Job summary
Are you ready to help shape the future of NHS services? Do you thrive on leading complex, high-profile programmes that make a real difference to people's lives? If so, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.
Join the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) in a transformative leadership role, playing a pivotal part in the delivery of the Future NHS Workforce Solution.
We're looking for a Deputy Programme Director to join our Portfolio Management Directorate at NHSBSA. This is a senior leadership role, where you'll support the delivery of large-scale, strategic transformation programmes that impact millions across the health and care system. You'll work at the heart of change, influencing senior stakeholders and driving outcomes that matter.
You'll be flexible and able to accommodate regular, national travel across NHSBSA sites weekly, as well as the potential to travel internationally.
What do we offer?
- 27 days leave (increasing with length of service) plus 8 bank holidays
- Flexible working (we are happy to discuss options such as compressed hours)
- Hybrid working model
- Career development
- Active wellbeing and inclusion networks
- Excellent pension
- NHS Car lease scheme
- Access to a wide range of benefits and high street discounts!
Main duties of the job
As Deputy Programme Director, you'll play a key role in delivering major transformation programmes of national importance. You'll:
- Support the Programme Director in leading a high-value, high-risk programme with significant complexity and strategic impact.
- Establish robust governance and assurance, manage risks and issues, and ensure readiness for change.
- Build and lead high-performing, multidisciplinary teams to deliver outcomes on time, within budget, and to the highest quality.
- Develop strategic relationships with senior stakeholders across government, the NHS, and delivery partners.
- Oversee procurement and implementation of solutions that replace legacy platforms, ensuring taxpayer value and alignment with national strategies.
- Ensure benefits realisation, smooth transition to live service, and embed sustainability and social value into programme delivery.
- Represent NHSBSA at senior levels, influencing and negotiating to resolve issues and mitigate risks.
The role will be appointed on a permanent basis and is being recruited to primarily support a specific workstream within the Future NHS Workforce Solution Programme, which is scheduled to run until 2030.
We anticipate the interviews for this role will be held week commencing 23rd February 2026.
About us
Here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), what we do matters.
We manage the NHS Pension scheme, process prescription payments and much more. Our services are used by NHS organisations, contractors and the public: we're proud to be part of something meaningful, that touches millions of lives.
We design our services around customer needs and place people at the heart of our organisation. That's why when you join us, you'll be empowered and supported to help your career grow.
As one of the UK's Best Big Companies to work for, we're connected to our values: Collaborative, Adventurous, Reliable and Energetic. We care about our people, our purpose, and your progress.
We strive to offer a fantastic colleague experience, where every colleague is heard, supported and respected. Wellbeing, diversity and inclusion is at the centre of this, and you can join our Lived Experience Networks who help us bring our authentic selves to work.
We're committed to being a flexible employer and we try to offer a working pattern that suits you where possible, through hybrid working, flexible hours and more.
Alongside a competitive salary with pay progression, we offer a people-centric benefits package, connecting you to the rewards and benefits you value most!
Ready to join us in delivering business service excellence to the NHS, helping people live longer, healthier lives? Apply today and see where the NHSBSA can take you.
We are people connected to care.
Job description
Job responsibilities
In this role, you will be accountable for:
- Establishing robust governance and assurance, managing risks and issues, and ensuring readiness for change.
- Managing multiple stakeholder groups in complex environments, build consensus across diverse stakeholders, and develop strategic relationships with internal and external suppliers, with the support of the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO).
- Building and leading high-performing, multidisciplinary programme teams, ensuring delivery to time, cost, and quality.
- Ensuring strategic alignment of the transformation programme, to both NHSBSA and the wider NHS strategies and plans (ensuring technology, commercial, and people aspects are considered).
- Developing Business Cases, (as per HM Treasurys five case model) and securing approvals from Programme Board, SRO, DHSC, Cabinet Office, and HM Treasury.
- Managing a significant Transformation Programme budget, ensuring that the Programme is delivered within the agreed budgetary commitments, in line with the agreed delegated authority and tolerances set, whilst delivering taxpayer value.
- Representing the NHSBSA and the programme working with senior stakeholders to identify, escalate and resolve issues and mitigate significant risks to delivery.
- Establishing proportionate and effective governance in line with NHSBSA and wider system standards, engaging with and influencing a range of strategic stakeholders providing regular updates to Cabinet Office, NISTA, DHSC and NHS sponsors, commissioners and users ensuring alignment to the NHSBSA portfolio management framework and other best practice guidelines.
- Overseeing the procurement and implementation of products and solutions which replace the existing legacy platform(s), in line with national, regional and local commercial strategies, ensuring value for the taxpayer.
- Providing strategic leadership to monitor and maximise benefit delivery.
