Head of Joint Strategic Partnership Office

Head of Joint Strategic Partnership Office

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

This full‑time post is available from 1st January 2027 on a permanent basis and offers the opportunity for some hybrid working, with some time working on site (either University campus or NHS premises) and some time working from home. The expectation is that you will spend the majority of your working week on site.

The starting salary will be from £67,144 up to £84,594 on grade H, based on knowledge, skills and experience.

We are seeking to attract a highly skilled and experienced leader to undertake the role of Head of Joint Partnership Office for the University of Exeter (UoE) and Royal Devon University Hospital Trust (RDUH). The RDUH and UoE have a long‑standing and successful partnership encompassing research, education and innovation at significant scale and excellence. This post holder will develop an ambitious strategy and implementation plan, to build on and catalyse the power and benefit of joint working.

Particular focus will be around the evolution of a Joint Office and joint models of working, to scale and accelerate translational, commercial and applied health research, whilst also responding to the NHS workforce Plan.

Establishing and utilising strong governance and accountability structures, the Head of Joint Partnership Office will act as a key leader, negotiator and relationship manager across the two organisations. They will be responsible for agreeing essential objectives, deliverables and KPIs for the joint office and to determine the future working arrangements, including the nature of leadership required at multiple levels, for maximum benefit of both organisations.

have strong intellectual capacity and reasoning; have proven staff management and leadership experience; a high degree of initiative, responsibility and self‑motivation and a professional and proactive approach to problem solving; be a confident decision maker with strategic experience and significant operational delivery experience who can lead through periods of change; have experience of designing processes, systems and services to meet a diverse range of needs and have experience of managing complex budgets and contracts.

Relevant experience in an HE and research‑intensive environment, such as that gained within NHS Research & Development, is essential.

This role will be employed within the University of Exeter’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. Nevertheless, the role holder will have joint accountability to RDUH, via the Research & Development Director. Office space will be made available at St Lukes Campus, within the Faculty of Health & Life Sciences as well as nearby at the hospital site.

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was established in April 2022, bringing together the expertise of both the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust. We are renowned for our research, innovation, and our ambition is to be a leading, digitally‑enabled teaching and research Trust.

Stretching across Northern, Eastern and Mid Devon, we have a workforce of over 16,000 staff, making us the largest employer in Devon. We provide core services to more than 615,000 people. Some of our specialist services cover the whole of the peninsula, extending as far as Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

We deliver a wide range of emergency, specialist and general medical services through our two acute hospitals. As well as providing integrated health and social care services in a variety of settings, including community inpatient hospitals, outpatient clinics, and within…