Head of Negotiation & Access (Strategic Innovation)

The postholder will be responsible for developing and delivering innovative approaches that accelerate patient access to transformative healthcare interventions whilst supporting NHS operational priorities, financial sustainability and population health improvement.

This assignment will focus on leading a portfolio of strategic innovation programmes, partnerships and access initiatives that require complex stakeholder management, commercial expertise and delivery leadership across NHS England, government and industry partners.

The postholder will work across organisational boundaries to identify, develop and implement innovative solutions that improve patient outcomes, support NHS priorities and maximise value from healthcare innovation.

• Strategic Innovation Partnerships
• Innovation Programme and Pilot Delivery
• Access, Affordability and Adoption Strategy
• Policy and Strategic Advice
• Stakeholder Leadership

NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.

Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.

If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR).This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.

Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.

Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.

We cannot offer visa sponsorship for external candidates.

Desirable: - Educated to Masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in life sciences.

Essential: - Strong understanding of NHS medicines innovation adoption pathways and implementation challenges.; - Demonstratable experience and understanding of health technolgoy assessment (HTA), pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement, including the application of health economic principals to inform the development of innovative pricing agreements.; - Substantial experience of working with the pharmaceutical, life sciences and healthcare sector.; - Extensive experience of managing strategic partnerships with senior stakeholders across multiple organisations, including experience of establishing collaborative arrangements that deliver measurable benefits and align differing organisational objectives; - Understanding of population health, health inequalities and opportunities to improve outcomes through innovation.; - Proven and significant leadership experience and/or formal management qualification.

Essential: - Outstanding negotiation and persuasion skills, including demonstrable emotional intelligence when negotiating.; - Demonstrable experience of developing, implementing and evaluating innovative pilot or strategic initiatives.; - Demonstrable experience of developing strategic proposals and business cases.; - Highly developed communication skills with the ability to communicate on highly complex matters and difficult situations.; - Leadership, vision, strategic thinking, creativity, and planning with highly developed political skills.

Essential: - Commitment to and focused on quality, promotes high standards in all they do and able to make a connection between their work and the benefit to patients and the public.; - Values diversity and difference; operates with integrity and openness Works well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others.; - Ability to operate effectively within complex governance and accountability frameworks; working collaboratively across organisational boundaries.; - Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.