Head of Strategy, Communications and Governance

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 423081

**Salary**:

- £67,250 - £79,440
- National: £67,250 - £75,575 London: £71,525 - £79,440 (pro rata for part-time working)
- A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

**Job grade**:

- Grade 6

**Contract type**:

- Permanent

**Business area**:

- DSIT - Science, Innovation and Growth - Office for Life Sciences

**Type of role**:

- Policy
Strategy

**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

**Number of jobs available**:

- 1

**Contents**:

- Location
- About the job
- Benefits
- Things you need to know

**Location**:

- Birmingham, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Salford

**About the job**:
**Job summary**:
At DSIT we’re all about improving people’s lives by maximising the potential of science & technology.

We accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science, research and development.

We use technology for good by ensuring new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK, with the benefits more widely shared.

We are driving forward a modern digital government which gives citizens a more satisfying experience and their time back.

We do all this to enable the Government’s 5 national missions: kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, taking back our streets, breaking down barriers to opportunity and building an NHS fit for the future.

Above all, we focus on improving people’s lives. Whether it’s researching new treatments for disease, developing better batteries, reducing burdens through better public services, keeping children safe online, and much more, outcomes for citizens are at the heart of what we do.

**Our Inclusive Environment**

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

**Find Out More**

**Artificial Intelligence** (under the Selection process field)

**Job description**:
The Office for Life Sciences is a trilateral directorate between the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and the Department for Business and Trade. Consisting of c. 120 staff, OLS is a high-performing unit advancing UK interests in a priority sector which generates turnover of over £80 billion/ year. Life Sciences is key to delivering the Government's ambitions on economic growth and building an NHS fit the future - the forthcoming Industrial Strategy will identify Life Sciences as one of the key growth sectors for the economy, whilst the innovation being developed by Life Sciences companies will enable people to lead healthier and more productive lives.

The Office for Life Sciences is the key interface between the Life Sciences sector and HMG - we work with industry and the NHS to ensure the UK has access to innovative healthcare and drive partnerships between industry, Government and the health system that supports inward investment. Our work has real-world impact, be that in securing partnership to deliver precision cancer immunotherapies to UK patients or securing investment in research and development to advance early disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and developing breakthrough products and technologies for some of the UK's biggest healthcare challenges.

We have recently published the Life Sciences Sector Plan, as part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy. Through this we have established a clear 10-year vision for the Life Sciences sector, backed by over £2 billion Government funding over the Spending Review period. This G6 role will lead the delivery of that vision - through strategic prioritisation, proactive and focused governance, and identifying opportunities to coordinate and amplify.

The G6 leads a team of approximately 8 staff (3 x Grade 7, 3 x SEO, 2 x HEO) to ensure strategic and prioritised delivery of UK Life Sciences policy. These staff include: a strategy and policy team, who work across Whitehall to advance OLS and Life Sciences interests; a governance and delivery team, who are responsible for translating the Sector Plan into concrete deliverables and for holding the system to account in delivering it (including through the flagship Life Sciences Sector Council, co-chaired by industry and three Secretaries of State); and a busy briefing hub, who manage all briefings and correspondence for this complex trilateral unit.

**Person specification**:
Design, lead and manage overall strategy and delivery of the Life Sciences Sector Plan - working closely with other OLS DD-led teams and with a wide range of system partners on the policy and operational content behind that delivery

Run OLS’s governance functions - including the secretariat function for quarterly Ministerial Board meetings including the Life Sciences Council, and managing the underpinning reporting and key performance indic