Head of Transformation Strategy
Job summary
This role is to lead projects to design and bring to life a tech-enabled vision for the future through deep collaboration.
With technology increasingly at the heart of multiple NHS strategies, the priority now is to move from technology and clinical services existing separately, toward fundamental reimagining of services through technology - to embed the principle of digital by default in order to ensure better and more sustainable outcomes for patients.
While the Transformation Strategy team works closely with technology teams this job is explicitly not a technology strategy role. It is about redesigning services and reimagining the NHS through the opportunities afforded by technology. It does not require the post-holder to be a technologist - only to be ambitious for how we could reimagine, and to be a brilliant collaborator.
You will work alongside the Finance and Portfolio Office teams of the Directorate, giving you a direct ability to influence the investment and programme delivery decisions necessary to bring the strategy to life.
The successful candidate will need exceptional strategy development, leadership, communication, and collaboration skills in order to ensure the NHS as a whole buys into the vision and comes together to deliver it.
The post holder must be able to work at pace in an environment of unparalleled complexity, and to not only set an ambitious big picture vision but demonstrate the grip necessary to help deliver it.
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will:
- Lead the design of the overall transformation strategy for the NHS;
- Drive the integration of technology, digital, data, and improvement with wider NHS England strategy, policy, and delivery, helping shift the NHS to be a fully tech-enabled service;
- Work very closely with wider NHS England, DHSC, and System colleagues in order to ensure the transformation strategy is aligned with operational and other priorities, and to ensure transformation is a whole-team effort;
- Ensure alignment with broader strategic objectives and priorities, including collaborating with the NHS England Strategy team, Life Sciences & Innovation Strategy team, and Data Strategy team;
- Lead efforts to develop care setting or pathway-specific strategies;
- Build partnerships with external organisations and stakeholders, including system leaders and patients, ensuring we build the strategy collaboratively and make best use of all available evidence and expertise;
- Work closely with colleagues across Transformation, notably in the Finance and Transformation Portfolio Office teams, in order to embed the strategy through programme delivery and financial allocations;
- Ensure the strategy makes best use of a full range of levers, incentives, wider policies, guidance, products and services in order to maximise benefits to patients, working closely with policy colleagues from DHSC.
About us
NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.
Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.
If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR).This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.
We cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.
Job description
Job responsibilities
As Head of Transformation Strategy, the post holder will lead a small but highly influential strategy team with the goal of influencing the direction of technology programmes and wider service transformation efforts and strategies, to ensure NHS England is pursuing an ambitious, tech-inspired plan for service transformation at all opportunities.
The successful candidate will:
- Advocate across NHS England for digital by default service transformation, and for the ambitious adoption of technology-enabled approaches to service redesign at all opportunities.
- Work with Modern Service Framework teams, Central Strategy, and others to achieve the above.
- Take forward an emerging major project to fundamentally redesign a low acuity anxiety and depression mental health pathway to demonstrate the art of the possible as part of the forthcoming Mental Health Strategy.
- Drive the integration of technology, digital, data, and improvement with wider NHS England strategy, policy, and delivery, helping shift the NHS to be a fully tech-enabled service;
- Input into cross-cutting challenges and wider strategies, such as the forthcoming UEC Strategy.
- Collaborate with clinical, policy, and programme teams to design future state visions for a technology-enabled service, and plot the path to achieve them;
- Ensure alignment with broader strategicobjectivesand priorities, collaborating with the NHS England Strategy team;
- Work closely with colleagues across Transformation, notably in the Finance and Transformation Portfolio Office teams,in order toembed thestrategythroughprogrammedelivery and financial allocations;
- Be an active part of the NHS England strategy community.
- Build strong relationships with, influence and drive cohesion across multiple teams in NHS England, DHSC and the front line in order to work towards common strategic goals.
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
SecondmentsApplicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Experience
- Strong knowledge and experience of developing business transformation strategies and plans which take advantage of technology and/or operational improvement methodologies
- In depth knowledge acquired over a significant period of time in the following areas. Health or care service transformation Digital health technology Digital transformation Transformation of business processes using technology-based approaches
- Subject matter expertise across a number of key areas relating to the functional team: Significant experience of designing major organizational change strategies Understanding of the benefits, challenges and barriers to implementing strategies And understanding of how to benchmark, appraise, and prioritise strategic options
- Digital, technology, or improvement-led strategy and/or policy development skills and expertise.
- Proven and significant leadership experience and/or formal management qualification
- Experience working at either system or national level, and a good understanding of the levers available to drive change across complex systems.
- Significant evidence of continued professional development
- Senior leadership experience at a national, regional or system level and the ability to build excellent collaborative networks
- Demonstrated expertise in a Healthcare environment
- Proven Board level experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment
Qualifications
- Educated to Masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
- Recognised qualification relevant to the role, such as a degree in public sector or healthcare policy and/or strategy.
Skills Capabilities & Attributes
- Demonstrable ability to lead and inspire multi-disciplinary teams working across multiple functions and organisations
- User centred design understanding, and a thorough understanding of application of these techniques in the health context
- Ability to deal with challenging situations in a formal setting
- Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment with knowledge of and experience in handling media relations
Values and Behaviours
- Commitment to and focused on quality, promotes high standards in all they do
- Able to make a connection between their work and the benefit to patients and the public
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
Employer name
NHS England
Address
This role can be based in Leeds (Wellington Place) or London (Wellington House)
Leeds or London
LS1 4AP
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/working-for/