26 NHS Band 9 Job Interview Questions & Answers

Band 9 job roles are some of the highest strategic leadership and management positions available within the National Health Service. With salaries that are in excess of £100,000, the band 9 position comes with a huge amount of responsibility. To help you prepare fully for your NHS Band 9 job interview, we have provided you with some essential interview tips that will help you stand out above the competition.

NHS BAND 9 INTERVIEW TIP #1

Two of the most important documents that will help you to prepare fully for your NHS band 9 interview are the person specification and the job description. Whilst preparing for your Band 9 interview, download these important documents, read them carefully, and think of situations you have previously been in where you have demonstrated the core skills needed within the role. You will get asked a series of challenging behavioural interview questions that are focused purely on the person specification document.

NHS BAND 9 INTERVIEW TIP #2

Equality and diversity are important aspects of working in all NHS job roles. However, within Band 9 strategic positions they are even more important, and you will be responsible for ensuring they are implemented within your department. Think carefully before your interview about what equality and diversity mean to you and how you will ensure they are implemented and adhered to within the NHS Trust you are working for.

NHS BAND 9 INTERVIEW TIP #3

The following eight key competency areas are likely to be assessed during your NHS band 9 interview. In preparation for your interview, think of situations you have been in where you have demonstrated each skill in brackets below:

• Care and Compassion (Managed effective patient care and treatment within a healthcare organisation.)
• Technical / Role Specific Skills (Taken responsibility for your continuous professional development.)
• Communication (Communicated difficult messages to groups of people or conveyed important messages accurately.)
• Personal and People Development (Assessed the training needs of members of staff, provided appropriate training, or conducted performance reviews.)
• Health, Safety, and Security (Taken responsibility for the health, safety, and security of work colleagues, stakeholders, and/or patients.)
• Service Improvement (Taken the initiative to improve service delivery.)
• Quality (Taken steps to ensure of improve the quality of patient care or treatment.)
• Equality and Diversity (Implemented or managed equality and diversity within a healthcare organisation.)

NHS BAND 9 INTERVIEW TIP #4

Be aware of the following important policies at strategic level within the NHS before you attend your interview. Whilst you do not need to know these policies inside out, you should be aware of their existence and their relevance to your role: Corporate governance documents, health, and safety policy, addressing concerns voiced by staff, freedom of information, corporate document and records management policy, information security policy, information sharing policy, confidentiality policy, safeguarding policy, equality delivery system (EDS), complaints policy, and the patient and public participation policy.

NHS BAND 9 INTERVIEW TIP #5

At the end of your NHS Band 9 interview, you will have the opportunity to ask a series of questions of your own. Here are three smart questions to consider asking the interview panel:

QUESTION: What is the process of strategic decision-making within this NHS Trust and how often would I meet with the senior management team?

QUESTION: What are the major challenges you are currently facing within this NHS Trust?

QUESTION: What are your future plans for the hospital/department in the next few years?

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF RICHARD MCMUNN’S 26 NHS BAND 9 JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PDF GUIDE BELOW.