Operational Strategy Lead
Job Description
Job summary
The Operational Strategy team leads and coordinates work across multiple strands, focusing on continuous improvement across key vaccines and countermeasures work and identifying future strategic needs. Our team anticipates future requirements and drives initiatives such as developing an in-house strategy for immunisation programme change and delivery, implementing delivery model changes that affect multiple programs, and holistic consideration of how to utilise long-term agreements like the annual minimum purchase commitment within Moderna/UK Strategic Partnership (MSP). We also coordinate options analysis for new work or changes to Vaccines and Countermeasures Delivery (VCD) where this affects multiple programmes of work.
Main duties of the job
Key Responsibilities:
- Cross-Functional Leadership : Ensuring seamless integration and collaboration across the VCD and counterpart areas to ensure there is one UKHSA voice.
- Strategic Planning : Develop and set near and longer-term operational strategy interventions for vaccine and countermeasures supply, procurement and operations as required. Anticipate future needs and drive improvement efforts. Support Senior Officials, UKHSA CEX and Ministers to continually assess whether approach to vaccine strategy meets standards for both optimal health outcomes and best use of public resources. Oversee strategic business case input and drafting for cross cutting new, high value or novel vaccine programmes. Work with commercial and clinical teams to consider market developments such as combined vaccines or different administration approaches.
- End to end systems design : Shape and support work for end-to-end systems design of new approaches to delivering vaccine and countermeasures initiatives. Establish approach for procurement of high value or novel vaccine programmes on a four nations basis accounting for the introduction of different approaches i.e. the MSP. This includes triaging NHS, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and clinical (i.e., Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation JCVI) advice to determine future campaign need (i.e. cohorts) and procurement objectives.
Continues below
About us
We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.
UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.
Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers
Job responsibilities
Continued from above
- Spending review, business planning: Develop VCDs strategic approach and profiling for the next Spending Review and ensure there is a managed forward look for current and future priorities and Ministerial requirements, (including via any change of Government post-election). Support the development of business planning as relates to strategic objectives alongside Portfolio Management Office (PMO) and wider Directorate central functions.
- External Collaboration : Serving as the primary contact point for vaccines and countermeasures, briefing Ministers, engaging in policy discussions with DHSC and UKHSA, discussing strategy with NHS, and collaborating with Devolved Nation policy counterparts. Determine (with DHSC) future vaccine and countermeasures operational policy and strategy across programmes. Connecting the work of VCD with wider HMG departments and priorities as relevant including with Cabinet Office, HM Treasury (HMT) and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
- Internal Coordination : Integrating expertise from team members as needed and acting as a triage point for external inquiries.
Our team leverages collective expertise and our policy and strategy skill sets to drive strategic initiatives to ensure operational excellence. We foster collaboration to support the organisation's mission and strategic priorities that cover vaccines and countermeasures activity.
All Vaccines & Countermeasures Delivery personnel to ensure all operational activities and processes adhere to Good Distribution Practice (GDP) standards, maintaining compliance and supporting the integrity of the supply chain.
- Work with DHSC, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the NHS and wider UKHSA to understand and develop strategic approach and planning for high value, new, novel vaccine and countermeasures procurement decision making. Establish timelines and product development that identifies key requirements i.e., JCVI clinical advice, quality and regulatory, other impacted programmes and wider HMG governance.
- Collaborate with DHSC Policy and Finance teams to shape and agree current policy and future decision making through timely, high quality, impartial written briefs for senior stakeholders and ministers, offering a clear UKHSA position on relevant factors e.g., clinical, financial, legal.
- Support the future direction of optimal vaccine and countermeasures procurement pathways for multi-pathogen decision making e.g., MSP AMPC or alternative partnerships with industry. This involves extensive stakeholder engagement with DHSC and UKHSA Strategy, finance, governance teams as well as materials forpresentation at UKHSA Vaccines Board.
- Contribute to regular reporting, VCD governance processes and support the UKHSA Vaccine Board.
- Steer, develop and author the strategy and strategic cases for the Strategic Outline Case (SOC), Outline Business Case (OBC) and Full Business Case (FBC) for relevant projects and programmes.
- Scope and progress work on Devolved Administration (DA) relationships where central procurement is relevant and potentially contentious, including future charging mechanisms. Establish strong, trusting relationships with UKHSA finance, legal and DA colleagues.
- Identifying, scoping, and prioritising new strategy questions and requirements as they emerge in your area; horizon scanning for change (both domestic and international) and understanding its impact.
- Assure input into and commission relevant briefs to shape the strategy and policy areas under your influence within the VCD. Where applicable represent the Strategy team or wider CVU in various forums.
- Build collaborative relationships and conduct extensive engagement with a wide range of relevant stakeholders across the UKHSA, Whitehall and the private sector.
- Line Management of SEOs.
This is not an exhaustive list please see Job description document for full list of duties
Essential Criteria
- Working in strategy and policy areas to drive change.
- Experience supporting the delivering of change within a project or organisation.
- Complex and cross functional stakeholder engagement
- Drafting submissions and written briefings (for example for CEOs, Boards, Ministers, and other senior stakeholders)
- Working at pace
Selection Process Details:
This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Skills and Experience.
Stage 1: Application & Sift
Success profiles
You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the listed 5 essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:
- Application form (Employer/ Activity history section on the application)
- 1000 word Statement of Suitability.
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.
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
Piles 'meets all essential criteria' and 'meets some essential criteria' will be taken through to shortlisting.
Shortlisting: In the event of a large number of applications we will shortlist on the lead criteria of
- Working in strategy and policy areas to drive change.
Desirable criteria may be used in the event of a large number of applications/large amount of successful candidates (please see attached job description).
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment
Please do not exceed 1000 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.
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