NHS Interim Management and Support

What NHS Interim Management and Support does

NHS Interim Management and Support (NHS IMAS) is a publicly funded NHS support service headquartered in Leeds, England, established in 2008. It provides NHS organisations in England with short to medium-term access to senior management and leadership expertise drawn from a curated talent pool of NHS professionals at Agenda for Change band 8d and above, offered entirely free of charge to eliminate recruitment agency and management consultancy fees and redirect budgets to patient care. Its core product is the NHS Talent Pool Management service, supplemented by an expanding set of specialist talent pools covering Chief Nursing Officer leadership (CNO Exceptional Leaders Network), CEO and Chair mentoring, the Proud2bOps operational manager mentoring network of over 1,000 members, acute improvement, mental health improvement, adult and children's senior intervenors for discharge planning, and patient safety investigation leads. Distribution is direct and demand-led: NHS trusts, Integrated Care Boards, and NHS England request support via phone, email, or an online form, with the Leeds-based team matching pool members to assignments based on expertise and requirement. Marketing and engagement operate through the nhsimas.nhs.uk website, published case studies, an active webinar series, and partnerships with professional networks including Proud2bOps, HPCA, THIS, and Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.

NHS IMAS does not develop proprietary technology and is not a software company; the technology footprint consists of a website built and hosted by The Health Informatics Service and Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, supported by a webinar programme published on YouTube and active presence on LinkedIn and Twitter/X. Its business model is structured as a free public-sector service funded from within the NHS budget envelope rather than through customer fees, with customer segments comprising NHS trusts, NHS-related charities, NHS England and NHS Improvement, and other NHS-affiliated bodies. The organisation operates on a headcount of 1-10 employees and is restricted geographically to England, with no disclosed revenue, funding rounds, acquisitions, or ownership changes in the source material.

Name

NHS Interim Management and Support

Legal name

NHS Interim Management and Support

Website

https://nhsimas.nhs.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NHS IMAS is a publicly funded NHS service in England providing free interim management, organisational renewal, and consultancy to NHS trusts and NHS England by matching a curated talent pool of senior NHS professionals at AfC band 8d and above to short or medium-term assignments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Free NHS Support Service: NHS IMAS provides its services at no cost to NHS organisations. The organisation is funded to offer free access to senior NHS management expertise, enabling NHS budget to be redirected to patient care rather than recruitment agency or consultancy fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NHS Interim Management and Support (NHS IMAS) provides free interim management, organisational renewal, and consultancy services to NHS organisations in England. It operates a talent pool of senior NHS professionals (Agenda for Change band 8d and above) and experienced independents with NHS backgrounds, matching them to client organisations needing short- to medium-term senior leadership and management expertise, with the stated objective of redirecting NHS budgets from recruitment agency and consultancy fees toward patient care.

Product overview

NHS Interim Management and Support (NHS IMAS) is a single service offering that connects NHS organizations with senior NHS management expertise. The core offering is a talent pool of experienced NHS professionals at Agenda for Change band 8d and above who can be deployed on interim assignments. The service is provided at no cost to NHS organizations, redirecting budgets to patient care rather than recruitment agency fees. The portfolio includes the main NHS Talent Pool Management service, supplemented by several Specialist Talent Pools covering areas such as Chief Nursing Officer leadership, CEO/Chair mentoring, operational management mentorship, acute improvement, mental health improvement, senior intervenors for discharge planning, and patient safety investigation specialists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CNO Exceptional Leaders Network: A network of exemplary professional Chief Nurses who can be called upon by Trusts on a short-term basis to work in an interim capacity, undertake reviews/investigations or to provide support, coaching or mentorship to their substantive Chief Nurse or Director of Nursing.
• Peer to Peer CEO and Chair Mentoring Scheme
• Proud2bOps Mentoring Scheme

Products and services

• NHS Talent Pool Management A demand-led interim management and consultancy service that matches pre-vetted senior NHS professionals (Agenda for Change band 8d and above) and experienced independents with NHS background to NHS organisations needing short- or medium-term senior management support. The service is provided at no fee to NHS organisations.
• CNO Exceptional Leaders Network A specialist talent pool of exemplary professional Chief Nurses available to NHS Trusts on a short-term basis for interim capacity, reviews/investigations, or coaching/mentorship support to substantive Chief Nurses or Directors of Nursing.
• Peer to Peer CEO and Chair Mentoring Scheme A mentoring support service providing experienced executive mentors to newly appointed Integrated Care Board (ICB) and provider Chief Executive Officers and Chairs within the NHS.
• Peer to Peer Proud2bOps Mentoring Scheme A peer-to-peer mentorship scheme for the Proud2bOps network of over 1,000 operational managers and leaders, providing both mentee and mentor registrations.
• Acute Improvement Expertise A specialist pool of individuals with acute improvement expertise who can support challenged NHS Trusts across financial and operational improvement areas.
• Mental Health Improvement A specialist pool of individuals with mental health improvement expertise available to NHS systems and providers facing immediate challenges.
• Adult and Children's Senior Intervenors A specialist pool supporting local services to plan for discharge, provide guidance where there is challenge, and facilitate reduction in restrictions for individuals in long-term segregation across adult and children's services.
• Patient Safety Investigations Lead / Chair A specialist pool that carries out Independent Patient Safety Investigations, capturing insight for improvement through investigation of care, treatment, and healthcare systems.

