Policy Manager - Human Tissue Authority

Salary Grade 3: £42,800 - £51,700 per annum

Contracted Hours: Full time - 36 hours per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: Homebased or Hybrid working (London-based office)

Closing date: Sunday 12th January 2025 at 11.59pm

Telephone Interview dates: tbc

Final Interview dates: tbc

Please note CQC are advertising this role on behalf of the Human Tissue Authority

This role is NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

About the Human Tissue Authority...

The Human Tissue Authority's (HTA's) primary goal is to protect public and professional confidence in the safe and ethical use of human tissue.

We are the national independent regulator for organisations that remove, store and use tissue for research, medical treatment, post-mortem examination, teaching and public display. We also approve organ and bone marrow donations from living people. With the interests of the public and those we regulate at the centre of our work, we aim to maintain confidence by ensuring that human tissue is used safely and ethically, with proper consent.

Candidates from all backgrounds are welcome at the HTA, especially individuals from underrepresented groups.

Why this could be a great role for you....

An opportunity has become available for an experienced policy professional to join our Policy and Development team.

In this role, you'll proactively lead policy areas to provide advice and recommendations that support effective decision making and continuous improvement at the HTA. As part of this, you'll effectively communicate benefits, challenges and risks to ensure the timely delivery of organisational priorities (such as implementing legislation or updating regulatory tools, such as our Codes of Practice and guidance).

You'll enjoy a varied workload that includes developing evidence-based policy, stakeholder engagement, big-picture thinking, and contributing to cross-government groups and initiatives.

Through this role, you'll build specialist knowledge about our six regulated sectors, and transferable policy and project management skills. You'll also gain experience and insight of regulation within health and life sciences.

What you will bring.....

To join us, you'll need to be an experienced policy professional who can lead and manage policy projects and workstreams. You'll be able to identify, analyse and articulate complex problems, and work with a variety of stakeholders to develop practical and proportionate evidence-based policy solutions.

You'll also be able to use your communication skills to present policy recommendations that consider risks and trade-offs to decision-makers. This involves drafting and presenting papers and reports on policy matters to senior management, and building strong working relationships with a diverse group of internal and external stakeholders.

Given the need to manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously, you'll be able to prioritise effectively in line with emerging needs. You will also be able to support others to solve problems and to seek continuous improvement.

Key responsibilities

Policy development and delivery

Proactively lead on the timely and robust delivery of policy areas to support effective decision making and continuous improvement.

Build specialist knowledge on policy areas to ensure policy proposals are evidence-based and deliverable (through collation of relevant information sources and stakeholder perspectives).

Develop and present policy recommendations that highlight the benefits, risks, challenges, trade-offs and impact to decision-makers.

Work with colleagues across the HTA to ensure delivery of policy areas and organisational priorities, and help manage and mitigate risks.

Lead key projects and workstreams, through effective prioritisation, planning and stakeholder engagement.

Stakeholder management

Effectively communicate the benefits, risks, challenges, trade-offs and impact of policy proposals to colleagues, senior management and sectoral stakeholders (tailoring the message to audiences, as required).

Work collaboratively across teams and directorates, as well as relevant government departments to deliver policy areas and organisational priorities.

Represent the HTA externally and build constructive stakeholder relationships to ensure challenges and issues are identified and resolved.

Be demonstrably accessible and identifiable to internal and external stakeholders who operate in their policy area as the HTA lead (and in turn know who to engage with to improve policy design and delivery).

People management

Line management responsibilities (as needed), including setting and reviewing work and objectives, and providing constructive feedback.

Work collaboratively with colleagues in the Policy and Development team (which comprises of three Policy Managers and a Data Analyst) to help maintain team feeling and comradery.

Essential criteria

Policy skills: Experience of developing evidence-based policy that involves identifying, analysing and articulating complex problems; working with a variety of information sources (eg, analytical, operational and legal) to develop practical policy solutions; and presenting policy recommendations that consider risks, dependencies and impact to support effective decision-making.

Knowledgebase: Knowledge or experience of working in a regulatory setting or authority (preferably in a life sciences environment); and understanding and analysing complex legal, ethical and / or scientific issues.

Communication skills: Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex information and key messages to stakeholders at a range of levels and with varying expertise.

Strategic skills: Clearly identify and communicate the relevance, interdependencies and strategic fit of their work to organisational priorities.

Stakeholder skills: Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to influence and collaborate with stakeholders and establish good working relationships;identify and understand the value / contribution of stakeholders; and effectively create open, creative, constructive, timely and inclusive engagement.

Managing delivery: Experience of being able to effectively plan and prioritise work; support others to solve problems; and seek feedback as a means of continuous improvement.

Desirable criteria

Knowledgebase: Knowledge or experience of HTA-regulated sectors or the life sciences; understanding of Parliamentary procedures (specifically in relation to parliamentary questions and legislation); and experience of public inquiries.

Managing delivery: Experience in project management.

What we can offer you....

Your health and wellbeing are important to us and are supported through generous annual leave (32.5 days on appointment, plus 8 Bank Holidays), a cycle to work scheme, a subsidised gym membership and an eye care initiative. We also offer membership of the NHS pension scheme.

While our office is based in Stratford, London, we offer flexible working office-based contracts (requiring a minimum of 1 day a week in the office) or a remote working home-based contract (requiring you to attend the office when there is a business need). We ensure that our home-based workers are also kitted out with the equipment they need to comfortably work from home.

For further information about the role, or for an informal discussion please contact [email protected]

We are committed to being open and transparent around our processes and we endeavour to offer every candidate the opportunity to perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. We seek to support candidates to identify potential challenges and work with them to identify and facilitate reasonable adjustments as appropriate. Should you require assistance and/or would like to request a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process, please contact a member of the team via email: [email protected]