Head of Vaccine & Immunisation Programmes

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• Lead an expert team to ensure the public health functions discharged by UKHSA are delivered, namely, the programme delivery to ensure the continued supply of vaccines for existing programmes. 
• Develop and embed a robust framework to understand and analyse end-to-end costs of delivering immunisation programmes, including vaccine procurement, logistics, and last-mile delivery.
• Collaborate with finance and clinical teams to attribute costs accurately (e.g. storage, administration), supporting strategic decision-making and value-for-money assessments.
• Lead and coordinate all aspects of vaccine supply planning across routine immunisation programmes – from procurement to last mile delivery. 
• Work closely and commissioning Commercial , wider Vaccine, Countermeasures and Delivery and DHSC resource, securing cost effective vaccine and delivering value for money by reducing wastage and mitigating risks. 
• Act as the senior operational lead with vaccine suppliers, ensuring performance oversight and driving value for money in line with broader HMG objectives.
• Monitor supplier delivery against contractual KPIs to ensure reliable, resilient supply chains.
• Ensure seamless integration with enabling functions across VCD. Champion a matrix way of working to ensure consistent standards, shared data practices, and effective knowledge transfer across functions
• Collaborate with the Demand Planning & Analytics (DP&A) team to align on supply-side assumptions, inputs and analytical baselines. Contribute to the Integrated Business Planning (IBP) process, ensuring operational perspectives are well reflected, and progressively transition complex modelling responsibilities to the DP&A function.
• Oversee the development of business cases, securing inputs from a wide range of experts both within the team, enabling functions, wider UKHSA, and from within DHSC, to demonstrate a complete end to end consideration of vaccine programme delivery, including commercial approach, costs, risks, and execution. Ensure cases demonstrate complete end-to-end consideration of vaccine programme delivery, including commercial approach, costs, risks, and execution. Align cases with DHSC Immunisation and Vaccine policy and initiatives, and obtain necessary approvals across Government to support required procurements.
• Support the production of accurate financial forecasting through horizon scanning and linking with Technical, S&D and Demand and Analytic teams. Strengthen internal practices around data and financial hygiene — ensuring assumptions, baselines, and cost inputs are well-documented, auditable, and consistently applied. Ensure in-depth reporting is produced for UKHSA Finance Business Partners and DHSC Finance.
• Work with the other G6 to line manage the Vaccine Programmes and Operations teams, setting clear objectives and development plans. Provide senior leadership across CVCD, fostering a culture of high performance, learning, and collaborative delivery.
• Ensure all team members have agreed objectives and development plans in place, supporting their continued learning, development, and personal career aspirations through regular 1:1’s, Team Meetings and Quarterly Reviews. 

Please see the job description for the full list of responsibilities and duties. 

Essential role criteria 

• Masters degree in Economics or a Public Health discipline
• Extensive demonstrable experience working in and/or consulting on pharmaceutical supply chains or pharmaceutical supply chain related programmes
• Experience managing substantial financial budgets with demonstrable evidence-based analysis and thinking.
• Demonstrable experience in a leadership role and ability to lead and guide teams effectively, fostering high performance through empowerment, coaching, and learning.
• Experience of implementing robust financial governance and compliance processes and using economic analysis to support decision making.
• Proven experience of project management and delivering end-to-end projects by defining scope, setting priorities, and ensuring completion on time and within budget.
• Proven expertise in drafting, reviewing, and coordinating robust and evidence-based business cases, ensuring alignment with programme objectives and securing approvals for associated spend requests. 
• Ability to identify, prioritise, and mitigate strategic and operational risks, ensure adherence to governance processes, provide critical reporting, and support effective decision-making throughout project and programme lifecycles. 
• Ability to resolve complex problems, using high levels of judgement.
• Ability to make evidence-based decisions for continuous improvement.
• Ability to build constructive relationships with and advise high level stakeholders and independent committees both internally and external as required.
• Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy, exercising high levels of judgement.
• Ability to quickly understand the core aspects of vaccine programmes and how to best access the range of expertise needed across HMG to maximise impact.
• Ability to be able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information, and present complex and sensitive information
• An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships.

Selection Process Details: 

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your behaviours, strengths, ability, experience and technical skills.

Stage 1: Application & Sift  

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

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application) 
• 1500 word supporting statement.  

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

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.

The Application form and supporting statement will be marked together. 

Longlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will longlist into 3 piles of: 

• Meets all essential criteria  
• Meets some essential criteria  
• Meets no essential criteria  

Please note, only those applications meeting all and/or some essential criteria will be taken through to shortlisting. 

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

• Experience managing substantial financial budgets with demonstrable evidence-based analysis and thinking.

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

Please do not exceed 1500 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number. 

Feedback will not be provided at this stage. 

Stage 2: Interview

You will be invited to a face to face interview. In exceptional circumstances we may be able to consider offering a remote interview.

Behaviours, strengths, ability, experience and technical skills will be tested at interview. 

The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:

• Changing & Improving
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

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

Location

This role is being offered as hybrid working based at any of our Core HQ’s. Please note there will a be requirement for regular travel to Canary Wharf.

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 or London). 

Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Security Clearance Level Requirement  

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 Check 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 Check clearance.

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.