Named customers6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• The Health Informatics Service (THIS)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe Health Informatics Service Web Development team developed and manages the NHS IMAS website. THIS operates as the Data Processor on behalf of NHS IMAS, involved in system maintenance. The website is hosted by Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT).
• Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT)supportingOthersNHS IMAS website is hosted by CHFT. CHFT's Information Security Policy and other standards apply to the website operations.
• CNO Exceptional Leaders NetworkcoreOthersA specialist pool of exemplary professional Chief Nurses who can be called upon by Trusts for interim capacity, reviews/investigations, or coaching/mentorship support.
• Proud2bOps NetworkcoreOthersA peer-to-peer mentorship network of over 1,000 operational managers and leaders. NHS IMAS supports this network with mentorship offers, allowing members to register as mentees and mentors.
• Healthcare Project and Change Association (HPCA)supportingOthersNHS IMAS promotes HPCA membership and training to pool members. Webinars covering benefits of HPCA membership have been presented.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NHS Leadership Academy: The NHS Leadership Academy develops and deploys senior NHS leadership capability across England through structured programmes and talent pools. It is the most direct comparator to NHS IMAS given the shared NHS-affiliated mandate to build senior leadership capacity, though it focuses on development and formal programmes versus interim deployment.
• Skills for Care: Skills for Care is the workforce development body for adult social care in England, operating a similar publicly-funded, fee-free talent and capability support model for the social care sector. Its analogous structure (public sector body, free-to-client workforce support, sector-specific) makes it highly comparable to NHS IMAS in both business model and operating approach.
• Interim Partners: Interim Partners is a UK interim management firm with strong healthcare and public sector practice, placing senior interim executives into NHS and provider organisations on a fee basis. It is the closest commercial analogue to NHS IMAS, with the same target customer and assignment types but on a fee-charging model.

Broad incumbents

• NHS Confederation: NHS Confederation is the membership body that represents NHS organisations across the UK, providing leadership support, networking, and policy advocacy. While not an interim deployment service, it overlaps with NHS IMAS in convening and supporting NHS leaders and offers related capability-building programmes for member organisations.
• King's Fund: The King's Fund is an independent charitable foundation that works across NHS leadership, management, and policy — providing development programmes, research, and consultancy to NHS organisations. It overlaps with NHS IMAS on the healthcare leadership development mission but operates as a broader think tank and consultancy rather than a dedicated interim deployment service.
• Hays Healthcare: Hays Healthcare is the healthcare division of a global staffing firm placing interim and permanent professionals into NHS and private healthcare clients. As a broad incumbent recruiter, it competes on the demand side with NHS IMAS for senior healthcare placements, though across all bands rather than exclusively at director/board-level interim.
• NHS Providers: NHS Providers is the membership organisation for NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England, providing development, networking, and policy support to provider leadership. Its role in supporting trust CEOs and boards parallels parts of NHS IMAS's mandate (e.g., CEO/Chair mentoring scheme), though it operates as a membership body rather than a deployment service.

Others

• Local Government Association (LGA): The LGA operates talent support and leadership programmes for English local government, including talent pools for senior council officers — a structure analogous to NHS IMAS. It is not in healthcare, but its operating pattern (public sector, free talent pooling, leadership development) makes it a useful structural comparator.
• NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA): NHSBSA provides central administrative and support services across the NHS, including workforce-related functions. As a publicly-funded arm's-length body delivering back-office and support services to NHS organisations, it shares structural and governance parallels with NHS IMAS even though its scope is administrative rather than interim leadership.

Emerging players

• Odgers Interim: Odgers Interim is the interim practice of a major UK executive search firm, placing senior interim leaders into public sector and healthcare clients. Its narrower focus on C-suite and board-level assignments overlaps with the band 8d+ remit of NHS IMAS, making it a comparable emerging specialist on the commercial interim side.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NHSIMAS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nhs-imas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NHS Interim Management and Support