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 867,000 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.
Sometimes the NMC need to consider if a professional on their register is fit to practise without restriction. Where concerns are raised, these may be considered by one of their practice committees.
NMC panel members, who sit on those practice committees, are independent decision makers and play a hugely important role in protecting the public and upholding confidence in the nursing and midwifery professions.
This is an exciting opportunity to use your legal expertise in public service. As a Legally Qualified Chair, you will make an important contribution to protecting patients, maintaining public confidence in the professions we regulate and ensuring that decisions are fair, proportionate and evidence based.
About the role
A Legally Qualified Chair is a qualified lawyer (barrister, solicitor or advocate) who chairs Fitness to Practise panels and provides legal advice to the panel where necessary. Legally Qualified Chairs play a vital role in protecting the public, maintaining confidence in the professions we regulate, upholding proper professional standards and ensuring our decisions are fair, evidence based and free from bias.
They also support the NMC’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
Applicants must have at least 10 years’ post-qualification experience (PQE) as a solicitor, barrister or advocate. We also welcome applications from legal professionals who have at least nine years’ PQE at the time this campaign closes and who will have attained 10 years’ PQE by the time appointments are made. Applicants must also be in good standing with their professional regulator and hold a valid practising certificate at the time of appointment.
Join our Candidate Q and A Webinar: 1pm Tuesday 22nd September
Candidate Information Pack
Candidate Information Pack
Use these links to download the full candidate information pack for the role in either word or PDF format. A Welsh language version of the pack can be accessed here.
Competencies
Your behaviours, strengths and experience will be assessed against the role’s competencies and behaviours at every stage of the selection process. This criteria includes:
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- 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
Evidence of these values and behaviours will be assessed at both application and interview stages. The NMC’s values and behaviours are:
- Integrity
- Fairness
- Respect
- Equity
- Effectiveness.
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.
Qualifications and Experience
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- Ten years’ experience as a solicitor, barrister or advocate at the time of appointment
- have a 10-year general qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990); or
- be an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least 10 years’ standing; or
- 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.
NMC's commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Our Culture and Transformation Plan (2025-28) sets out our strategic objectives and vision for EDI transformation at the NMC with a vision of an inclusive culture for everyone, underpinned by a strong anti-racist ethos.
We value the diversity of the people on our register, our employees and the people and communities we and our professionals serve.
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. We’re taking action, but we have much more to do. We recognise our individual and collective responsibilities to address these issues.
During the application process we commit to making any reasonable adjustments – for example, ensuring closed captions are available during interview. We can also provide this candidate pack in alternative formats, including as a Microsoft Word document and a Welsh language version.
Disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the role are eligible for a guaranteed interview and can request this as part of their application.
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.
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 inpractise and promote diversity and inclusion.
You can find out more about our commitments to EDI here: https://www.nmc.org.uk/about-us/equity-diversity-and-inclusion/edi-nmc/
Key information:
Time Commitment
The NMC’s 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 (noting that depending on availability and hearing capacity we may be able to offer considerably more, for example 50 days per year).
This is not an obligation, but we believe 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 in London or Edinburgh, and virtual hearings via Microsoft Teams.
Remuneration
£540 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.
Opening and closing dates for applications
For existing NMC panel members or NMC chairs: Applications opened at 11:30am on Monday 17 August 2026 and closed at 11:30am on Tuesday 1 September 2026.
For individuals who are new to the NMC and existing NMC Legal Assessors: Applications will open at 11:30am on Monday 7 September 2026 and close at 11:30am on Monday 5 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:
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- 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 providing 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:
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- 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