- Ensuring smooth transition to live service and implementation of new solutions, replacing legacy platforms where applicable
- Ensuring the programme management office function, can deliver accordingly with the necessary skills and capabilities to meet the programmes internal and external demands and delivers in accordance with portfolio and programme management frameworks and best practice using digital tools and data insights to inform decisions and track delivery.
- Ensuring quality assurance of dependency management and alignment with business governance.
- Embedding sustainability and social value into programme design, procurement and delivery.
- Working in partnership with Directors and colleagues across the business to ensure the full engagement of all colleagues in their area and support in the delivery of the NHSBSAs portfolio management purpose and vision.
- Providing professional leadership to all programme team colleagues at all levels throughout the NHSBSA, lead and oversee the day-to-day performance of staff in line with NHSBSA HR processes ensuring the active adoption of the GROW appraisal system and compliance with all mandatory training as specified by the organisation.
- Role modelling NHSBSA CARE values and behaviours, ensuring compliance with health and safety, financial stewardship, and equality standards.
Job description
Job responsibilities
In this role, you will be accountable for:
- Establishing robust governance and assurance, managing risks and issues, and ensuring readiness for change.
- Managing multiple stakeholder groups in complex environments, build consensus across diverse stakeholders, and develop strategic relationships with internal and external suppliers, with the support of the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO).
- Building and leading high-performing, multidisciplinary programme teams, ensuring delivery to time, cost, and quality.
- Ensuring strategic alignment of the transformation programme, to both NHSBSA and the wider NHS strategies and plans (ensuring technology, commercial, and people aspects are considered).
- Developing Business Cases, (as per HM Treasurys five case model) and securing approvals from Programme Board, SRO, DHSC, Cabinet Office, and HM Treasury.
- Managing a significant Transformation Programme budget, ensuring that the Programme is delivered within the agreed budgetary commitments, in line with the agreed delegated authority and tolerances set, whilst delivering taxpayer value.
- Representing the NHSBSA and the programme working with senior stakeholders to identify, escalate and resolve issues and mitigate significant risks to delivery.
- Establishing proportionate and effective governance in line with NHSBSA and wider system standards, engaging with and influencing a range of strategic stakeholders providing regular updates to Cabinet Office, NISTA, DHSC and NHS sponsors, commissioners and users ensuring alignment to the NHSBSA portfolio management framework and other best practice guidelines.
- Overseeing the procurement and implementation of products and solutions which replace the existing legacy platform(s), in line with national, regional and local commercial strategies, ensuring value for the taxpayer.
- Providing strategic leadership to monitor and maximise benefit delivery.
- Ensuring smooth transition to live service and implementation of new solutions, replacing legacy platforms where applicable
- Ensuring the programme management office function, can deliver accordingly with the necessary skills and capabilities to meet the programmes internal and external demands and delivers in accordance with portfolio and programme management frameworks and best practice using digital tools and data insights to inform decisions and track delivery.
- Ensuring quality assurance of dependency management and alignment with business governance.
- Embedding sustainability and social value into programme design, procurement and delivery.
- Working in partnership with Directors and colleagues across the business to ensure the full engagement of all colleagues in their area and support in the delivery of the NHSBSAs portfolio management purpose and vision.
- Providing professional leadership to all programme team colleagues at all levels throughout the NHSBSA, lead and oversee the day-to-day performance of staff in line with NHSBSA HR processes ensuring the active adoption of the GROW appraisal system and compliance with all mandatory training as specified by the organisation.
- Role modelling NHSBSA CARE values and behaviours, ensuring compliance with health and safety, financial stewardship, and equality standards.
Person Specification
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- A high degree of political astuteness
- Highly developed people management skills
- Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills, capable of interpreting and evaluating complex, mufti-faceted information, ability to summarise complex information
Desirable
- An awareness of the NHSBSA's strategy, business plans and major programmes of work
Experience
Essential
- Extensive experience in leadership roles which have required development of a vision that drives forward the programmes work and its future
- Experience of working with the National Infrastructure and Systems Transformation Agency or equivalent assurance function either as a recipient of a review or as a review panel member.
