Head of CEO Office and Priority Projects

Role Description

Role Purpose

This is an opportunity to work at the heart of a new national organisation with an ambitious mission and significant public impact. As Head of Office and Priority Projects, you will work closely with the CEO and senior leadership team to navigate complex priorities, strengthen organisational alignment and drive delivery across HDRS. From shaping governance and preparing the CEO and Board for key decisions, to building relationships across government, the NHS and the wider health, research and data ecosystem, you will play a pivotal role in connecting people, priorities and organisations. You will also lead a range of high-profile, CEO-commissioned projects, making this a varied and influential role for someone who thrives in complex environments and is motivated by turning strategic ambition into tangible progress.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead CEO office – ensure the effective operation of the HDRS CEO’s office, ensuring clear planning, coordination, and communication across partners and workstreams. Support the CEO across all activities and act as a trusted adviser and delivery partner.
• HDRS governance – Support the development and implementation of governance arrangements for HDRS, including the cadence of the HDRS Board and Four Nations Council. Leading secretariat oversight to ensure robust decision-making, reporting, and accountability structures are in place. Create, prepare, and distribute high-quality and insightful documents (such as briefing packs, board papers, etc.) for the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), Board, and other governance forums.
• Stakeholder management and engagement – Act as a key interface across HDRS and with external stakeholders, supporting CEO strategic engagement to ensure HDRS builds strong relationships across the health, research, and data ecosystem in a coordinated and impactful way. This would include identifying and prioritising stakeholders, ensuring engagement occurs at the right stages of HDRS’s development.
• Priority project lead – lead on scoping, planning and delivery of CEO commissioned projects as they emerge. These will evolve over time but will initially include work with the devolved Governments and NHS regions in England to embed collaboration from the start.

Personal Specification

Skills and experience:

Essential

• Experience working within UK government or the wider public sector, with well-established relationships across relevant organisations.
• Proven ability to prioritise effectively, balancing pace with rigour to ensure high-quality outcomes in a dynamic and often ambiguous environment.
• Experience supporting chief executives, boards or senior leadership teams on strategic and operational matters.
• Demonstrable experience designing and delivering complex programmes of work, working across teams and organisations to embed shared understanding and align objectives.
• Strong communication skills, verbally and in writing. Confident engaging, facilitating and negotiating with senior individuals, building strong relationships and effective processes to advance shared objectives.
• Able to identify key risks and opportunities across a broad policy portfolio, utilising networks and interrogating data to consider the most salient points and issues.

Desirable

• Experience in a complex organisation, ideally spanning public sector, health, research or regulated environments.
• An understanding of the complexity of working across the Devolved Administrations.

Benefits

• Employer contribution of 10% pension
• 30 days annual leave
• Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave
• Hybrid working

HOW TO APPLY

How to Apply – Head of CEO Office and Priority Projects

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 19^th October 2026.

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