About the job

Job summary

Role One - Director of Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC)

The Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan was published in January 2023, and sets out how the NHS will recover UEC performance, reducing waiting times, protecting patient safety and improving patient experience. There is a high level of interest and scrutiny from Ministers and the Prime Minister, focusing on sustaining improvements so far secured, learning lessons from 2023/24, ensuring that planning for 2024/25 is robust and making progress with the reform and modernisation of integrated urgent and emergency care services more broadly.

The recovery plan sets out a wide-ranging, two-year programme of work to expand capacity, in hospital and in the community, and to modernise pathways of care: more beds, more ambulance hours on the road, expanding Same Day Emergency Care provision and Acute Respiratory Hubs, expanding and optimising “virtual ward” provision, and improving frailty pathways and falls prevention and response services. Alongside this work is underway to speed up discharge, with more care transfer hubs and improvements to discharge data.

Role Two - Director of Elective Care and Cancer

The Elective Recovery Plan sets out a wide-ranging programme of work which includes transformation of key services such as a rapid expansion of diagnostic capacity (including via the programme of Community Diagnostic Centres), outpatient pathway reform and innovative use of technology to support elective recovery.

Job description

Role One - Director of Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC)

As Director of Urgent and Emergency Care you will:

• Be a key leader across the Secondary Care and Integration (SCI) Group, as an active member of its Senior Leadership Team. You will role-model leadership of cross-cutting corporate work-streams and activity, and champion equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Lead a high performing, multi-disciplinary team (including embedded analysts) to work hand in glove with NHS England on this high priority programme.
• Supporting and challenging NHS England to deliver these changes across the NHS and to provide assurance to Ministers and the Prime Minister.
• Provide leadership across DHSC on all aspects of winter planning and resilience, working with colleagues in adult social care and public health teams.
• Be responsible for future UEC policy, including assessing likely future demand and capacity requirements, and ensuring that services are resilient and sustainable.
• Work alongside other teams within the department and NHS England to make sure UEC recovery and future policy are aligned with other delivery issues – including elective care, primary care, digital policy and ICB development.
• Provide operational insight and improving the capability of DHSC’s delivery-focused teams.

Key responsibilities

As Director of Urgent and Emergency Care your key responsibilities will include:

• Direct the development and delivery of urgent and emergency care policy in the Department, including working with NHS England to deliver the UEC Recovery Plan.
• Lead the directorate to provide Ministers with assurance on all aspects of UEC policy and delivery, including high quality data and insights. This will include regular Prime Ministerial stock takes.
• Oversee the development and delivery of government policy on the reform and
  modernisation of UEC.
• Develop future UEC policy, including analysis of future demand and technological advances.
• Draw together and join up work on winter resilience and preparedness across the department, working closely with health protection colleagues and clinical experts.
• Ensure the NHS is well positioned for any fiscal events and steer the preparations for any UEC-related bids.
• Build relationships across government and the NHS (and wider) to support the successful delivery of UEC.
• Continue to build the analytical and NHS experience / knowledge of the team.
• Support Ministers in their engagement with the press and Parliament.
• Take an active role in the group’s (SCI) Senior Leadership Team and the wider leadership of the department.
• Oversee a motivated split-site team of c60 and build on the happy and high performing culture.

Role Two - Director of Elective Care and Cancer

As Director Elective Care and Cancer you will work closely with NHS England to support and deliver this change across the NHS in England and to provide assurance to Ministers and the Prime Minister by:

• Leading a growing, multi-disciplinary team (including embedded analysts) to work hand in glove with NHS England on this high priority programme.
• Leading the implementation of the Independent Sector Task-force report (launched by the PM in December 2022) to maximise the use of the independent sector to support elective recovery, as well as the Prime Minister’s announcements on increasing patient choice.
• Being responsible for future electives policy, including assessing likely future demand, to ensure services are resilient and sustainable.
• Taking lead responsibility across the department for cancer policy and performance – taking forward the government’s ambitions on faster diagnosis, tackling treatment backlogs and improving survival outcomes.
• Work alongside other teams within the department and NHS England to make sure elective recovery and future policy is aligned with other performance issues – including Urgent and Emergency Care, cancer screening and workforce.

