Job vacancy: Deputy Director Trust Programme Director, UK Health Security Agency, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Salisbury, Didcot

Job summary

Main area

Technology

Grade

Civil Service: Senior Civil Servant (SCS) 1

Contract

Fixed term: 3 years (Until 31 March 2028)

Hours

Full time
Flexible working

37 hours per week

Job ref

919-HM-62183531-EXT

Employer: UK Health Security Agency
Employer type: Public (Non NHS)
Site: UKHSA Core Locations and Scientific Campus'
Town: Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Salisbury, Didcot
Salary: £76,000 - £117,800 per annum, pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 22/06/2025 23:59

Deputy Director Trust Programme Director

Civil Service: Senior Civil Servant (SCS) 1

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is a system leader for health security; taking action internationally to strengthen global health security, providing trusted advice to government and the public and reducing inequalities in the way different communities experience and are impacted by infectious disease, environmental hazards, and other threats to health.

UKHSA’s remit, as an agency with a global-to-local reach, is to protect the health of the nation from infectious diseases and other external threats to health. As the nation’s expert national health security agency UKHSA will:

Prevent: anticipate threats to health and help build the nation’s readiness, defences and health security
Detect: use cutting edge environmental and biological surveillance to proactively detect and monitor infectious diseases and threats to health
Analyse: use world-class science and data analytics to assess and continually monitor threats to health, identifying how best to control and mitigate the risks
Respond: take rapid, collaborative and effective actions nationally and locally to mitigate threats to health when they materialise
Lead: lead strong and sustainable global, national, regional and local partnerships designed to save lives, protect the nation from public health threats and reduce inequalities.

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).  

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria

Application Form & Statement of Suitability

Behaviours

Essential criteria

Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Seeing the Big Picture
Delivering at Pace

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ

Your application may be rejected and/or you may be subject to disciplinary action if evidence of plagiarism is detected. Examples of plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence (AI), as your own.

This is a Non-Reserved post under the Civil Service Nationality Rules. To be eligible for employment in the UK Civil Service applicants must meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules (CSNRs) which operate independently of and additionally to the Immigration Rules. Applicants must also meet necessary security and vetting requirements, along with any other relevant pre-employment checks.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

For more information on job nationality requirements and the right to work in the UK, see the Civil Service Nationality rules (opens in a new window) and the UK Visas and Immigration rules (opens in a new window)

For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

The Civil Service pay structure and progression is different from NHS Agenda for Change (AfC), most local authority pay grades and other systems that have annual pay increments. For further details, please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment.

For AfC or Medical/Dental posts, you must have the correct professional registration to be appointed. The pay will follow the AfC or Medical & Dental terms & conditions. You may be asked to provide evidence of previous service whilst we are conducting pre-employment checks to determine your starting salary.

For Temporary Appointments, if you are not currently a civil servant, you will take up the post on a Fixed Term appointment.  You may be able to take this role up as a Secondment. If you are an existing Civil Servant, based outside of the UKHSA, you will take up the post as a loan which you will need your department to agree. You cannot take the post up as a fixed term. If you are an existing UKHSA member of staff, you will take up the post as either a level transfer or a temporary promotion as per the UKHSA’s Pay policy. 

Given the nature of the work of the UKHSA, as a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, you may be required in an emergency, if deemed a necessity, to redeploy to another role at short notice. You may also be required to work at any other location, within reasonable travelling distance of your permanent home address, in line with the provisions set out in your contract of employment.

Late Applications will unfortunately not be considered.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via  email:  [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website here.

Reserve List - If more than the required number of suitable candidates pass the interview criteria, you may be kept on a reserve list for 12 months subject to your agreement. You may be contacted, in merit-order, if similar roles with closely matching essential criteria become available and the department choose to appoint from a reserve list.

The panel will assess if candidates meet the requirement of the role first, using a specific benchmark system. If you are interviewed for the post and do not meet the required threshold for the specified grade, your application may be assessed against a similar, lower grade role and you may be offered the post should one be available.

Interview expenses will not be reimbursed.

UKHSA is required to check employment and/or education history covering three consecutive years. Please ensure you give details of at least two different referees, even if you were employed in one company for three years or more.

If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

Any move to UKHSA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

 Benefits of working at UKHSA include:

Generous annual leave:
-26 days for the first 5 years of continuous service
-28 days after 5 years of continuous service
-32 days after 10 years of continuous service
-Plus public holidays and one privilege day for the King’s birthday
Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions.
Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving.
Access to a retail discounts and cashback site.
We also promote flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours). UKHSA views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including working from home, compressed hours and job sharing.
We also offer a generous maternity/ paternity and adoption leave package.

Hybrid Working

UKHSA operates 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 usually spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted hours (averaged over a month) working at one of UKHSA's locations (approximately 3 days a week pro rata) and the rest of your time working from home.

Disability Confident Scheme

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria at sift to ensure these candidates are invited to interview.   If you wish to be included in this scheme please tick the box on your application form.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone.

To help you during the recruitment process, we will take into account any reasonable adjustments that could help you.

An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work.

This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme.

If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should:

Contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

International Police Check

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and could be time accrued over that period.

Internal Fraud check

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.

Security Vetting

Please check the Security Clearance needed for the role and follow the link for more information:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels