About the job

Job summary

The Commercial Directorate is a strategic and enabling function that covers all DHSC’s commercial interactions with third parties, to support ministers in delivering their agenda. Our mission is to ensure that health and care policy is implemented at best value for the public. We do this by leading and overseeing the department’s direct and indirect activity with third parties, implementing policies across DHSC and its arms-length bodies (ALBs), and acting as senior advisor to the Secretary of State.  

Our vision is to provide a world-class commercial service to enable the health and care system to deliver for the public. We aim to be the best in government commercial for technical expertise and customer focus. We do this by driving joint strategy for the Department and its ALBs, leading a community of commercial professionals across many organisations.

DHSC Commercial Directorate (CD) has an ever-growing need for policy and commercial professions to work closely to solve some of the most fascinating challenges in health and care. Our Commercial Strategy and Partnerships division brings together the non-direct spend elements across the health and care system; with a potential ‘influenced’ spend value of over £100 billion.

The Directorate is looking for a senior leader who will be influential at driving developments in innovation and collaboration. They will be comfortable with ambiguity and use experience to deliver cross-cutting, multi-agency commercial and policy outcomes within the Departmental and health family teams.  Under their leadership, the teams will deliver projects and advise on some of the most complex and high-profile areas across the system. The team is both inward facing - to senior policy leaders and ministers - and outwards facing, fostering relationships across the NHS, the wider health and care system, other Arms-Length Bodies (ALBs) and government departments.

They will lead the teams to ensure that commercial and market considerations are at the heart of health and care policy making and embedded into policy thinking from the earliest stages. Within the division, resources are dedicated to act as an internal consultancy for particular areas of public policy and market sectors (like social care, pharma/life sciences), using a collaborative approach to bring a business, financial and commercial perspective to policy design.

This is an opportunity to join a trusted team where everyone can fulfil their potential and you will play a key leadership role in developing a strong commercial function for DHSC and the Health Family.

Job description

The post of Deputy Director, Commercial Strategy & Partnerships is a highly varied role. The division brings together the Director’s internal and external stakeholder relationships in one place; managing services and relationships with DHSC officials and ministers, arms-length bodies in the Health Family, other Departments of State, and the wider commercial profession in government.

The division’s purpose is unambiguously commercial, but its work is focussed on sector-specific policy, outside of core procurement and contracting. The work of the division is ensuring commercial considerations are embedded in public policy design, across the breadth of the system’s activities – obesity, smoking, drug pricing, technical innovation. You will work to increase commercial and market awareness in the policy profession. Your leadership will also drive commercial capability and impact through collaboration and continuous improvement in the commercial profession in health.

As Deputy Director you will work across the health and care system, minimising the impact of organisational and sector divisions, collaborating with stakeholder to bring together skills, experience and resources in order to address the most complex issues. The division offers a service to senior policy officials and ministers, providing commercial advice and support to major policy agendas with significant market forces in play.

Within your division a team is organised around several core markets/sectors where the Department spends or influences wider system spending of billions of pounds. This team operates as a free internal consultancy, taking commissions for fieldwork, industry consultation, market research, policy options appraisal and implementation design. Projects could include social care reform, GP contract negotiations, medicines pricing, life sciences collaborations, obesity interventions.

The division also includes a team to support the work of the Commercial Directors and the wider directorate, grouping services and reporting that are common to the whole directorate; finance and budget management, corporate planning and strategy, risk management, business continuity.  The team leads and coordinates returns for the Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF), Government Commercial Function (GCF) and Health Family Metrics corporate reporting. The team also functions as an extension of the Director’s leadership role, managing the relationship with the GCO and wider commercial profession, and with our ALBs - including responsibility for shared services, Commercial Shared Services Board (CSSB) and the Health Family Leadership Group (HFLG). Its project management capability extends to running the directorate plan, the associated portfolio of projects, Portfolio Board and Directorate Management Team.

Please note that for SCS colleagues there is an expectation of spending more than 60% of your working time in the office, including regular presence across all sites where Directorate colleagues are based.

Key responsibilities

As Deputy Director Commercial Strategy & Partnerships your key responsibilities will be:

• Leading stakeholder engagement across the breadth of health and care policy issues in the department, influencing senior stakeholders across the health sector as they seek to gain best value for the health family and the wider taxpayer
• Working across organisations to develop a shared purpose to address complex issues that require a multi-organisation approach
• Working with policy colleagues at the strategy and business planning stages of the commercial cycle, aligning commercial input to policy priorities to ensure that robust commercial advice is provided at an early stage to maximise effectiveness of delivery and implementation
• Playing an active role in facilitating and delivering progress with the Commercial Shared Services (CSSB) forum and participation on key workstreams

