Head of Team, Supply Resilience Directorate

In DHSC, we are proud of our purpose – to enable everyone to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. To achieve this, and create a great place to work, we have four values: we are inclusive, we constantly improve, we challenge, and we are agile. If this sounds like an environment you’d like to work in, we’d love to hear from you.

The Supply Resilience Directorate coordinates and drives DHSC’s work on supply, delivering a more strategic approach working closely across Government, the NHS and with industry. We respond to challenges and disruptions to the supply of medicines and medical products and drive long-term strategic thinking to improve resilience of key products.

We are looking for two G6 deputy branch heads across the directorate, sitting in the National Supply Disruption Response team and the Strategic Supply and Continuity team respectively.

The Supply Strategy and Continuity Team supports the Supply Resilience Director in responding to and preparing for challenges to the supply of medical products in the short-medium term and leading work with key partners to enhance supply resilience in the long term. The team also leads specific project-based work to support and enhance supply chain resilience; coordinates engagement with suppliers, wider industry stakeholders and international partners; and promotes the importance of supply resilience considerations in wider DHSC policy making.

The National Supply Disruption Response (NSDR) team act as the first point of contact for the UK's medical supply industry and health and care system in the event of supply disruption. The NSDR team work closely with internal and external partners to help mitigate supply disruption and are responsible for the shortage response policy for all medical technology products. The NSDR also hosts the Supply Resilience Directorate's Analytical Team, who work to build a robust evidence base to underpin both short term threat assessment and long-term resilience activity.

Role 1. Head of Engagement and Policy, Supply Strategy and Continuity

The successful candidate will be responsible for delivery of continuity of supply policy priorities through engagement with key industry and health and social care stakeholders on supply resilience and building capability on supply resilience.

Role 2. Head of NSDR Policy and Analysis

The successful candidate will be responsible for leading the NSDR's policy and analytical team. As well as line managing up to three Grade 7s (and a mix of policy and analytical professionals), the individual will be responsible for med tech response policy, as well as acting as Head of the Directorate's analytical function.

Role 1) Head of Engagement and Policy, Supply Strategy and Continuity

Provide leadership to a mixed team consisting of grade 7, SEO and HEO and direct line management of a number of grade 7 senior policy advisors and communications specialists.

Ensure that engagement activity with suppliers on topics related to supply resilience is coordinated across DHSC and its ALBs. Support the engagement team to build relationships with industry and key government stakeholders.

Supporting and leading as needed, the Department’s response to supply chain disruption of medical products, and proactive policy development to manage risks.

Developing and promoting tools that help support teams across the Department to understand and assess the importance of supply chain resilience in their policy areas

Build trusted relationships with key stakeholders both in and outside of Government to help further the importance of supply considerations in policy making and represent the Supply Resilience Directorate across Government.

Role 2) Head of NSDR Policy and Analysis

The post-holder will lead a multi-disciplinary team to:

Design and deliver NSDR response policy.

Development of key relationships with stakeholders critical to MedTech response policy to foster close collaboration and meet shared objectives. This includes senior teams internal to DHSC, NHSE, NHS Supply Chain, MHRA and the Devolved Administrations.

Strategic leadership and delivery of SRD analytical function, including all analytical products to help ensure a robust evidence base for work across the Directorate and beyond. Many of these products inform advice to, or are shared directly with, DGs and Ministers.

Lead engagement with senior external industry partners from across the supply chain on issues relating to med tech response policy. External challenge and communication are critical to policy design and implementation.