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Strategy Lead

Role Description

Reports to: Director of Strategy

Contract Type: Secondment (6-month duration)

Location: Two/three days a week in the office, either on-site in Euston, London, or Hinxton, Cambridgeshire. Travel between offices will be needed on a regular basis.

Full/ Part time + FTE: Full-time (though 0.8 FTE applications will be considered)

Salary: Civil Service Grade 7 or equivalent

Role Purpose

Working at the heart of HDRS’s strategy function, you will help shape how the organisation turns its long-term ambition into clear strategic priorities, propositions and programmes of work. Working closely with the Director of Strategy and senior leaders, you will bring together complex information, evidence and perspectives from across health, data, research, policy and technology to identify the questions that matter, develop new areas of strategic thinking and provide clarity where there is ambiguity. You will have the opportunity to work across a broad and evolving portfolio, moving from open-ended questions and emerging challenges through to structured analysis, compelling written outputs and actionable recommendations that help inform HDRS’s direction and decision-making.

Roles and Responsibilities

1. Strategic analysis and development

  • Identify and structure the key strategic questions facing HDRS, helping to anticipate what the organisation will need to understand and decide over the longer term.
  • Bring together complex evidence, perspectives and dependencies from across health, data, research, policy and technology to develop a coherent strategic view.
  • Support the Director of Strategy and senior leadership in developing HDRS’s long-term strategy, propositions, priorities and strategic choices.

2. Strategic project development

  • Proactively identify areas requiring further strategic work and develop clear proposals for how they should be explored.
  • Scope and initiate strategic projects, discovery sprints and pieces of analysis, defining the objectives, approach, stakeholders, outputs and resources required.
  • Lead or support projects through to clear conclusions, recommendations and actionable next steps, working with colleagues and subject-matter experts across HDRS.

3. Synthesis, writing and strategic communication

  • Distil complex and often competing information into clear insights, narratives and recommendations for senior audiences.
  • Produce high-quality strategy papers, Board materials, briefings, propositions and presentations, often working from limited or incomplete information.
  • Help ensure that HDRS’s strategic thinking is coherent, evidence-based and communicated consistently across the organisation and externally.

4. Cross-organisational insight

  • Develop a strong understanding of the health, health-data and research landscape and bring relevant external developments and perspectives into HDRS’s strategic thinking.
  • Work across HDRS to connect different areas of expertise, identify gaps and dependencies, and ensure that strategic issues are considered from multiple perspectives.
  • Build effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders to gather insight, test propositions and develop a rounded understanding of complex issues.

Personal Specification

Skills and experience:

Essential

  • Strong experience in strategy, policy, consulting, health, data, research, digital or a related field.
  • Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to structure ambiguous and complex problems.
  • Exceptional written communication skills and the ability to produce clear, concise and persuasive material for senior audiences.
  • Ability to rapidly absorb complex information from multiple sources and synthesise it into a coherent view.
  • Strong intellectual curiosity and ability to work independently with limited direction.
  • Experience of taking an ill-defined question and turning it into a structured piece of work with a clear objective, approach and outcome.
  • Ability to work effectively across organisational and professional boundaries.
  • Good understanding of the UK health system and/or health data environment.

Desirable

  • Experience of health data, health research, life sciences, NHS transformation or digital health.
  • Experience developing organisational or sector strategy.
  • Experience working with senior leaders, Boards or government.
  • Experience of designing and running discovery, research or strategic projects.
  • Understanding of the emerging role of AI in health and research.

HOW TO APPLY

How to Apply – Strategy Lead

To apply for this role, please email the following documents to jobs@HDRS.com:

  • An up-to-date CV (around two pages). Please submit a PDF document labelled ‘CV’ with your name and the role title.
  • A supporting statement. Please submit a statement (750 words max) that outlines your interest in this particular organisation and role, and your fit against the essential experience criteria set out in the person specification and role description. Please label this document ‘Supporting Statement’ with your name and the role title.
  • We’d be grateful if you could also complete our anonymous diversity monitoring form. It’s optional, it’s not shared with the hiring panel, and it has no effect on your application.

If you would like to know more about the role or selection process, please contact jobs@HDRS.com

Please submit your application by 11:59 pm on 19th October 2026.

Please note that applications received after the deadline will not be accepted.