Strategy and Implementation Units Senior Strategy and Delivery Advisor

Would you like to work at the heart of the Department of Health and Social Care, thinking about the big strategy and delivery challenges facing the health and social care system now and in the future? We are recruiting to the Strategy Unit and the Implementation Unit which both play key roles in developing and delivering the Departments top priorities.The Strategy Unit works on the big strategic questions and challenges facing the health and social care system. We work jointly with policy teams on key strategic policy development and conduct our own projects in areas of ministerial priority. We also act as an incubator for new ideas and are externally focused maintaining close links with wider stakeholder groups, including think-tanks, the health and care sector and academics.The Implementation Unit ensures delivery of the Secretary of States top priorities by investigating and intervening where problems emerge, and by making recommendations to Ministers on how to improve system performance. We work closely with policy teams to track and challenge delivery and with No10 and the Cabinet Office to deliver joined up solutions. We gather and analyse performance data and conduct our own deep dives to understand and unblock tough challenges, including by speaking directly with frontline staff. Successful candidates for both teams will benefit from a wide overview of the Departments work, proximity to Ministers and the senior leadership team of the Department, and direct involvement in the top priorities of the day. They will have the opportunity to learn and deploy a range of strategic, problem solving and delivery tools and techniques.Diversity & InclusivityWe encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to build a workforce that is more representative of the UKs diverse communities and the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this visit here. The main responsibilities of the post are:Strategy Unit: Support Ministers and the Department to set the direction and strategy for health and care. Develop and maintain a good overview of the strategic context, history and key developments in health and care reform, as well as the relevant evidence base.Make links with ALBs and other government departments, as well as external experts, academics, and thought leaders to maintain a cutting edge understanding of health and social care policy.Lead strategic projects to deliver high quality, evidence-based options and recommendations for Ministers and policy teams.Lead rapid responses to commissions where the policy question spans a number of policy areas.Use qualitative and quantitative strategic tools and techniques to answer medium- and long-term questions, including identification of emerging opportunities and challenges.Work in close partnership with policy teams to support progress against the key priorities agreed with Ministers and senior leadership.Implementation Unit: Track and challenge delivery of the Secretary of States priorities and unblock barriers to delivery. Investigate and intervene to solve delivery challenges using deep dives and other problem-solving techniques, enabling Ministers to understand progress on priorities, risks to delivery and how to address them.Work closely with No. 10, the Cabinet Office and health and care colleagues to deliver a shared approach to solutions.Report to No. 10 and the Cabinet Office on progress against top priorities.Lead deep dive projects to unblock delivery challenges, including scoping issues and gathering evidence to better understand problems and recommend solutions.Oversee regular reporting to monitor progress against the Health Mission and other health and social care commitments.Both teams: Support the development of strategic and delivery capability across the department. Contribute to the design and delivery of training on strategy and implementation tools and techniques.Encourage close working and build strong relationships with internal policy teams.Work closely with partners from the centre of government and the health and care family to deliver in your role, establishing strong relationships to drive progress.Actively foster an open and collaborative culture across the team and department.