Deputy Director of Programme Integration

Transformation Unit; England; Hybrid; GBP 113,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS England is seeking a Deputy Director of Programme Integration to lead complex programme integration across the New Hospital Programme and related initiatives. The role requires senior leadership, strategic planning and governance to deliver a coordinated, high-impact programme across multiple workstreams and partners.

The post offers flexibility around working patterns, with a requirement to spend substantial time in NHS offices and to work within a large, evolving organisational setting

Qualifications

• Experience leading Major Programmes and organisational leadership.
• Experience across multiple healthcare systems.
• Experience advising on major programmes.
• Experience leading large-scale transformation with diverse stakeholders.
• Knowledge of the UK Health Economy.
• Experience managing large budgets with financial controls.
• Masters level or senior level qualification in project and programme management.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage complex programme integration activity to support delivery of programme objectives.
• Work with senior leadership to develop and deliver integrated programme plan.
• Provide leadership to align cross-workstreams and delivery partners.
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders for coordinated delivery across multiple disciplines.
• Deputise for the Integration Director when required.

Skills

Organisational leadership

Major Programme delivery

Senior leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Influencing & negotiation

Budget management

Commercial awareness

Programme governance

Education

Masters degree or equivalent

PRINCE2 / Managing Successful Projects techniques

Job description

Employer NHS England Employer type NHS Site Any NHSE office Town National Salary £112,782 - £129,783 per annum (Exclusive of London Weighting) Salary period Yearly Closing 15/10/2026 23:59

Deputy Director of Programme Integration

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.

As part of our commitment to improving patient safety and maintaining safe and trusted services, all successful candidates will be subject to Baseline Personnel Security Screening (BPSS), which includes a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. By submitting your application, you are confirming your agreement to these checks being undertaken as part of the recruitment process.

Anyone who has received a voluntary or compulsory redundancy payment from NHS England since the start of the 2026/27 financial year is not eligible to apply.

Job overview

The New Hospital Programme is more than building hospitals, it’s a once in a generation opportunity to shape the future of healthcare in England. We’re delivering over 40 new hospitals that will be modern, sustainable and built around the needs of patients and staff. We’re looking for people who care about purpose, who thrive in complex environments and who want to help deliver change at scale for future generations.

Main duties of the job

The role will:

• Lead and manage complex programme integration activity to support delivery of programme objectives.
• Work closely with senior leadership to support the development and delivery of the programme’s integrated plan.
• Provide leadership and oversight to ensure alignment across programme workstreams and delivery partners.
• Support engagement with internal and external stakeholders to ensure coordinated delivery across multiple disciplines.
• The post holder will support and deputise for the Integration Director where required.

The role requires significant experience operating within large-scale and complex programmes, ideally within infrastructure, capital programmes, government or similarly complex environments. Experience within healthcare systems would be beneficial but is not essential.

Working for our organisation

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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

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.

Please note that this vacancy may close earlier than the advertised closing date due to the high volume of applications received.

Due to ongoing organisational change and developments, aspects of this role may be subject to change.

By applying for this position, you acknowledge and understand that NHS England is currently undergoing a consultation process to finalise its structure, which may impact this role.

Person specification

Experience

• Experience in organisational leadership and delivering successful Major Programmes
• Experience of working across multiple healthcare systems
• Experience of advising on major programmes
• Experience of working across multiple specialisms, disciplines and complexity of programmes
• Experience of working at a senior level in a complex environment, managing multiple transformation projects with a range of stakeholders.
• Experience of leading and delivering large scale transformational change and the ability to convey a compelling and engaging vision of change.
• Experience of translating strategy into delivery through plans, programmes, people and culture.
• Experience and/or understanding of the UK Health Economy
• Significant experience and understanding of proven implementation of project management methodologies
• Significant experience of managing and prioritising a large budget with solid knowledge of financial process requirements

Qualifications

• Educated to Masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• Professional qualification or equivalent experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as Prince 2 or Managing Successful Projects

Skills

• Ability to work within a political environment
• Strong influencing and negotiation skills.
• Strong commercial awareness and skills.
• Evidence of planning and delivering programmes and projects and services on time.

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.

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: [e-mail] or 0300 330 1369.

NHS England