Board and Non Executive Roles
Governance seats where clinical judgement is the reason you are in the room.
- Best fit
- Senior clinicians with a governance, quality or committee track record.
- Time to move
- 12 to 36 months, usually after committee or advisory work
- Indicative pay
- Unpaid to 30k USD a year for charities and public bodies, 40k to 80k plus equity in companies
Hospital boards, charities, professional bodies, regulators and healthtech companies all need directors who understand clinical risk. Non executive work is part time, formally recognised, and it compounds: the first seat makes the second far easier. Most clinicians reach it through committee work and a visible public record rather than an application.
What the job actually is
- Hold executives to account on quality, safety and strategy
- Chair or sit on audit, quality or remuneration committees
- Read board packs properly and ask the question nobody else will
- Represent the clinical view in decisions with financial consequences
Skills to build
- Financial statement literacy and basic fiduciary duty
- Corporate governance codes in your jurisdiction
- Chairing skill and disciplined meeting behaviour
- Knowing the line between governance and management
Your first ninety days
- Join one committee inside your own institution and be useful on it
- Take a short governance or director course and say so publicly
- Apply for one charity or professional body seat where clinicians are wanted
Proof of work hiring managers ask for
- Committee roles with a named remit
- A governance qualification or director programme
- A public record that shows judgement, not just clinical output
Titles and who hires
Common titles: Non Executive Director, Board Advisor, Trustee, Clinical Governance Committee Member.
Typical employers: Hospitals and trusts, Charities and professional bodies, Regulators, Growth stage healthtech companies.
| Role | Level | Indicative band |
|---|---|---|
| Non Executive Director | Senior | Unpaid to 80k USD a year plus equity |
| Trustee or Professional Body Council Member | Side role | Usually unpaid, expenses covered |
Key signals
- The first seat is the hard one, and it is usually unpaid charity or professional body work.
- Boards recruit for a gap, so name the gap you fill rather than listing your specialty.
- Directors carry legal duties, so read them before accepting anything.
