The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an internationally-recognised and highly prestigious organisation which continually improves outcomes for patients using the NHS and other public health and social care services by producing trusted, independent, and evidence-based guidance for practitioners across health, public health, and social care. Since its foundation as an independent non-departmental government body in 1999, NICE has endeavored to put “science and evidence at the heart of health and care decision-making”.
However, with new treatments, practices and technologies in the field of medicine emerging at an unprecedented pace, NICE recognises the need to rethink its role in the healthcare ecosystem – particularly given the impact that the pandemic has had, and will continue to have, on health inequalities for years to come. With a new Chief Executive (Dr. Sam Roberts – formerly the Director of Innovation, Research and Life Sciences at NHS England) at its helm, NICE has developed a five-year strategy to equip itself not only to continue to meet the needs of both patients and practitioners, but to pro-actively anticipate, recognise, and respond to the challenges and opportunities arising from new medical, technological and scientific advancements with an accelerated sense of pace and dynamism.
The Institute is therefore seeking to appoint a Director of Implementation and Partnerships (I&P) who will play a vital role in the pursuit of NICE’s goal to initiate (and sustain) a wholesale transformation of the way in which its guidelines are used by clinicians and the public – ultimately creating a future in which the translation of scientific and technological innovation into health and care is hastened and democratised across the health and care system.
As the conduit for information flow between NICE and external health and social care organisations, the Director of I&P will play a critical role in guaranteeing that the Institute’s new strategy has the greatest possible impact across the health and care system. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive with a 65-strong team, the role holder will work across national, international, regional, and local health and care systems to ensure that NICE’s guidance is useful to (and used by) health and care professionals in order to maximise outcomes for patients, people and communities. This a wonderful opportunity to join the Executive Team of an organisation that has already proven its ability to work seamlessly across boundaries in order to hasten the speed of access to the latest, most effective treatments during the Covid-19 pandemic, but is now seeking to fully embed this approach to its engagement with external stakeholders for the longer-term.
In this appointment, NICE are looking for a partnership-oriented strategist and collaborator with extensive knowledge of the UK health, social care, and public health ecosystems, who also has prior experience converting innovation into practice in areas of work with high impact and complexity. Through their personal credibility, communication skills and emotional intelligence, the role holder will have the ability to build strong relationships with a diverse set of senior stakeholders (including the ICSs, NHSE/I, ADASS, CQC, regions, and key third sector and private sector partners), seamlessly translating their needs into focus areas for NICE’s advice to ensure the Institute has the greatest possible impact. The ideal candidate will also possess strong influencing skills and will have the ability and appetite to dynamically navigate the political and economic environments that the Institute exists within to ensure conditions for the effective implementation of NICE’s advice are optimized across the system.
To view the Job Specification click here.
The MBS Group are acting as NICE’s advisors on this appointment. To apply please send a covering letter, CV, and completed Equality Monitoring Form (available in Appendix I of the candidate information pack available below) with the subject line “Application for the role of Director of Implementation and Partnerships” to nice@thembsgroup.co.uk by midday on Monday 13th June 2022.
Please note that this is a full-time position and may be based in either London or Manchester, where NICE has offices. The Director of Implementation and Partnerships will receive a competitive salary with an upper limit of £131,300 and will have membership to the NHS Superannuation Pension Scheme. The role holder will also be entitled to 30 days per annum of annual leave, plus eight bank holidays per annum.