Desirable
- Coaching and mentoring at management level
- SC Security Cleared
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to UK Government Major Project Leadership Academy (MPLA) / Masters level in relevant subject or equivalent levels of experience of working at very senior programme leadership level
- Leadership qualification
Desirable
- APM Chartered Professional
- NISTA accredited assurance reviewer
- Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) - Advanced Practitioner
- Change Management Practitioner
- Project Leadership Programme (PLP)
- PRINCE 2 - Practitioner
- Management of Risk (MoR) - Practitioner
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Can and does apply project delivery knowledge and techniques to set projects up for success, reduce ambiguity and ensure successful delivery
- Strong commercial awareness
- Able to understand the value of and exploit commercial advice
- The ability to manage change in a constructive manner
- Strong leadership skills, including an ability to motivate and inspire teams to be successful and become high performing
- The ability to manage multi-faceted project plans
- Managing complexity and changing priorities through creative problem-solving
- Ability to manage varied and complex relationships to facilitate change and improvement
Experience
Essential
- Extensive breadth and depth of major project delivery experience, having led multiple programmes across all project phases a number of times, and performed a variety of project leadership roles
- Proven evidence of successful delivery in terms of complexity of what has been delivered and the scale of challenge
- Significant experience of performing at high level over a sustained period of time, in a large organisation which has a complex operating environment, where there is uncertainty and continual change
- Significant experience of leading organisational change and creating a legacy beyond a particular programme or project
- Significant experience of building productive and collaborative working relationships with internal and external senior stakeholders in order to arrive at mutually acceptable solutions to business issues
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Ability to think strategically and respond quickly to complex changing circumstances and high-pressure situations, maintaining a clear view of overall project priorities
- Comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and can refocus as details emerge
- Credible and persuasive, commanding the confidence of senior stakeholders
- Displays professional courage with the confidence and authority to articulate, challenge, explain and justify decisions to senior stakeholders
- Remaining resilient in the face of extraordinary pressure
- Sophisticated appreciation of how to work effectively at the public/private interface with strong commercial nous and understanding
- Ability to influence, persuade and motivate others
- Building and maintaining constructive working relationships with appropriate stakeholders/contacts
- Working collaboratively
Experience
Essential
- Experience of motivating, enabling and empowering teams to deliver
- First class experience of modelling exemplary leadership skills and behaviours, communicating an organisational purpose and leading highly engaged teams
Person Specification
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- A high degree of political astuteness
- Highly developed people management skills
- Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills, capable of interpreting and evaluating complex, mufti-faceted information, ability to summarise complex information
Desirable
- An awareness of the NHSBSA's strategy, business plans and major programmes of work
Experience
Essential
- Extensive experience in leadership roles which have required development of a vision that drives forward the programmes work and its future
- Experience of working with the National Infrastructure and Systems Transformation Agency or equivalent assurance function either as a recipient of a review or as a review panel member.
Desirable
- Coaching and mentoring at management level
- SC Security Cleared
Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to UK Government Major Project Leadership Academy (MPLA) / Masters level in relevant subject or equivalent levels of experience of working at very senior programme leadership level
- Leadership qualification
Desirable
- APM Chartered Professional
- NISTA accredited assurance reviewer
- Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) - Advanced Practitioner
- Change Management Practitioner
- Project Leadership Programme (PLP)
- PRINCE 2 - Practitioner
- Management of Risk (MoR) - Practitioner
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Can and does apply project delivery knowledge and techniques to set projects up for success, reduce ambiguity and ensure successful delivery
- Strong commercial awareness
- Able to understand the value of and exploit commercial advice
- The ability to manage change in a constructive manner
- Strong leadership skills, including an ability to motivate and inspire teams to be successful and become high performing
- The ability to manage multi-faceted project plans
- Managing complexity and changing priorities through creative problem-solving
- Ability to manage varied and complex relationships to facilitate change and improvement
Experience
Essential
- Extensive breadth and depth of major project delivery experience, having led multiple programmes across all project phases a number of times, and performed a variety of project leadership roles
- Proven evidence of successful delivery in terms of complexity of what has been delivered and the scale of challenge
- Significant experience of performing at high level over a sustained period of time, in a large organisation which has a complex operating environment, where there is uncertainty and continual change
- Significant experience of leading organisational change and creating a legacy beyond a particular programme or project
- Significant experience of building productive and collaborative working relationships with internal and external senior stakeholders in order to arrive at mutually acceptable solutions to business issues
Personal Qualities, Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Ability to think strategically and respond quickly to complex changing circumstances and high-pressure situations, maintaining a clear view of overall project priorities
- Comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and can refocus as details emerge
- Credible and persuasive, commanding the confidence of senior stakeholders
- Displays professional courage with the confidence and authority to articulate, challenge, explain and justify decisions to senior stakeholders
- Remaining resilient in the face of extraordinary pressure
- Sophisticated appreciation of how to work effectively at the public/private interface with strong commercial nous and understanding
- Ability to influence, persuade and motivate others
- Building and maintaining constructive working relationships with appropriate stakeholders/contacts
- Working collaboratively
Experience
Essential
- Experience of motivating, enabling and empowering teams to deliver
- First class experience of modelling exemplary leadership skills and behaviours, communicating an organisational purpose and leading highly engaged teams
