2026-27 Call for Bids
NHS England Yorkshire and the Humber will open bids for Future Leader posts due to commence on Wednesday 5th August 2026 on 21st July 2025.
The Future Leaders Programme has been a great success over many years. Full details on what a Future Leader is available within the site
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Future Leaders Recruitment | Hosting a Leadership Fellow | Call for Bids | FLP Vacancies | Future Leaders Home
2026-2027 Call for Bids
The online bid portal will be available from Monday 21 July. All proposals should be made via the online bid portal and should be submitted no later than 5pm on 20th August 2025.
Please refer to the 2026 FLP recruitment timeline for key dates.
Contents
- Bid Criteria
- Funding Arrangements
- Bid Application
- Bid Assessment Panel
- Inclusive Recruitment
- Promoting your Post
- Shortlisting and interviews
- Resources
- 2025 Bid Application Form
- Bid Assessment Tool
- Generic Person Specification
- Inclusive Recruitment Guide
When completing a bid application, applicants should note:
- Posts are not automatically continued once they reach their conclusion, so Lead Bidders will need to submit new bids if they wish for any posts to be repeated or continued
- It is not permitted for any fellowships to include clinical duties as all fellowships are a whole-time leadership experience.
- Research bids will not be considered
As well as completing a bid application, applicants must:
- Provide confirmation of funding for any 50% LEP funded bids
- Provide confirmation of employment arrangements for any 50% LEP funded bids
- Submit a copy of the Job Description and Person Specification for the proposed post (A generic FLP Person Specification is attached for information.
50% LEP funded bids will not be considered without confirmation of funded or employment arrangements. It is the bidder's responsibility to identify an employer for registrars appointed to any 50% LEP funded posts. NHSE cannot be involved in sourcing an employer for Future Leaders. Registrars appointed to any 100% NHSE funded bids will be employed by the lead employer. Other Healthcare Professionals will remain employed by their current employer.
Due to increased pressure on NHSE, there will be no 100% NHSE funded opportunities, apart from NHSE Postgraduate School bids. In order to maximise the number of opportunities from our limited resources, we have agreed to fund posts in the following ways:
- Trust funds 50%, NHSE funds 50% baseline salary costs
- Integrated Care System (ICB) fund 50%, NHSE funds 50% baseline salary costs
NHSE are committed to leadership in the NHS, so would welcome the opportunity to open the breadth of our leadership training to as many individuals as possible. Our leadership fellows are often appointed to leadership roles earlier in their career than traditional career pathways. We therefore welcome Future Leaders onto our programme that are 100% Trust/ICS funded (with no NHSE salary funding input). These can be funded by a single or combination of organisations. NHSE would support these individuals by funding full access to the Future Leaders Programme of courses, study leave entitlement and the peer support element the programme has to offer.
The funding arrangements for the 2026 cohort of Fellows remains as follows:
- Salary contributions for Future Leaders will be made to employers on actual baseline salary
- Study leave costs will be covered by NHSE up to a maximum of £3,700 for each Future Leader
- Project costs will not be covered by NHSE. This includes any travel and associated expenses linked to the project. The exception to this arrangement is NHSE School bids – all associated expenses would be funded via the Schools study budget
Before starting
If you have not already done so, please carefully read the invitation letter to bidders from Deputy Dean Miss Fiona Bishop. The letter includes important information about funding arrangements and the bid process. We also recommend that you familiarise yourself with the information on the FLP recruitment pages.
All posts will commence on Wednesday 5th August 2026 for 12 months. Please note the start date cannot be flexed to fit with individual rotation dates.
Completing the bid application form
The bid application is split into parts; Section A provides us with essential information on the bidder, ES, employer as well as giving assurance to the panel that the bid has the appropriate support and approval from the host organisation.
Section B should be used to provide the panel and potential candidates with a clear summary of the opportunity you are proposing including details of the project and scope for personal development.
Do I need to complete the form in one sitting or can I return to it?
You can save and return to this form at any time up until the bid deadline by clicking 'Finish Later' at the bottom of each page. If you exit or close the page without clicking 'Finish Later', your work will not be saved and will be lost.
What is considered a complete bid?
Complete bids are:
- A fully complete bid form
- A copy of the job description
- Confirmation of funding - an email from the head of Finance or relevant official in the host organisation (50% Local Education Provider funded posts).
- Confirmation of employment arrangements - should be an email from the head of Medical Staffing / Human Resources or relevant official at the nominated employer.
Bidders are responsible for ensuring that they gain approval / agreement from the appropriate officials within their organisation or at the nominated employer. All complete bids will be reviewed by a panel which includes a lay representative.
What is the deadline for submission?
Bids must be submitted by 17:00 on Wednesday 20th August 2025. Only complete bids (as per above) will be considered by the panel. Due to the volume of bids received we will not accept late submissions.
A formal panel comprised of a Deputy Postgraduate Dean, Associate Dean, Lay represnetative and Fellow represenatative will convene to review all submitted bids (Date TBA).
The panel will assess bids based on the 2026 Bid Assessment Tool. They will also consider leadership needs of the whole healthcare system as well as distribution of fellowship opportunities across geography, organisation and professional groups.
Bidding organisations will be notified of the outcome following the panel according to the recruitment timeline on our website. Successful bidders will also be sent information about the next steps.
By completing and submitting this application form, it is understood that you have read and agreed to this guidance.
The future leaders programme is committed to following NHSEs Inclusive Recruitment guide. We encourage you to make your bid attractive and open to healthcare professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Although posts will be advertised by NHSE via their website, the bidder is responsible for promoting their post via their networks. The Future Leaders team will advertise all posts on this website and co-ordinate the recruitment process. Bidders are responsible for promoting their posts within their school / organisation or wider. The strongest field of applicants tends to be generated when bidders promote their posts widely through presentations at training days and educational events. Bidders are also responsible for shortlisting and interviewing applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds.
Bidders and supervisors are responsible for shortlisting and interviewing applicants. Should your bid be successful, the FLP team will provide further information on next steps before applications open.
Please refer to the recruitment timeline on our website for shortlisting and interview windows. Please note these cannot be flexed as we must ensure that all appointed applicants have sufficient contractual / OOPE notice to start on 6th August 2025. It is the successful applicant’s responsibility to follow their contractual notice arrangements.