Key responsibilities

As Director of Elective Care and Cancer  your key responsibilities will include:

• Direct the development and delivery of elective care policy in the Department, including working with NHS England to deliver the Elective Recovery Plan.
• Provide Ministers with assurance on all aspects of elective care policy and delivery, including high quality data and insights. This will include regular Prime Ministerial stock takes.
• Implement the actions from Independent Sector Task-force.
• Oversee the development and delivery of government policy and ambitions on cancer, including the overall aims to improve five-year survival rate, and cutting post-covid backlogs, and improving performance against specific standards on faster diagnosis and shorter treatment times.
• Work with colleagues to deliver key Secretary of State priorities on cancer performance and the rapid expansion of diagnostic capacity, including the roll-out of the Community Diagnostic Centre’s programme.
• Develop future elective policy, including analysis of future demand and technological advances.
• Draw together and join up work on cancer and electives across Life Sciences, R&D, prevention and specialist care teams in the department.
• Ensure the NHS is well positioned for any fiscal events and steer the preparations for any elective or cancer-related bids.
• Build relationships across government and the NHS (and wider) to support the successful delivery of elective and cancer care.
• Continue to build the analytical and operational experience / knowledge of the team.
• Support Ministers in their engagement with the press and Parliament.
• Take an active role in the group’s (SCI) Senior Leadership Team and the wider leadership of the department.
• Oversee a motivated split-site team of c60 and build on the happy and high performing culture.

Person specification

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

• Communicating and influencing – excellent oral and written communication skills, and proven experience in communicating and influencing at very senior levels, leveraging relationships, expertise, insight, and personal credibility to achieve objectives in a complex landscape.

• Leadership – strong leadership skills, including a dedication to increasing the diversity of teams and the ability to lead and develop high performing multi-disciplinary teams, committed to continuous improvement.

• Changing and improving – experience in leading teams confidently and successfully through times of change.

• Delivery at pace – able to work and lead others to work at a sustained high pace, both in supporting and responding to Ministerial requirements, and in focusing on delivery of a key Prime Ministerial priority.

• Strong analytical experience – able to quickly absorb data and provide insights, as well as being an expert commissioner / customer for analysis and data science within and outside the department.

Desirable:

• Experience of managing or commissioning health services, particularly in an NHS setting, or of data-led operational delivery in another context,
  would be desirable, but is not essential.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £97,000, Department of Health and Social Care contributes £26,190 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

Please note as part of the online application process you will be requested to indicate which role you are applying for, or if you would like to be considered for both.

Application

To apply for this post please submit the following documents no later than 23:55 on Monday 29th April 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 on statement of suitability. Please note that your CV is for information purposes only and will not be scored.  For candidates who are unfamiliar with drafting a statement of suitability please contact scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk for further guidance.

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 requested to indicate
which role you are applying for, or if you would like to be considered for
both.

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

Elizabeth Walmsley a Civil Service Commissioner, will chair the process. The Civil Service Commission has two primary functions:

• Providing assurance that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. For the most senior posts in the Civil Service, the Commission discharges its responsibilities directly by overseeing the recruitment process and by a Commissioner chairing the selection panel.
• Hearing and determining appeals made by civil servants under the Civil Service Code which sets out the Civil Service values – Impartiality, Objectivity, Integrity and Honesty - and forms part of the relationship between civil servants and their employer.

More detailed information can be found on the Civil Service Commission website. 

Panel Members 

• Elizabeth Walmsley, Civil Service Commissioner, (chair).
• Matthew Style, Director General for Secondary Care and Integration.

Other panel members will be confirmed at or before the shortlist stage.

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, Mathew Style, Director General for NHS Policy and Performance, 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.

Discussion with a Minister / Secretary of State 

Shortlisted candidates may have the opportunity to speak with a Minister prior to the final interview. A Civil Service Commissioner would attend any discussion.

Interview

You will be asked to attend a panel interview to discuss your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification earlier in this pack. 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. Full
details will be provided prior to interview.

Depending on the candidate, interviews will take place in person at 39 Victoria Street, London, or Quarry House, Leeds. Full details of the interview format will be provided to shortlisted candidates prior to interview.

Feedback

Feedback on applications is only available to candidates who are taken through to interview, please contact scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk at Government Recruitment Service to request feedback on your application or 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.