Deputy Director of Digital

at  Health Research Authority

We are looking for a Deputy Director of Digital to join us during an ambitious programme of digital investment that will transform our systems to provide a coordinated research approvals service. This transformation programme will connect the processes for health and social care research in the UK and help make the UK a great place to do research that people can trust. Reporting to the Chief Digital Transformation Officer, this new role will be responsible for continuity of live service, including transition to business as usual (BAU) as the programme business transformation, systems build and data progresses.
The successful candidate will be a highly effective leader who has strong experience leading and motivating both in house and outsourced teams. You will plan, manage and lead BAU work from concept through to delivery, including allocation and coordination of all development resources from business analysts, technical resources and suppliers. You will be responsible for establishing and maintaining strong adherence to government functional standards, and defining clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities that align with HRA practice.
You will liaise with other functional areas of the team to ensure adherence to architecture standards, quality assurance of delivery and impact assessment of change on operations, technical support and service management teams. You will engage with stakeholders to ensure good communication at all stages of transformational change.

THE POSTHOLDER WILL:

• manage project work requests, using an appropriate level of nationally recognised methodologies such as SAFe Agile/PRINCE2 Agile to ensure that the work is conducted within a controlled and effective delivery mechanism.
• manage the Approval Regulation Support Service, using an appropriate level of nationally recognised methodologies such as ITIL to ensure that the service is delivered within a controlled and effective support framework.
• monitor all dependencies and ensure that any issues between BAU work or projects are resolved within a timely manner.
• be a proactive member of the HRA Digital Heads team. Using expert experience and skills to ensure that the department functions are cohesive and deliver the organisations objectives.
• use expert knowledge and skills to actively support the development and implementation of the HRA’s Digital Strategy.
• have comprehensive knowledge of research applications software and their supporting processes within a research regulation setting.
• have an extensive experience of configuration and development of systems and IT service management.
• have a strong appreciation of the Department of Health and Clinical Research Delivery vision to Improve UK’s clinical research ecosystem – a dynamic partnership of government, academia, industry, the NHS and the public, all aligned on the urgent need to develop treatments to prevent or treat an urgent health need.
  As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for you, not just us and the work we do.
  We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know from experience that different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds create a stronger, more creative workplace that help us to deliver the best services.

We welcome applications which represent the rich diversity of our community. This includes:

• age
• disability
• ethnicity
• gender identity and expression
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation
• other diverse characteristics

We have policies in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process.
When applying to work here, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement – if it works for you, we’ll do our best to make it work for us.
This role sits within HRA Digital. The HRA Digital team is a collaborative, supportive team consisting of HRA employees, secondees, contractors and vendors.
To find out more and to understand the full duties of the role, please refer to the job description attached.

In submitting your application with us, please note the following:

• We currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies.
• We do not hold a sponsorship licence and are unable to offer employment under any sponsorship arrangement.
• Where applicants fail to demonstrate how they meet any one of the essential criteria of the person specification, the application will not be shortlisted.

The HRA reserves the right to close this vacancy early should it receive a sufficient number of applications

Please refer the Job description for details