• Supporting the Directorate’s relationship with the centre (Government Commercial Organisation) on commercial capability
• Supporting the building commercial capability across DHSC
• Liaison, alignment and close collaboration with the wider Commercial Directorate keeping abreast of latest developments and ensuring the right linkages are made
• Leading and securing the resources and talent required to deliver the work programme
• Delivering through a team of around 35 staff, managing their performance and deliverables and setting the strategy and vision for the division
• Ensuring the Division has clear project plans and deliverables that connects to the DHSC objectives
• Establishing clear, concise and objective management reporting and KPIs on progress, status, issues and risks
• Funding and co-sponsoring Healthcare UK with NHS England the Department of Business and Trade, leading the coordination of income generation work, supporting deals and attending some international events
• Managing and building close working relationships with external advisers and stakeholders and delivering expert advice
• Managing budgets in line with government budgetary guidelines
• Minimising the DHSC’s exposure and risk across multiple projects by managing scope and mitigating risk
• Reviewing and assessing on an ongoing basis any and all options to drive continuous improvement across the Directorate in relation to optimum operating model, team design and any other opportunities to enhance effectiveness and service levels
• Being an active, engaged and visible member of the senior leadership team, and deputising as required for the Commercial Director at key forums (e.g., GCO standing meetings and DHSC SMT forums) and Head of Profession activities
• Supporting the Commercial Director with the sponsorship of NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA)

Person specification

It is important through your CV and Statement of Suitability that you give evidence and examples of proven experience of each of the following

essential criteria:

• Commercial and business acumen, including experience working with industry, complex commercial models, markets, contracts and managing supplier relationships.
• Significant experience of public policy design and implementation, and an understanding of challenges faced in developing good public sector policy in a political environment.
• Experience of market insight production and strategy development (public or private).
• Ability to influence and build relationships with colleagues of all levels (including senior stakeholders both internally and externally) in a complex political, commercial and governance environment.
• Experience of managing large stakeholder groups, including cross government and wider health and care sector.
• Experience of leading large and diverse teams.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, Department of Health and Social Care contributes £20,250 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Application Process

To apply for this post please submit the following documents no later than 23:55 on Sunday 11th February 2024.

1. A CV (which is for information purposes only) setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
2. A Statement of Suitability (no more than 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the person specification.

Applications will be sifted against personal statements. Please note that your CV is for information purposes only and will not be scored.

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only has limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification. 

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say'. The information you provide when submitting your application will help us monitor our progress towards the Civil Service becoming the most inclusive employer by 2025.

Please note that we are unable to provide feedback to those candidates who are not shortlisted for interview. Written feedback will be made

available (on request) to those candidates who attend interview.

If you are unable to apply online please contact scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Selection Process

A panel chaired by Michael Carey, Chief Commercial Officer (acting), DHSC will assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the ‘Person Specification’ section. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Michael will be supported by a selection panel made up of other senior stakeholders for the role, full details of this panel will be shared with shortlisted candidates. 

Alongside other departments, DHSC is committed to making the Civil Service more inclusive and recognises the value of diverse interview panels. Helping candidates, particularly those from diverse backgrounds, to feel comfortable and at ease during the interview process, to reduce bias and increase the objectiveness of decisions. In line with the Civil Service’s Inclusive Board initiative we aim to ensure that, as well as being gender diverse, DHSC’s interview panels for Senior Civil Service will include at least one panellist who is from an ethnic minority background and/or who has a physical or non-physical disability (which may not be visible).

Shortlist

You will receive an acknowledgment of your application through the online process.

The panel will select a shortlist of candidates whose applications best demonstrate suitability for the role, by considering the evidence provided against the essential criteria set out in the ‘Person Specification’.

Candidates applying under the Disability Confident Scheme and A Great Place to Work for Veterans Scheme who meet the minimum selection criteria in the job specification are guaranteed an interview.

The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, all candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter, and we will advise on any delays.

Shortlisted candidates who attend an interview will also be offered verbal feedback from a member of the interview panel.

Interview

You will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation at interview on a scenario issued to them 30 minutes ahead of their panel interview. This presentation will be designed to assess each candidate’s experience with briefing Ministers.  Full details will be provided prior to interview. 

You will be asked a series of questions at interview around the following behaviours and the essential criteria earlier in this pack.

Behaviours:

• Leadership
• Seeing the big picture

Experience:

• Commercial and business acumen
• Managing markets and market strategy
• Policy design and implementation
• Stakeholder engagement and system leadership

Interviews will take place virtually, via Microsoft Teams full details of the interview format will be provided to shortlisted candidates prior to interview.

Feedback

Please note that we are unable to provide feedback to those candidates who are not shortlisted for interview. Written feedback will be made available (on request) to those candidates who attend interview. Please contact scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk at Government Recruitment Service to request feedback on your interview.

A reserve list will be held for up to 12 months, which we may use to fill future suitable vacancies for candidates who are considered appointable following interview.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

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 equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.