Deputy Director Health Equity and Community Protection

Overview

In this role you will provide strategic leadership for health equity, community protection and national public health guidance at UKHSA. You will drive actions to reduce health inequalities related to infectious diseases and health hazards, shaping policy, guidance and interventions for affected communities. You will lead the development and quality assurance of public health advice during incidents and emergencies, and foster community-focused approaches with partners at national, regional and local levels. This is a mission-critical role at a leading public health agency, with a focus on resilience, equity and evidence-informed action.

Pay / Benefits

• hybrid working
• competitive salary
• flexible working opportunities
• co-location with DHSC and other departments
• opportunity to influence national public health policy
• progression within NHS/AfC frameworks

Responsibilities

• Develop a clear vision and strategy for health equity and community protection in infectious diseases and external hazards
• Build and manage strategic partnerships across UKHSA, government departments and external partners
• Provide leadership for national public health guidance, ensuring preparedness, response and recovery support
• Oversee UKHSA’s community protection approach, integrating evidence and engagement to reduce inequalities
• Lead the incident response guidance cell to rapidly translate evidence into authoritative advice
• Act as Incident Director or Strategic Response Director when needed and integrate health equity into preparedness and response
• Support system assurance for health equity across UKHSA
• Engage with NIHR HPRUs to implement equity-focused aims and insights
• Influence senior leaders and contribute to change management and budget stewardship
• Demonstrate commitment to equality, diversity and opportunity in delivery of public health aims

Key requirements

• Senior public health leadership experience
• Ability to influence Directors and CEOs
• Experience delivering change across organizational boundaries
• Media experience with health promotion messaging
• Ability to translate complex public health information for diverse audiences
• Strategic thinking with leadership and operational execution capabilities
• Experience in incident, outbreak and emergency leadership (on-call as needed)
• Robust understanding of health, social care systems and determinants of health
• Budget management and governance experience
• Equality and diversity in public health practice

• leadership
• strategic thinking
• collaboration
• Health Equity Assessment Tool
• Health Impact Assessment
• Equality Impact Assessment

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