Head of Health Determinants Research Collaboration

About the team we are recruiting to
Coventry City Council has been awarded a £5 million boost to tackle inequalities and improve health outcomes across Coventry through research.

The funding is awarded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to create a pioneering Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) in the city.

Coventry’s collaboration will undertake this ground breaking work and includes Coventry University, the University of Warwick, University College London, and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire as well as a wide range of partners within the community and voluntary sectors.

This is part of a wider £50 million investment from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for a series of local government partnerships across the country, boosting local authorities’ capacity and capability to conduct high-quality research to tackle health inequalities.

The 10 pioneering Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRCs) provide new research funding to embed a culture of evidence-based decision-making within local government. The HDRCs will help to stimulate economic growth, particularly in some of the most deprived areas of the country and contribute to the Government’s plans to take action for the longer-term resilience of the health and wealth of the country.

The new partnerships, spanning the length and breadth of the UK, follow a major drive for enabling research to address wider determinants of population health and health inequalities, explicitly responding to the needs of local underserved groups and areas. Examples include facilitating research to better understand and introduce interventions to help with childhood obesity, Covid recovery, mental health and drug use.

The awarded local authorities stretch from Plymouth in the South West, to Aberdeen in Scotland, including three London Boroughs and regions in the Midlands and North of England.

The announcement builds on NIHR work started before the COVID-19 pandemic to understand local authorities’ research and evidence challenges. It demonstrates the Government’s aim to stimulate economic growth in all parts of the country and identify local solutions that address the most difficult challenges across the health and care system.

What is the job role?
**This role is a 3 year fixed term contract.**

We are looking to appoint the Head of the Coventry’s Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC).

This is a fantastic opportunity for a senior manager with the passion, leadership and skills to lead on building an innovative research platform addressing health inequalities experienced through the wider determinants of health.

We are seeking to recruit an outstanding individual to provide leadership and management across the HDRC. The main duties are as follows:

- Working within a unique research platform across Coventry City Council, academic, NHS and voluntary sector partner organisations.
- Oversee, plan, organise and communicate the start-up and ongoing functions of the Coventry HDRC programmes and ensure the NIHR reporting requirements are met.
- Provide expert advice and guidance across the HDRC, through the management and oversight of the five key major programmes of the HDRC.

Who are we looking for?
We’re looking for someone who has substantial experience of:

- System-wide working across local government, higher education institutions, the NHS, local communities, community groups and the voluntary sector.
- Using a variety of consultation and engagement techniques.
- Project and process management methodologies.
- Management of multiple, complex projects working with several different agencies.

Interview date(s): 15/12/22

About Coventry
**Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.**

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards & benefits package which includes:

- Flexible working arrangements
- Generous annual leave allowance starting at 27 days and rising to 32 days
- Pay progression through multiple increments
- Opportunity for Salary Match
- An outstanding local government pension scheme
- Great opportunities to develop with access to accredited courses.
- Access to an award-winning Occupational Health Service
- Salary Sacrifice Scheme

Our Values
It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a pro