Regional Deputy Director of Health Protection - South West

Job summary

Reporting to the Director of Regions, the Regional Deputy Director of Health Protection (RDDHP) – South West is a senior leader responsible for delivering UKHSA’s health protection objectives across the region. They oversee the performance and coordination of operational health protection services and lead collaboration with Public Health leaders, local government, NHS organisations and other partners.

As part of the Regions Directorate senior leadership team, the RDDHP jointly shapes strategic direction and regional health protection priorities. They act as the system leader for health protection, directing regional UKHSA assets and working with partners to achieve national, regional, and local goals. The role is semi-autonomous, ensuring that regional services align with organisational strategy and deliver high quality, responsive health protection functions.

The postholder manages the multidisciplinary regional workforce responsible for statutory duties delegated to UKHSA and non statutory functions agreed with partners. They contribute to continuous improvement in health protection systems and lead matrix teams and networks to deliver priorities across all English regions. This influential role requires strong leadership, expertise and the authority to operate effectively at senior system level.

Job description

Strategic Leadership and Partnerships
Working closely with the Director of Regions and other Regional Deputy Directors for Health Protection, take responsibility for:
1. Provide visible leadership and direction for the strategic oversight of the UKHSA contribution to protecting the public’s health and reducing health inequalities in a designated region through interventions to protect the population by preventing and mitigating hazards and threats.
2. Support the work of the Regions directorate and wider CMA Group in developing a vision, strategy and implementation plans to deliver relevant strategies once agreed and oversee the implementation of operational plans within region.
3. Develop and manage effective working relationships with key stakeholders including Local
4. Authorities and Directors of Public Health (DsPH); NHS England, ICS, OHID, ICSs, NHS Trusts, other Civil contingencies Act Category I and II responders, and other stakeholders as required. Work closely with regional public health leaders across the domains of health improvement, healthcare public health, public health intelligence, and academic public health to enable the delivery of public health.
5. Deputise as required for the DoR. This includes leading key strategic/delivery work and being the delegated accountable senior leader attending, contributing to and Chairing (where appropriate) meetings.
6. Development of an effective region-wide health protection function delivering high quality, resilient and integrated health protection services. Work well with UKHSA colleagues working with partners to develop robust and effective local health protection systems, which reflects the needs and responsibilities of UKHSA and its partners.
7. Contribute to national work on developing a comprehensive health protection system across England, working closely with colleagues at a regional, national and sometimes international level.
8. Lead a portfolio or programme areas of work linked to UKHSA national strategic priorities.
9. Develop and maintain joint leadership arrangements with public health senior leaders in Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, the NHS and Local Authorities leading relevant national programmes with responsibility for achieving related public health outcomes.

Please see attached Job Description & Person Specification for full details.

Person specification

Performance, Governance and Risk
1. Establish and oversee the implementation of appropriate clinical and non-clinical governance and quality improvement processes within the relevant region aligned with national systems to ensure high standards are upheld within all aspects of the health protection service regionally.
2. Implement and maintain appropriate systems to monitor and report against key outcomes and metrics relevant to the service.
3. Establish and maintain robust regional processes for developing, implementing and monitoring delivery of performance management systems including reporting within directorate group and agency.
4. Use data and evidence to make decisions and influence outcomes demonstrating analysis of complex problems and interpreting complex data to create and present evidence-based insight and recommendations. Use data to effectively drive recommendations, consider the impact on a wide range of stakeholders to understand and highlight risks. Encourage others to do the same.
5. Demonstrate effective leadership skills across the region/organisation; build capability by developing, designing and embedding capability and performance approaches. Lead and coach others to build diverse and capable teams.

Please see attached Job Description & Person Specification for full details.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

If this role is offered under Agenda for Change (AFC) Terms and Conditions:

• If you are already on AFC T&Cs or accept the role on a fixed-term contract, you will be enrolled in the NHS Pension Scheme or keep your current AFC Pension.
• If you take the role on a loan or temporary promotion, you will retain your existing substantive T&Cs.
• If the role is available under either AFC or Civil Service T&Cs depending on your registration, your pension scheme will align accordingly.

Reasonable Adjustments

The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone. To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you. An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work. This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme. If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.

You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/

BENEFITS

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce. UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

Please visit our careers site for more information https://gov.uk/ukhsa/careers

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

The successful candidate will be appointed to the point of the Consultant salary scale appropriate to their years of seniority or if from a background other than medicine to NHS Agenda for Change Band 9.

Inclusion in the GMC Full and Specialist Register with a license to practice (or be eligible for registration within six months of interview).

If included in the GMC Specialist Register/ in a specialty other than public health medicine, candidates must have equivalent training and/or appropriate experience of public health practice.

Public Health Specialty Registrar applicants who are not yet on the GMC Specialist Register must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within 6 months of gaining entry at the date of interview; all other applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the GMC .

Inclusion in the UK Public Health Register (UKPHR) for Public Health Specialists (or eligibility within six months of interview).

Non‑medical applicants who are not yet fully registered with the UKPHR must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they are within six months of gaining specialist registration at the date of interview. All other non‑medical applicants must provide verifiable signed documentary evidence that they have applied for inclusion in the UKPHR Specialist Register (for example, confirmation that a UKPHR specialist portfolio has been submitted).

External
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants).

Stage 1: Application & Sift

This vacancy is using / Competency based framework.

At sift stage you will be assessed against the essential criteria listed in the job advert.

You will be required to complete an:

• Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
• 1000 word Statement of Suitability.

Healthjobs UK has a word limit of 1500, but your statement of suitability must be no more than 1000.

This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, referring to the attached Job Description & Person Specification.

You will receive a joint score for your application form and statement. (The application form is the kind of information you would put into your C.V –please be advised you will not be able to upload your CV. Please complete the application form in as much detail as possible).

Application form & Statement of Suitability will be marked together.

Please note feedback will not be provided at this stage.

Stage 2: Interview

Interview stage (competency based):

You will be invited to a remote interview.

Interviews will be held week commencing Monday 8th June 2026, please note these dates are subject to change.

This vacancy is being assessed using Competency based framework. During the interview we will assess against the below:

Knowledge
Experience
Skills and Abilities

You will be asked to prepare and present a 5-10 minute presentation at the start of your interview, around the subject of priorities in the role. The specific subject of this will be sent to you prior to interview; slides will be permitted.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.

If successful for this role as one aspect of pre-employment screening, applicant’s personal details – name, national insurance number and date of birth - will be checked against the Cabinet Office Internal Fraud Hub and anyone included on the database will be refused employment unless they can show exceptional circumstances. Currently this is only for External candidates to the Civil Service.

UKHSA is investing in a new state-of-the-art National Biosecurity Centre in Harlow, Essex, which will eventually bring together teams currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale and Porton Down. For more details, please see: Huge biosecurity centre investment to boost pandemic protection - GOV.UK.
The new facilities will start becoming operational in the mid-2030s, with full completion by 2038. Staff will move in phases as facilities become available. If you're appointed to a role currently based at Canary Wharf, Colindale or Porton Down, please note that we'll continue investing in these sites for the next decade. As we get closer to the transition, we'll provide full information about relocation support available to staff.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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 (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Helen Wallace, Head of Business Operations
• Email : helen.wallace@ukhsa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scs.mdrecruitment@ukhsa.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email: Complaints@ukhsa.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk

Attachments

306737_RDDHP SW_UKHSA JD_180326_v1.1 (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 318kB)