About this role
Job summary
To note there will be a 45 minute stakeholder panel via Microsoft teams on 12/08/26 ahead of the planned interview on 13/08/26
We are seeking an exceptional strategic leader to join our Population Health Improvement leadership team as Deputy Chief Officer for Population Health Improvement (COPHI) & Director of Strategy.
This is a rare opportunity to influence the future of healthcare across one of the largest and most ambitious Integrated Care System clusters in England. Working alongside the Chief Officer for Population Health Improvement, you will lead the development of long-term population health strategy, drive system-wide transformation, and help shape a commissioning organisation responsible for improving outcomes for communities across Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset.
As the NHS continues to evolve under the Model ICB Blueprint and the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, this role will play a critical part in delivering the three strategic shifts: prevention, digital transformation and care closer to home, while ensuring the best possible use of public resources.
This is an exciting time to join our organisation as we work towards a formal cluster merger planned for April 2027 and develop a new strategic commissioning model serving communities across the South West. You'll be joining a collaborative "team of teams" culture where innovation, inclusion and continuous improvement are at the heart of everything we do.
Main duties of the job
As Deputy COPHI & Director of Strategy, you will:
Provide senior strategic leadership for population health improvement across the clusterLead the development and delivery of long-term population health and system strategiesDrive resource prioritisation and investment decisions through evidence, insight and health economicsOversee intelligence, evaluation, digital capability and improvement functionsLead major transformation programmes that improve outcomes and reduce health inequalitiesInfluence and collaborate with NHS providers, Local Authorities, Public Health teams, VCSE partners and wider system stakeholdersRepresent the organisation at executive, regional and national forumsAct as Deputy to the Chief Officer for Population Health Improvement and provide visible leadership across the system
We are looking for an inspirational and politically astute leader with:
Significant senior leadership experience within NHS or a comparable public sector environmentExperience of leading complex transformation and strategy programmes at Board or Executive levelStrong understanding of commissioning, population health management and health inequalitiesDemonstrable success in influencing and delivering change across organisational boundariesA track record of building partnerships and securing consensus within complex systemsExceptional communication, stakeholder engagement and political awareness skillsExperience of translating data, intelligence and evidence into strategic decision-making
About us
We are joining up to tackle all the things that affect our health and wellbeing, make real change, and improve things for our communities.
Dorset ICS is made up of:
NHS Dorset Integrated Care BoardUniversity Hospitals Dorset Foundation TrustDorset County Hospital Foundation TrustDorset HealthCare University Foundation TrustDorset CouncilBournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council194 town and parish councils18 primary care networks (made up of 73 GP practices)Southwestern Ambulance Service Foundation TrustDorset PoliceDorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service7,300 voluntary organisationsWhat we do
The Health and Care Bill puts ICSs on a statutory footing empowering them to better join up health and care services, improve population health, and reduce health inequalities.
ICSs have four core purposes:
Improve outcomes in population health and healthcareTackle inequalities in outcomes, experience, and accessEnhance productivity and value for moneyHelp the NHS support broader social and economic development
Job description Job responsibilities
Please see attached for the full job description.
