Job Description

Our national priority programme director for Maternity, Children and Young People and Women's Health provides senior, credible and visible leadership to the department and system on these topics - setting clear delivery priorities, breaking down silos, driving improvement out in the system and responsible for catalysing change across Maternity, Children and Young People and Women's Health services.



You will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for Maternity, Children and Young People and Women's Health in line with Ministerial expectations and then working with leads from across the department and NHSE to ensure robust delivery plans are in place and delivering.



You will act as the Secretary of State's key advisor on this area, as the leading expert in this field and should expect regular engagement with the Secretary of State, wider ministerial teams and the rest of government - with particular emphasis on ensuring that our work on children and young people is aligned to and supported by the Department for Educations' Opportunity Mission and children's agenda.



You will develop the strong partnerships required to drive forward delivery of your programmes, across the system and externally, and may spend a substantial amount of time speaking to systems - to understand risks and issues in their areas, support change in behaviours, galvanize partners, and use 'soft' levers to improve quality/performance.



As National Priority Programme Director you will provide key expertise on maternity, children and young people and women's health to relevant Directors (for example the Performance and Delivery DG and Regional Directors (RDs)) and work with them to set plans and goals, design the parameters for regional & national performance, and the right improvement and support interventions, ensuring that these work effectively.



You will report to the both the Permanent Secretary and the NHS Chief Executive, and crucially act as an advisor to Ministers.

Key Responsibilities:

Ensuring the effective delivery of national priorities - the most critical programmes for Ministers. You will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for these programmes in line with Ministerial expectations and then working with leads from across the department to ensure robust delivery plans are in place.

As the most senior lead for this area in Government, you will be a visible leader nationally and for all local health and care systems.

You will develop the strong partnerships required to drive forward delivery of the programmes, across the system and externally.

You will be the key advisor to Ministers and the Centre of Government on the priority areas and should expert regular engagement with the Secretary of State and wider ministerial team.



Our work supports the NHS to deliver high quality services for patients and best value for taxpayers.



Our staff bring expertise across hundreds of specialisms -- including clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

We lead the NHS in England by:

Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities



Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential



Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care



Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation



Delivering value for money



Earlier this year, the Government announced that NHS England will gradually merge with the Department of Health and Social Care, leading to full integration. The aim is to create a smaller, more strategic centre that reduces duplication and eliminates waste.



In the immediate term, you will help lead the organisation through transformation, working with the national executive of the Department and NHSE to design an effective approach to delivering national priorities in Maternity, Children and Young People and Women's Health. You will ensure, the Department is equipped to meet Ministerial priorities and delivers the benefits envisaged through the organisational redesign. This will include a focus on efficiency savings and creating a new operating model that empowers local systems.



As National Priority Programme Director you will develop the strong partnerships required to drive forward delivery of your programmes, across Government, the system and externally, and may spend a substantial amount of time speaking to systems - to understand risks and issues in their areas, support change in behaviours, galvanize partners, and use 'soft' levers to improve quality and performance.



You will work with the executive teams to draw in specialist and technical expertise from the wider organisation in a matrix model, coordinating across different teams to deliver the strategic goals in your area. You will ensure delivery, working in partnership with regional teams to reach out into the system, connect with local delivery and ensure regional oversight and improvement/support functions.



This role is open on level move to DHSC and will additionally be made available to eligible colleagues in NHS England and the NHS. Any civil servant successful will be offered a secondment to NHS England for the duration of this role.

Location



This role will require regular attendance at both DHSC and NHS England current headquarters in Leeds and London with travel to other locations as necessary. You can be based at any of the current regional sites, with the expectation of regular time in London each week.

Things you need to know

Selection process details



The selection panel will evaluate candidates at sift using your CV and personal statement, those shortlisted may be invited to suitability chats with the selection panel full details of the assessment process will be confirmed with shortlisted candidates.



You must express your interest in the role by 11:59pm on 15th October 2025. You will be required to apply by following the link provided:



A CV setting out your career history (no more than 2 sides) with key responsibilities and achievements. Please provide reasons for any gaps within the last three years.

A personal statement (500 words) explaining your interest and how your personal skills, qualities and experience align with the person specification.



Applicants must have prior agreement that they can be released for the duration of this secondment.



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security



Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).



See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).



People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks (opens in new window).