Nursing and Midwifery Council: Legally Qualified Chairs
Thank you for your interest in the role of Legally Qualified Chair at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the independent regulator of more than 860,000 nursing and midwifery professionals. Their vision is safe and effective nursing and midwifery education and practice across the four countries of the UK.
The opportunities
Inclusive Boards is proud to be working in partnership with the NMC in a national recruitment campaign to recruit up to 140 legally qualified chairs from across the four nations of Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England.
Where there is a concern about a professional on the NMC’s register’s fitness to practice without restriction the NMC might bring this concern before a meeting or hearing of the practice committees. The NMC have recently run a public consultation on making a limited number of changes to their Fitness to Practise Rules ahead of wider reforms, including introducing the power to appoint Legally Qualified Chairs. Where a panel is chaired by a Legally Qualified Chair, they will give advice to the panel and there will be no requirement to appoint a Legal Assessor to those proceedings.
A Legally Qualified Chair is a qualified lawyer (barrister, solicitor or advocate) who will sit on a panel to make decisions about a nurse, midwife or nursing associate’s fitness to practise. They will provide the Panel with legal advice as necessary.
Legally Qualified Chairs play a vital role in both protecting the public, maintaining the public interest, declaring, and upholding proper professional standards, and ensuring the NMC can meet its equality, diversity and inclusion ambitions, with a particular focus on ensuring the decisions made are fair, evidence-based and free from bias.
Applicants must have at least 10 years’ standing as a solicitor, barrister or advocate and hold a valid practicing certificate at the time of their appointment. We welcome applications from those who currently have 9 years standing.
Join our Candidate Q and A Webinar: 1pm Tuesday 22nd September
Candidate Information Packs
Download the packs here
Use these links to download the full candidate information
pack for the role in either word or PDF format.
Please note the Welsh language version is
available to download by clicking here .
Competencies
Your strengths and experience will be assessed against the roles’ competencies at every stage of the selection process. This criteria includes:
- Leadership of hearings
- Judgement and high quality decision-making
- Legal expertise
- Effective working
- Collaboration and communication
Your response can be based on any aspect of your life, experiences and activities, not just your professional work but there should be reference to legal skills and ability in your response.
Values
The NMC’s Values include:
- Integrity
- Fairness
- Respect
- Equity
- Effectiveness
Evidence of these competencies and values will be assessed at both application and interview stages. For full details, please download the relevant candidate information pack using the links above.
Eligibility
We want to hear from people who meet the NMC’s eligibility criteria and who can demonstrate the values and competencies above. If you’re unsure about your Eligibility an FAQ document is available here. A Welsh translation of the FAQ document is available here.
Qualifications and Experience
- Ten years’ experience as a solicitor, barrister or advocate at the time of appointment
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- have a 10-year general qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990); or
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- be an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least 10 years’ standing; or
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- be a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland of at least 10 years’ standing.
- Current good standing (no open investigations, active disciplinary actions or unresolved compliance breaches and all required fees and filings up to date) with your regulator and you must hold a valid practising certificate.
- Experience of drafting clear, coherent and concise documents that can be easily understood by a lay reader.
Apply Now
NMC's commitment to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
We have a responsibility as a regulator and as an employer to do everything in our power to tackle discrimination and inequity and to promote diversity and inclusion. There is no room for any kind of discrimination in the healthcare sector, and we’re committed to working with partners to do everything in our power to tackle inequality and promote diversity and inclusion. https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/our-edi-aims/our-edi-plan/
By bringing together individuals with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, we aim to strengthen the quality of our decision making and better reflect the diverse communities we serve.
We are committed to selection processes that are accessible, fair, transparent, based on merit, and free from bias and unlawful discrimination. This selection process is led by the Appointments Board which provides independent advice to the NMC. You can find out more about the Appointments Board and it’s independent members here: Appointments Board – The Nursing and Midwifery Council
Key information:
Time Commitment
The NMC’s number one priority is to continue to make fair fitness to practise decisions which keep people safe, but in a more timely, equitable and considerate way. To achieve this, the NMC anticipates that Legally Qualified Chairs will make themselves available to sit on panels a minimum of 15 days a year. This is not an obligation, but it is believed that this provides a benchmark as to what will support the candidate to perform the Services with the same skills, knowledge and competencies which led to their appointment.
You will need to be available for both hearings in person and virtual hearings via MS Teams.
Remuneration
£540.00 per day plus a preparation fee, holiday pay and applicable pension contributions
You will also be reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses incurred on NMC business, in accordance with NMC’s Travel and Accommodation policy for Panel Members, Legal Assessors and Legally Qualified Chairs.
Closing date for applications
For existing NMC panel members or NMC chairs: 11:30 hrs on Tuesday 1st September 2026
For individuals who are new to the NMC and existing NMC Legal Assessors : 11:30 hrs on Monday 5th October 2026
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and candidates are encouraged to apply at their earliest convenience rather than waiting to submit their application closer to the deadline.
Application process
This is a two stage process, the first stage is the application form and if successful the second stage is a panel interview.
To apply, please fill out our application form. As part of the application processes you will need to:
- Complete all of the questions as fully as possible on the online application form. This will include questions about how you meet the eligibility and competencies as well as your suitability for the role you are applying for. If you require an alternative format for application please contact nmcrecruitment@inclusiveboards.co.uk
- Submit an up-to-date CV of no more than 2 pages when prompted. This will be assessed at the written application stage only.
- Complete the diversity information form when prompted. Please note that diversity monitoring information is optional and will be treated in strictest confidence. The information you provide in this section will not be used as part of the selection process or be seen by the interview panel and will only be used by the Nursing and Midwifery Council for monitoring purposes. We value the diversity of the people on our register and we have to ensure our processes are fair and accessible to them all.
You will also be asked to provide information on:
- Conflicts of interest and previous conduct.
- Significant political activity.
- Your referees.
Candidates who are recommended for appointment will undergo detailed due diligence checks on your professional and personal history (including social media checks) and references will be required.
Questions?
If you have a question about the role or application process please contact nmcrecruitment@inclusiveboards.co.uk