The Department of Health and Social Care is launching a delivery unit that promises to tackle some of the NHS’s most pressing problems.
The secretary of state's delivery unit will sit within DHSC and act as a mechanism through which the health secretary can hold NHS England and other relevant organisations to account for delivering on the government’s priorities, according to a job advert for the unit’s director.
It will “bring a laser-like focus on delivering the reform needed to drive improvement generally across health and care and specifically on the three things that surveys show matter most to the public”, the ad says – namely elective waiting times; urgent and emergency care waiting times and performance; and GP access.
The department is offering £125,000 a year for a director to lead the unit’s “small, multidisciplinary team”, who will be tasked with “tracking and challenging” delivery of the health secretary’s priorities, including manifesto commitments.
The unit will work to “raise the profile of delivery” throughout the department and will “operate in lockstep with departmental strategy functions”, according to the candidate pack for the role.
It will “share responsibility for ensuring that the delivery issues of the day are tackled in ways that do not defer problems for the long term and do not make implementation of the long-term strategy emerging from the 10-year plan more difficult”.
The team will be made up of a mix of internal and external recruits. “As well as outstanding individuals with knowledge of the health and social care system, the unit will need access to expertise on delivering strategic and cultural change and policy development and delivery,” the job ad says.
The director will attend the health secretary’s delivery meetings and report on progress to the secretary of state and DHSC permanent secretary. They will also oversee reporting on DHSC priorities to the centre of government and help the department to prepare for prime-ministerial “stocktakes”.
The team will be expected to investigate delivery challenges and intervene to solve them, as well as building departmental capability to help deliver the government’s health mission and the 10-year plan for health.
The group will help to ensure joined-up working between the department and its arm’s-length bodies, particularly NHS England; and work closely with No.10, the Cabinet Office, the Treasury and health and care staff “to deliver a shared approach to solutions”.
Its director will be based in either London or Leeds and will be expected to spend more than 60% of their time in the office.
Applicants for the job are expected to have a "results-driven focus [and be] able to deliver timely results”.
They should also have a track record of frontline delivery experience and have a strong interest in driving public service reform.
“You will be a visible and inclusive leader, actively fostering an open and collaborative culture that empowers the team to delivery their best work,” the candidate pack adds.
The successful candidate will also be able to demonstrate “sound judgement and astute political awareness”, enabling them to work effectively “across a complex and changing policy and operational landscape”.
They must also have the ability to build credibility and work with ministers and senior stakeholders; strong analytical skills; and a “results-driven focus”.
Writing in the candidate pack, DHSC director general for finance and group operations Andy Brittain said: “You may not have a background in health and social care, but what you will have is a proven track record of successful and strategic delivery in high-profile arenas and will have demonstrated your ability to cut through complexity.
"You will be able to build strong relationships and successful coalitions and will also be a natural team leader, with a proven ability to inspire and lead a small team to deliver great results day after day.”
Civil Service World asked DHSC whether the unit being created is entirely new, how it is expected to differ from the NHS Delivery Unit that was set up in 2021, and how many people will work on the new team.
DHSC said the secretary of state’s delivery unit would “work collaboratively” with existing strategy teams, enabling health secretary Wes Streeting to hold NHS England and the department’s other partners to account on key health priorities.
It said that while the post of director for the delivery unit was a new role, the unit’s work is “already under way”.
The department said the director would be supported by a deputy director and “a small number of high-performing colleagues”, alongside expertise from the wider department and from health and social care partners.
Applications for the director post close on 10 March.