Deputy Director Health Equity and Community Protection

This Deputy Director post provides strategic leadership for health equity and community protection at the UK Health Security Agency. The role sets strategy for national public health guidance on infectious diseases and external hazards, and leads community-centred measures that cut inequalities in emergencies. It carries senior on-call duties and may require acting as Incident Director or Strategic Response Director, with hybrid working.

Applicants need GMC or UK Public Health Register specialist inclusion and must pass Enhanced DBS and Security Clearance checks.

• Set the vision and measurable strategy for health equity and community protection in infectious diseases and external hazards, working with directors
• Provide strategic and professional leadership for the national public health guidance function, overseeing its development, assurance and implementation
• Lead UKHSA's community protection approach, integrating public health evidence, community insight and engagement
• Build strategic partnerships across local, regional and national systems, including government departments, NHS England and the voluntary sector
• Provide senior public health leadership during incidents and emergencies, acting as Incident Director or Strategic Response Director where required
• Lead the development and improvement of the public health advice and guidance cell in incident response
• Embed health equity and community protection in preparedness, resilience and response, including pandemic preparedness
• Give consultant-level public health advice to the Executive Committee, directors, government departments and national partners
• Support the development, application and quality assurance of tools for assessing health equity, such as health and equality impact assessments
• Develop engagement that gives voice to inclusion health groups, people with protected characteristics and vulnerable people
• Work with NIHR Health Protection Research Units on health equity in their aims and on evidence for high-risk settings such as care homes and prisons
• Foster collaborations at national, regional and global levels as a system leader

• MFPH by examination, exemption or assessment, or equivalent
• CCT for UK-trained public health applicants, or evidence of equivalence for non-UK trained applicants
• Up-to-date CPD in line with Faculty of Public Health or another recognised body
• Equivalent training or appropriate experience of public health practice where the specialty is not public health medicine

• GMC Full and Specialist Register with licence to practise, or UKPHR Specialist Register inclusion, or eligibility within six months of interview

• Delivering change management programmes across organisational boundaries
• Managing significant budgets and resources, with value for money and robust financial governance
  
  Explaining complex public health information to varied audiences, including through media

• Influencing senior leaders, including directors and chief executives
• Strategic thinking to design, develop and implement strategies and policies, with proven leadership and operational nous
• Leading and managing responses to unplanned circumstances, including senior on-call and out-of-hours working
• Analytical skills across qualitative (including health economics) and quantitative information
• In-depth understanding of the health and care system and its relationships with national and local government
• Understanding of the public sector equality duty and inequality duty in public health practice

• Commitment to working within a political system, irrespective of personal political affiliation
• Commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships

• Acting as an Educational Supervisor or equivalent for public health specialty trainees

• Hybrid working, with a minimum of 60% of contracted hours in the office
• Flexible working opportunities
• London weighting of £2,162 on the Consultant (GMC) scale
• For the AfC Band 9 (UKPHR) route, a payment of 20% of basic salary, between £5,794 and £8,746