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Applications are now open for the NICE Fellows and Scholars programme, as it enters its fifth year.

Beginning in April 2014, the roles offer the chance for individuals to benefit from professional development opportunities and to meet and work with likeminded colleagues working in health, public health and social care from across the UK.

The also provide opportunities to learn about the inner workings of NICE, and to help promote its guidance and other products to peers and colleagues.

Following its new responsibilities for social care, this year NICE is particularly keen on hearing from social care leaders, such as directors of adults' and children's services, directors or managers of residential care homes, senior academics and leaders of integrated services.

The ten Fellowships available each last for three years and are awarded to senior health and social care professionals working in trusts and areas such as social care, clinical and public health, and both medical and non-medical consultants.

NICE Fellows act as ambassadors for the Institute at both regional and national levels and among their professional groups and peers.

They provide individuals with the opportunity to use their expertise to shape the Institute's guidance programmes and initiatives. This includes helping to develop support tools for specific pieces of guidance, or contributing to high-level discussions about issues of quality and leadership

The ten Scholarship roles are project-based, last for 12 months, and give opportunities to learn about the inner workings of NICE and how it helps organisations implement its guidance.

The roles require individuals to undertake a project about the delivery of high quality care during their tenure, such as the implementation or audit of a specific piece of NICE guidance.

Professor Gillian Leng, Deputy Chief Executive of NICE said: "We are now seeking our fifth intake of NICE Fellows and Scholars. This popular programme gives successful applicants a chance to know more about NICE and understand how the Institute produces its guidance and the other services we offer.

"It's a chance for Fellows to benefit from one-to-one mentoring, and for Scholars to devise their own project.

"This is a real opportunity for professional development that can make a difference not just to the individual, but also to their employers and subsequently, the people they care for."

Colin Angel, a current NICE Fellow and Director of policy and campaigns at the UK Homecare Association, said: "Being a NICE Fellow has been a brilliant and extremely fulfilling experience.

"It has given me an opportunity to explore areas of social care which are outside my own area of expertise while also contributing my knowledge to influence how NICE approaches the development of its new social care guidance and standards.

"As individuals, Fellows get to work with a world-class organisation that will shape the future of health and social care to deliver the very best outcomes for the people who use our services.

"With NICE's remit now expanded into the realm of social care, I would encourage anyone with a real passion for the sector to consider this a valuable opportunity for themselves and their work."

Health and social care professionals interested in these roles can apply online. Completed applications must be submitted to NICE by 5pm on Friday 1 November 2013.