Deputy Director Trust Programme Director

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

As the Programme Director for the Trust programme, you will play an important part in changing how UKHSA works and delivers its outcomes ensuring that leaders and teams understand the importance of this information and data standard and the role they play in protecting what we do and how we share information.

UKHSA is committed to fostering an environment that supports Diversity and Inclusion, and all employees will be expected to contribute through their objectives to a positive working environment.

Your main areas of responsibility are listed below:

Leadership

• Lead the development and implementation of the Trust Programme Strategy and Plan
• Provide leadership and guidance to the programme team, ensuring they have the skills and resources needed to succeed
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging innovation and the adoption of best practices

Programme/Portfolio Management

• Oversee the delivery of the programme, ensuring it meets the required standards and mitigates information and data risks. The areas of work include but are not limited to: Governance, Policies and Strategies, Risk Management and Security Controls, Asset and Information Management, Access Management and Identify Controls, Technical security and Resilience, Incident response and Crisis Management and Training Awareness and Compliance Culture (including change management)
• Oversee and manage a complex portfolio of programmes and managing dependencies with other existing programmes across UKHSA; the Deputy Director will need to make sure these programmes are delivering data and security outcomes to time and plan, influencing and escalating as appropriate where there are issues
• Support the programme team to oversee and manage new programmes in the UKHSA portfolio in relation to their data and security outcomes
• Manage any commercial procurement process required as part of the programme in accordance with UKHSA procurement guidance

Technical leadership

• Identify, advise, and oversee the implementation of technical projects and remediation strategies to address security vulnerabilities and enhance the organisation’s information governance, cyber defence posture and information and records management practice (IRM)
• Continually add to the backlog as Standards evolve and manage how they are incorporated into existing projects and portfolios in the right way, minimising risk exposure for UKHSA

Risk Management, Governance and Approvals

• Develop and maintain a robust governance framework to monitor progress and address any issues that arise.
• Manage risk both through formal process and required communications and influencing. Be able to align senior colleagues through clear and engaging communications

This role will influence the following key stakeholders:

Internal

• UKHSA leadership team
• SRO and CDO leadership team
• UKHSA transformation directorate
• Data policy owners across UKHSA
• Senior managers of other UKHSA programmes when managing dependencies
• Cyber security, data sharing and records management teams
• Commercial teams in procurement processes
  

External

• Senior officials in sponsoring departments / agencies, e.g. DHSC, NHS England, NCSC
• Partner organisations supplying UKHSA data, e.g. NHS England
• External users of UKHSA data services 
• Cyber security and information governance standards seniors
• Private sector service providers
  

We are looking for an experienced Programme Director who is able to lead large transformations which require complex stakeholder engagement and embed the desired change across the whole of an organisation.

Essential criteria

• Proven experience in leading large-scale transformation programmes within a complex organisation similar in size or function to UKHSA and covering several of the high-level activities listed above
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skill; able to build credibility and work collaboratively with senior officials to deliver outcomes and manage conflicts to an agreed resolution
• Ability to drive change and inspire others to embrace new ways of working.
• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to motivate and develop a high-performing team.
• Sound judgement and astute political awareness, able to operate effectively across a complex and changing policy and operational landscape.
• Experienced in risk management, problem solving and decision making to navigate differing opinions and build consensus and an aligned movement behind the decisions made and the changes needed
• Experience of managing commercial procurement process and holding suppliers to account.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in public sector or similar environment
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and relevant government policy (such as, records management or Caldicott)
• Knowledge and experience of the application of ISO27001
• Professional qualifications in programme management or related field
• Experience of cyber assessment frameworks or other assessment frameworks such as DSPT-CAF/NIST/ICO Code of Practice/NHS Records Management and the ability to communicate the technical needs to non-technical leaders with simplicity to enable senior leaders' responsibility and ownership of the issue

Stage 1: Application & Sift 

Success profiles behaviours

You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on essential criteria, and this will be in the form of:

•    an Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
•    a Statement of Suitability (up to 1000 words)

This should outline how your skills, experience and knowledge provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria. 

The Application Form and Statement of Suitability will be marked together.

Please note you will not be able to upload your CV. You must complete the application form in as much detail as possible. Please do not email us your CV.  

Longlisting:  A long list stage may be introduced if we receive a large number of very credible applications.

Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on 

• Proven experience in leading large-scale transformation programmes within a complex organisation similar in size or function to UKHSA and covering several of the high-level activities listed above
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skill; able to build credibility and work collaboratively with senior officials to deliver outcomes and manage conflicts to an agreed resolution
• Ability to drive change and inspire others to embrace new ways of working.
• Strong leadership skills, with the ability to motivate and develop a high-performing team.

Unfortunately, late applications will not be considered. 

If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview & assessment 

Please do not exceed 1000 words.  We will not consider any words over and above this number.

Feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview  (success profiles)

You will be invited to a remote interview. 

Behaviours will be tested at interview. 

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

•    Leadership
•    Communicating and Influencing 
•    Seeing the Big Picture
•    Delivering at pace

As part of the interview, candidates will be required to deliver a 5-minute presentation, based on Experience, the topic of which will be confirmed prior to the interview.

Interviews will be held 15 and 17 July 2025 Please note these dates are subject to change.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. 

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Clearance.

For meaningful National Security Vetting checks to be carried out individuals need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time. You should normally have been resident in the United Kingdom for the last 5 years as the role requires Security Clearance (SC).

UK residency less than the outlined periods may not necessarily bar you from gaining national security vetting and applicants should contact the Vacancy Holder / Recruiting Manager listed in the advert for further advice.

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQ’s or Scientific Campuses. This role will require regular travel to London 10SC, and laboratory sites across the UK. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's core HQ’s (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, and London) or at one of our scientific campus sites (Colindale, Porton and Chilton).

Relocation expenses are not available.

Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).