Deputy Director

Our Organisation

We share the core values set out in the NHS Constitution, which all colleagues are expected to demonstrate.

We support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you and your colleagues. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement, whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern.

Are you passionate about improving the lives of people with cancer? Do you want to ensure more people survive cancer than ever before? Working in NHS England’s Cancer Programme, that’s exactly what you’ll do.

We deliver system-facing leadership and support for the delivery of NHS-wide priorities for cancer covering operational performance, improving survival and wider support for people with cancer. We work with people affected by cancer, clinicians, charities, Regions, Cancer Alliances and providers, on performance and delivery that transforms services for people across the country.

As Deputy Director – Policy and Strategy within the NHS Cancer Programme, you will have responsibility for overseeing the delivery of the National Cancer Plan as a whole, as well as taking forward the policy development and early implementation of specific commitments in the Plan in relation to cancer early diagnosis and survival, innovation and the wider support to people with cancer.

The Cancer Programme Team takes its responsibility to promote equality and diversity seriously. We respect colleagues from different backgrounds and embrace different cultural preferences in everything we do.

The job title advertised is a generic title for the purposes of advertising, the successful candidate will be hired with the job title of Deputy Director Policy and Strategy

f you have excellent leadership, strategy, delivery and stakeholder skills, enjoy working in a fast-paced environment and have a strong commitment to diversity and equality, we would love to hear from you.

We’re looking for someone with a successful track record in developing and delivering national policy in complex policy and operating environments. The successful candidate will have highly-developed skills in bringing stakeholders together and in the translation of policy into practice and delivering through others.

You will be responsible for:

• The development of new interventions to accelerate the recent progress in the early diagnosis of cancer.
• The development and delivery of cancer manuals, to improve consistency in access to the latest cancer treatment across the country;
• Delivering our latest cancer innovation open call programme, and the Cancer Vaccine Launch Pad, which is supporting the trialling of the next generation of cancer treatments;
• Support to people living with and beyond cancer, including in partnership with neighbourhood health services, and through the delivery of new digitally enabled patient reported outcome measures (ePROMs).
• Delivery of the programme to pilot e-safety netting for FIT in primary care.

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 any vacancies.

You will identify and deploying effective levers in the delivery chain to secure the delivery of National Cancer Plan commitments and NHS-wide priorities, build and maintain influential relationships with colleagues across DHSC and NHSE and ensure that we place the views and experiences of cancer patients at the heart of delivery.

Applications will be assessed both for their content and the confidence the applicant’s skills and experience give in their capability to perform the role, and for their clarity of expression, grammatical accuracy, and quality of writing.

Applicants should include details of all roles which demonstrate their relevant experience and competencies and should focus on most recent roles where possible. Details of these roles should be limited to four or five key responsibilities rather than an exhaustive list. This should be succinct (usually less than a single side of A4) and should explain in brief the applicants’ motivation for the role and how the applicant’s experience has equipped them for this role, including key achievements/personal impact.

You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.

Secondments

Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.

Our commitments to you

We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better patient outcomes.

We strive to ensure our people feel trusted, valued and empowered. When you join us, we want you to grow and excel, and we offer many opportunities for you to do that.

We welcome your talent and enthusiasm irrespective of age, disability, neuro-divergence, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances.

We ensure all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process. This includes considering reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability and/or who are neuro-divergent.

We welcome applications from disabled candidates. If you meet all the essential criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the role. While we appreciate you may have had some support with your application (for example, using AI technology or guidance from a trusted individual), it’s important all the information you provide in it reflects your own knowledge, skills and experience and we trust that you apply on that basis.

If you’re applying for this role on a secondment basis, please get agreement from your current line manager before you apply.

We don’t accept applications via recruitment agencies, and we cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.

To comply with the HM Government Functional Standard GovS 007, and specifically the Personnel Security Standards 2024, individuals employed or contracted by NHS England may be required to undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standards check, dependent on the role.

NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for processing your application; our privacy can be accessed directly on the application page when you select to apply.

If you are appointed to a post, your information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

If you have a query about your application, please contact the recruitment team: [email protected] or 0300 330 1369.

NHS England