contact our recruitment advisors Helen Barkham, Emily Smith or Emma Pickup at GatenbySanderson: helen.barkham@gatenbysanderson.com / 07921 308766.
Closing date: 9am Monday 30 March
Preliminary interviews: week commencing 13 April
Stakeholder engagement: Wednesday 6 May 2026
Final interviews: Thursday 7 May 2026