Job vacancy: Head of Social Value, NHS England, Nationally

Job summary

Main area

Social Value

Grade

NHS AfC: Band 8d

Contract

Permanent

Hours

Full time
Part time
Job share
Flexible working

37.5 hours per week

Job ref

990-NHP-EC4213-E

Employer: NHS England
Employer type: NHS
Site: Any NHSE Office
Town: Nationally
Salary: £94,356 - £108,814 per annum (exclusive of London Weighting)
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 07/09/2026 23:59

Head of Social Value

NHS AfC: Band 8d

Our Organisation

We share the core values set out in the NHS Constitution, which all colleagues are expected to demonstrate.

We support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you and your colleagues. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement, whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.

For more information on the NHP programme

Due to ongoing organisational change and developments, aspects of this role may be subject to change.

By applying for this position, you acknowledge and understand that NHS England is currently undergoing a consultation process to finalise its structure, which may impact this role.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Educated to degree level or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in large and complex organisations

Desirable criteria

Membership of a relevant professional body (e.g. Social Value UK, ICRS, RICS, RTPI, CIOB, or equivalent).

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Demonstrable experience of managing and prioritising a large budget with solid working knowledge of financial process requirements
Understanding of procurement regulations and social value requirements (including the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and PPN 002).
Demonstrated experience in measuring and reporting on social or public value outcomes

Desirable criteria

Significant experience in a large, complex organisation or major programme
Significant experience of developing and embedding social value strategies and delivery plans within contractual and commercial frameworks, with proven ability to translate strategy into actionable plans with measurable outcomes.
Proven track record of delivering against social value targets in the public or private sector, ideally within a government, NHS, or infrastructure delivery context
Experience of establishing and leading collaborative delivery partnerships involving public, private, VCSE and community stakeholders, including supporting partner organisations at varying levels of capability and maturity
Extensive experience with cross-functional working and stakeholder engagement and management.
Experience of social value delivery within NEC or alliance-based contract frameworks
Experience of working with NHS Trusts or healthcare infrastructure programmes, including supporting organisations to develop social value capability
Understanding of skills pipeline development, local labour market intervention, and workforce planning across the infrastructure and healthcare lifecycle
Experience of Green Book appraisal, wellbeing valuation, or cost-benefit analysis in relation to social value.

Skills

Essential criteria

Technical expertise in social value strategy, measurement, and delivery; procurement and commercial frameworks; stakeholder and community engagement; programme assurance; and translating policy into operational delivery
Highly developed communication skills with the ability to communicate on highly complex matters and difficult situations
Ability to provide and receive, convey and present highly complex, sensitive and/or contentious information to large groups, responding openly to questions to ensure full understanding and engagement
High level analytical skills and the ability to draw qualitative and quantitative data from a wide range of sources and present in a clear concise manner
Leadership, vision, strategic thinking and planning with highly developed political skills

Our commitments to you

We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better patient outcomes.

We strive to ensure our people feel trusted, valued and empowered. When you join us, we want you to grow and excel, and we offer many opportunities for you to do that.

We welcome your talent and enthusiasm irrespective of age, disability, neuro-divergence, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances.

We ensure all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process. This includes considering reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability and/or who are neuro-divergent.

We welcome applications from disabled candidates. If you meet all the essential criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the role. While we appreciate you may have had some support with your application (for example, using AI technology or guidance from a trusted individual), it’s important all the information you provide in it reflects your own knowledge, skills and experience and we trust that you apply on that basis.

If you’re applying for this role on a secondment basis, please get agreement from your current line manager before you apply.

We don’t accept applications via recruitment agencies, and we cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.

To comply with the HM Government Functional Standard GovS 007, and specifically the Personnel Security Standards 2024, individuals employed or contracted by NHS England may be required to undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standards check, dependent on the role.

NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for processing your application; our privacy can be accessed directly on the application page when you select to apply.

If you are appointed to a post, your information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

If you have a query about your application, please contact the recruitment team: [email protected] or 0300 330 1369.

NHS England