Current involvement opportunities

We are recruiting a Fertility Reference Group to help shape the future of fertility services in the Black Country. This group will play a vital role in ensuring the new service specification reflects the needs, experiences, and priorities of people accessing fertility care.

We are seeking applications from individuals and organisations with lived and learned experience, to review and shape a new specification as part of a re-procurement of the service.

Re-procurement of a service refers to the process an organisation follows when an existing contract for a service is ending and the service needs to be purchased again. It is essentially “buying the service again,” but often with updated requirements and improved value expectations.

Your insights, experiences, and ideas will help us design a contract that delivers an integrated, patient-centred approach to fertility care.

Applicants may include local organisations, community groups, or leaders who are trusted voices in the community, as well as people with direct experience of fertility treatment. We particularly welcome applications from:

• People with lived experience of fertility treatment, including diverse backgrounds such as LGBTQIA+ and black, asian and minority ethnicity communities
• Local fertility support groups and Healthwatch representatives
• Voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise partners working closely with people navigating fertility pathways
• Clinical experts, including fertility specialists, nurses, and other professionals

Commitment required

Members of the Fertility Reference Group will be asked to attend four half-day workshops to review existing insights from our desktop research, critique the draft fertility service specification, considering your expertise, and identify gaps in understanding or areas requiring further engagement.

Four workshops are planned for 2026 (10am - 1pm), these are in person in the Black Country, venues to be confirmed.

• Monday 23 February
• Monday 2 March
• Monday 16 March
• Monday 23 March

There may also be an opportunity to nominate one member of the group as an impartial lay representative to sit on the procurement panel.

Remuneration

Successful applicants will be compensated for their involvement at the rate of £75 per meeting. If further conversations with people and communities are identified, these will be agreed and appropriately remunerated.

More information and how to apply

To apply, please complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) form and submit your completed form to involve.blackcountry@nhs.net by 5pm on Friday 30 January 2026.

If you would like more information or support during the application period, please contact Anna or register to attend our online briefing session on Tuesday 6 January at 12.00pm

Important: Please note that if you are selected for the Fertility Reference Group, your organisation (if applicable) will not be eligible to engage in the procurement exercise as a potential bidder. There will, however, be a separate opportunity to feedback on the service specification at a later stage during market engagement.