About the job

Job summary

The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) has one of the most important and demanding agendas in Government, as well as one of the most important missions – to help people live better for longer.  Millions of people rely on the work we do to lead, shape and fund health and care across England, making sure that people have the support, care and treatment they need, with the compassion, respect and dignity they deserve.

In the Medicines Directorate, we work to help make sure patients can access the best available treatments, whilst ensuring value for money from the medicines budget and helping to support a flourishing life sciences sector. At the heart of this agenda is our work helping to ensure a reliable supply of medicines to the health system, so that we can all be confident of getting the medicines we need when we need them. 

As Deputy Director for Medicines Supply, you will lead a diverse team of around 25, including pharmacists and policy professionals, responsible for managing supply disruptions and shortages, and improving the resilience of the medicines system and our ability to prevent shortages. You will work very closely with NHS England, with the pharmaceutical industry, and with other parts of DHSC and HMG, to ensure a joined-up approach to tackling these challenges.

We are looking for a confident and experienced leader, able to set and deliver a strategic vision and manage complex risks. You should be comfortable working at pace and under pressure, able to challenge and partner with senior stakeholders, and skilled at continuously improving your team’s delivery.

Job description

The Medicines Directorate is responsible for the regulation, pricing, supply and prescribing of medicines. It works to help ensure patients can safely and reliably access the medicines they need. It aims to support value for money from the medicines budget, access to the best medicines innovation, and a flourishing life sciences sector. 

Medicine supply chains are global and complex. Supply disruptions can occur for a wide range of reasons – such as manufacturing problems, distribution disruptions, regulatory issues or surges in demand. DHSC, working closely with NHS England, plays a vital role in managing disruptions to medicine supply to minimise impacts on patients, and helping to prevent shortages from occurring in future.

The role of the Deputy Director for Medicine Supply is to lead a high performing, diverse team to respond to and manage shortages and lead the policy and delivery of measures to prevent them. The team works in close partnership with NHSE, the Devolved Administrations, MHRA and industry.

Key Responsibilities 

Shortage management: Leading the regular management of shortages and discontinuations of medicines to minimise risks to patients; including continuous improvement of the tools we use to manage supply issues; development of the DaSH portal through which issues are notified to us; further strengthening communications to health system professionals.

Long-term resilience policy: Leading work to develop measures to strengthen resilience of the UK medicine supply chain, working closely with NHSE, industry and others. Developing innovative policies and actions, building the delivery plans, and seeing them through to implementation.

Improving horizon scanning and risk assessment: Including improving our data infrastructure to better track supply and demand and identify risks; identifying  medicines at risk of supply disruption before risks materialise; and ensuring appropriate mitigation plans are co-ordinated and developed.

Industry engagement: Establishing and maintaining close and constructive relationships with industry, including relevant trade associations and individual companies, to foster better information sharing and collaboration. 

Strengthening system working: Ensuring strong joint working across health system partners and wider stakeholders to ensure improved insight, policy and delivery across this set of responsibilities.

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:

• Exceptional leadership skills, able to confidently lead a team to deliver at pace and under pressure, and continuously improve a team’s performance;
• Strong problem solving skills; experience of leading and delivering solutions in a challenging and changing environment – such as in an incident management context;
• Strong strategic and creative policy skills, with a record of developing and delivering policies that deliver long-term impact;
• Ability to engage with and interrogate data, evidence and operational detail;
• Experience of working effectively with industry as well as wider stakeholders to achieve strategic priorities and goals;
• Strong written and verbal communication with proven ability to advise and convince senior executive level leaders of the appropriate course of action.

Desirable criteria:

• Working knowledge of the medicines supplies chain;
• Commercial skills and experience.

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

To apply for this post please submit the following documents no later than 23:55 on Monday 8th July 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

Selection Process

A panel chaired by Gila Sacks, Medicines Director, 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.

Gila 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 acknowledgement 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.

Assessment 

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a series of assessments which will include a staff engagement exercise. These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.

Discussion with the Vacancy Holder

Shortlisted candidates may have the opportunity to speak to the vacancy holder, Gila Sacks, Medicines Director, DHSC prior to the final interview. This is an informal discussion to allow candidates to learn more about the role, and is not part of the assessment process.

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 may 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.

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.