Job purpose
The Deputy Chief Officer for Population Health Improvement provides senior strategic leadership in shaping and delivering the clusters longterm population health strategy, ensuring a clear and evidencebased vision that improves outcomes, reduces inequalities and delivers maximum value from the population budgetActing as Deputy to the Chief Officer, the post holder provides visible and credible system leadership, representing the Directorate across executive, system and partnership forumsThe role brings together population insight, health economics, intelligence, evaluation, digital capability and improvement functions to create a coherent strategic framework that supports allocative prioritisation and evidencedriven commissioningThey ensure strategic choices reflect the organisations responsibilities as a strategic commissioner and are informed by a deep understanding of population need, inequalities and system pressuresThe post holder provides leadership for systemwide transformation, ensuring programmes are aligned with the three shifts of the 10year health plan, financially sustainable and designed to deliver measurable improvements in outcomesWorking collaboratively with NHS providers, local authorities, VCSE organisations, public health, social care and community partners, they build consensus around complex strategic issues and enable integrated delivery of shared priorities across the clusterThrough this leadership, the Deputy COPHI ensures the population health strategy is implemented effectively, supporting sustainable transformation, strengthening prevention and improving the health and wellbeing of the communities served.Key accountabilities
Provide senior leadership for the development, communication and delivery of the population health strategy, ensuring it is evidencebased, outcomefocused and aligned with the organisations role as a strategic commissionerLead the development and oversight of longterm strategic plans for the cluster, ensuring they are coherent, achievable and informed by robust population health intelligence, insights, evaluation and health economicsDrive allocative prioritisation and resource deployment across the cluster, ensuring investment and disinvestment decisions are guided by need, inequalities, evidence and value for moneyEnsure governance, assurance and performance frameworks are in place across population health and strategy functions, providing clear accountability, oversight and risk managementProvide leadership for systemwide transformation, ensuring programmes are strategically aligned, financially sustainable and deliver measurable improvements in population health outcomes and reduced inequalitiesAct as Deputy to the Chief Officer for Population Health Improvement, providing visible and credible leadership across the directorate and representing the population health agenda in executive, system and partnership forumsLead strategic alignment across intelligence, digital, commissioning, performance and improvement functions to enable a coherent, integrated approach to longterm system directionBuild and maintain strong collaborative relationships with executive, clinical, operational and partner leaders to secure consensus around shared priorities and support coordinated delivery across the clusterMonitor progress against strategic and population health objectives, ensuring issues are identified early, interventions are agreed and accountability for delivery is maintainedMonitor and interpret national, regional and local developments, ensuring the directorate and wider cluster respond proactively to emerging risks, pressures and opportunitiesProvide senior leadership to staff within the population health and strategy functions, fostering a highperforming, inclusive and improvementfocused cultureEnsure the financial implications of strategic and population health activity are assessed, understood and managed within available resources
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Educated to masters level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area Proven and significant leadership experience. Significant evidence of continued professional development Demonstrated expertise in a Healthcare environment Significant management experience at senior level in the NHS or other public healthcare related industry Proven Board level experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment Commissioning expertise in healthcare environment Significant experience and understanding of proven implementation of project management methodologies Member of a relevant professional body Education sector knowledge Experience and/or understanding of the Health Economy Commercial expertise Awareness of relevant public and private sector business management best practice Experience of successfully operating in and delivering priorities in a partnership environment
Skills, abilities and knowledge Essential
Dynamic personality and the ability to build trusted stakeholder relationships and wide support networks in a political context like the NHS Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment and experience in handling media Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required Extensive experience of delivering presentations to large groups of stakeholders in often pressured and politically sensitive environments Ability to analyse highly complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making Ability to analyse numerical and written data, assess options and draw appropriate initiatives Leadership, vision, strategic thinking and planning with highly developed political skills Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly Experience of managing and prioritising a large budget Ability to provide informative reporting on finances and impact to Board management Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as Prince 2 or Managing Successful Projects
Experience Essential
Demonstrated capabilities to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues Experience in leading a major change initiative with entrepreneurialism in a challenging organisational environment Experience of building capability within teams or systems, supporting colleagues to adopt new approaches, develop skills and deliver improvement. Ability to delegate effectively and support senior colleagues to take ownership of delivery areas. Ability to work effectively between strategic and operational activities where required Experience influencing senior stakeholders across NHS organisations, local authorities, voluntary and community partners and civic agencies, including securing commitment for systemwide change. Working knowledge of Microsoft Office
Employer details Employer name NHS Dorset
Address NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board
NHS Dorset - County Hall
Colliton Park
Dorchester
Dorset
DT1 1XJ
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://nhsdorset.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)