Deputy Directors – NHS Workforce Directorate
Department of Health and Social Care
Apply before 11:55 pm on Wednesday 23rd October 2024
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Existing Civil Servants on promotion will be appointed in line with the Civil Service pay rules in place on the date of their appointment.
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Senior leadership
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About the job
Job summary
The people who work in the NHS are critical to ensuring good access to high quality care for patients. Their pay, pensions and terms and conditions are key factors in recruiting and retaining staff and motivating them to ensure we have the right mix of people with the rights skills both for now and in the future. As the new Government develops a new ten year plan for the NHS, getting workforce policy right to deliver that plan will be central to the Department’s work in delivering the Government’s Health Mission.
Both these roles involve close partnership working – with NHS England, with employers in the NHS and with the trades unions who represent staff. So collaborative working and the ability to build strong relationships with stakeholders inside and outside Government will be key to both. We are seeking inclusive leaders, who will support the team, the Directorate and the Group corporately and model departmental and civil service behaviours.
The successful candidate will lead a diverse team across our two main sites in London and Leeds, and would be expected to work out of one of those sites. Applications from candidates in Leeds would be particularly welcome, as the Directorate maintains a strong presence there.
Job description
DHSC are seeking two Deputy Directors for the NHS Workforce Directorate, which is part of the Secondary Care and Integration Group. The NHS workforce is a complex, high-profile policy area with considerable interest from ministers and senior officials, the public and the media. It is at the heart of ensuring the NHS can deliver the services the country needs. The directorate includes the teams that lead on NHS pay, industrial relations, professional regulation and education and training as well as overall workforce strategy for the NHS. We work in close partnership with our colleagues in NHS England.
These postholders will lead on the following areas of work, but across the Workforce Directorate there are also a range of strategic projects in play to respond to the new administration’s policy agenda, and there will be scope to shape these additional elements around the successful applicants.
As a Deputy Director you will ensure the team plays its part in ensuring DHSC operates as a great department of state, supporting Ministers to fulfil their parliamentary and wider responsibilities. You will also be a senior leader within the workforce directorate and will take an active role in ensuring the directorate is a positive and inclusive place to work.
Role 1 - NHS Industrial Relations and NHS Pay
This is a high-profile area of work with considerable Ministerial interest. The team is responsible for Agenda for Change (a wide-ranging group of c1.3m non-medical NHS staff), three medical contracts (Consultants, Resident (formerly Junior) Doctors, and SAS doctors) and Very Senior Managers. The paybills total c.£70bn pa, 46% of the NHS Budget.
The team of 14 combines technical expertise with strong generalist policy skills and political nous to deliver across an often-demanding portfolio. The team led on recent negotiations with unions representing NHS staff in the context of a series of unprecedented disputes in the NHS. The focus is on delivering those deals and supporting sustainable pay setting in a challenging fiscal context.
Key Responsibilities
Responsibilities include:
- Setting overarching strategy for pay and industrial relations, balancing political, financial and policy considerations;
- Leading on DHSC’s input to and response to the annual pay review body (PRB) process, ensuring high-quality, accurate written and oral evidence for the PRB, and advising Ministers on high-profile annual decisions on pay uplifts which align with the overarching strategy;
- Building collaborative relationships with HMT and DHSC’s finance team, given the scale of the public spending impact;
- Leading DHSC’s engagement with NHS trade unions, working closely with the GP team and other Workforce teams;
- Leading on the terms and conditions for Agenda for Change staff, hospital doctors and very senior managers in the NHS, including updating them through negotiations when necessary. For example, the team will work with NHS employers and trade unions to make adjustments to Agenda for Change pay scales in due course, following a recommendation from the NHS pay review body; and
- Managing the NHS Employers contract: a c £10m pa commercial contract representing employers across the NHS in England, and providing employment services support within the NHS.
This role requires building and maintaining close, collaborative relationships with national stakeholders in NHS Employers, NHS England, HMT Treasury, Cabinet Office, Number 10 and the Office for Manpower Economics, as well as NHS trade unions.
Role 2 - NHS Pensions
Leading policy development and delivery relating to NHS Pensions. This is a team of 11 people. The work they do is far reaching - the NHS Pension Scheme is the largest in Europe with around 1.8 million active members, c800,000 deferred members, and over a million pensioner members. The team's work is an unusual mix of:
Key responsibilities
- Policy development - considering issues about the design of the NHS pension scheme, whether it needs to be refined or reformed, and advising ministers on the implications of the government's wider approach to pensions and tax impacts on members of the NHS Scheme.
- Project delivery - you will act as SRO and oversee the work in your team and the NHS Business Services Authority to implement the McCloud Remedy, which impacts on all public sector pension schemes;
- Case work – as deputy director, you decide on requests from employers to be able to access the NHS Pension Scheme for their staff, and the team also supports ministers to consider cases where forfeiture of an NHS pension might be appropriate.
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:
- Ability to lead a diverse team in an inclusive way to deliver a quality service in a complex, fast-moving environment.
- Strong evidence of excellent policy and analysis skills, with a keen eye for accuracy and an ability to balance public spending, policy and presentational objectives.
- A track record in building the confidence of ministers or other very senior leaders on high profile areas of public policy.
- Communication, influencing and negotiating skills.
- The proven ability to work in partnership with stakeholders who may have different, competing objectives.
Desirable criteria:
Familiarity with the subject area or with public spending.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
Benefits
Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career with the Department and wider Civil Service. It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead, and you’ll benefit from regular performance and development reviews to ensure this development is ongoing. As a Civil Service employee, you’ll be entitled to a large range of benefits.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service values and supports all its employees.
We have strong and pro-active staff networks, special leave policies for hospital appointments, reasonable adjustments put in place for those who need them, and diversity talent programmes to help everyone irrespective of background, to achieve their potential.
Pension
Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package.
A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; where your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire. Visit Civil Service Pension Scheme for more details.
Generous Annual Leave and Bank Holiday Allowance
25 days annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays.
This will be complimented by one further day paid privilege entitlement to mark the King’s Birthday.
Staff Wellbeing
Flexible working including part-time or time- term working and access to Flexible Working Schemes allowing you to vary your working day as long as you work your total hours.
Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers.
Childcare benefits (policy for new employees as of 5 April 2018): The government has introduced the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. Working parents can open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2000 a year for each child or £4000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare. Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare vouchers, so please check how the policy would work for you here.
Onsite facilities Opportunity to use onsite facilities including fitness centres and staff canteens (where applicable).
Things you need to know
Selection process details
To apply for this post please submit the following documents no later than 23:55 on Wednesday 23rd October 2024.
- 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.
- 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.
“Please indicate if you are interested in a particular role, or in both.”
As part of the online application process, you will be asked :
- to confirm which role you wish to apply for, or if you would like to be considered for both.
- preferred Location – London or Leeds
- 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 an interview. Written feedback will be made available (on request) to those candidates who attend the interview.
If you are unable to apply online please contact scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Selection Process
A panel chaired by Gavin Larner, Director of Workforce, 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.
Gavin 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.
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 Vacancy Holder
Shortlisted candidates may have the opportunity to speak to the vacancy holder, Gavin Larner, Director of Workforce, 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 the interview.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
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Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : SCS Candidate
- Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : scscanddiate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact DHSCSCSrecruitment@dhsc.gov.uk in the first instance.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.
