Deputy Chief Scientific Officer

Responsible for supporting the Chief Scientific Officer by providing professional, clinical, and scientific leadership, advice, and contribution to champion, establish and deliver programmes across NHS England, and in a cross-system capacity. Responsible for driving strategic direction of scientific services and transformation programmes that have a scientifically led and evidence based approach to support and ensure effective delivery of Healthcare Science (HCS) priorities

As Deputy to the Chief Scientific Officer, the post holder will work as part of a dynamic team in delivering an effective service, supporting managers and staff across the Medical Directorate and support the delivery of NHS England’s objectives by providing expertise and professional leadership both to and from the scientific and diagnostic community.

The post holder will be responsible for deputising for the chief scientific officer, with delegated authority to make decisions and should have significant, credible and relevant experience of working in a cross-system capacity at national level.

Working in collaboration, the post holder will adopt an integrated approach with colleagues across the system, influence and advice to improve quality and outcomes for patients and the embedding of innovation into healthcare.

The Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) provides clinical and professional advice and leadership in healthcare science across the health and care system, is head of profession for a workforce of over 56,000 working in healthcare science in the NHS, embracing more than 54 separate scientific specialisms.

The Office of the CSO encourages better use of science to address our greatest health challenges and shape technological advances to help ensure that people are living happier and healthier lives. The NHS healthcare science workforce use science and their technical skills to help prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases. They are in a unique position as a scientific workforce, working as part of an integrated health system that is a world leader in transformational science such as genomics, to deliver this work.

The team also work to develop the professional, clinical and system leadership capacity and capability of healthcare scientists, who are well placed to provide frontline scientific leadership and science-based intelligence for innovation, service planning and delivery.

By ensuring the NHS operates at the limits of science, the Office of the CSO can improve the integration of services, develop new ways of working for delivering care, give patients greater control of their own care and improve the NHS’s ability to undertake research and innovation, and adoption of new state of the art health technology.

Operational

Accountable for leading all activities including, but is not limited to:
- Manage, monitor and report on benefits realisation management, tracking the progress and ensuring that the intended benefits are achieved with outcomes maximised.
- Oversee the work with the Deputy Directors to ensure the information systems are integrated with the overall strategy; ensuring synergy between strategy milestones and objectives.
- Develop and implement appropriate long-term business strategy with stakeholders, implementing new business processes as required.
- Ensure appropriate governance structures are in place to support.
- Work with the Directorate and People & OD senior staff to ensure the smooth transition of people within the new system. And appropriate focus on the culture changes needed to underpin, working with People and OD staff to deliver appropriate OD interventions.
- Manage the impact on business-critical process and key talent.
- Manage the appropriate programme controls ensuring monitoring and control activities and performance targets are on track.
- Ensure appropriate stakeholder engagement strategy is in place defining how the strategy will engage with all stakeholder groups and what information flows will be established and maintained.
- Ensure there is a resource management plan which sets out the activities required to implement. (Resources meaning finances, people, assets and technology).
- Manage system risks ensuring they are appropriately identified, and controls and/or mitigation is in place, escalating to the system board as appropriate.
- Establish and manage the Directorate’s risk management, change control and issue resolution processes.
- Supports the Director in senior stakeholder engagement and aligning the function/strategy from strategic objectives and business needs.
- To monitor, interpret and qualify assure progress against deliverables. Quality assurance and progress of deliverables to NHS England that often require adjustments specifically in relation to the complex corporate business agenda, strategic objectives and the business planning process.
- To develop business plans and provide expert strategic and policy advice and guidance on all areas of the National Director’s