Director of Preventative Health & Care Innovation (KW13318)

University of Bath; Bath; Hybrid; GBP 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent UK university is seeking a Director of Preventative Health & Care Innovation to lead a strategic initiative in health innovation. The role involves building partnerships, securing funding, and translating academic research into practice-based solutions. Ideal candidates will have significant experience in preventative health and public systems, along with strong leadership skills. This full-time, fixed-term position offers flexible working arrangements and a commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Free counselling services

Cycle to work scheme

Generous annual leave allowance

Relocation allowance

Qualifications

• Proven experience in preventative health, public health systems or social care transformation.
• Strong track record in service innovation and knowledge translation into practice.
• Experience in securing funding and delivering innovation projects.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic health innovation collaborations across sectors.
• Identify and secure funding from NHS innovation sources.
• Translate academic research into real-world solutions.

Skills

Experience in preventative health

Leadership and team-building skills

Stakeholder management

Knowledge translation into practice

Understanding of NHS commissioning

Education

Relevant postgraduate qualification

Job description

Overview

The University of Bath is embarking on a transformative initiative in preventative health and care innovation. We are seeking a leader with exceptional interpersonal skills and cross‑sector experience to shape and drive this new strategic priority in a role that represents a significant step‑change in our ambition to enhance civic impact and contribute meaningfully to national health and care priorities. This is a unique moment. The UK Government's Life Sciences Vision and the NHS 10‑year plan emphasise a profound shift towards preventative care, moving from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and treatment to prevention. The University of Bath is uniquely positioned to lead in this space.

Without a medical school, we have the freedom to explore and enable health and care in new ways, drawing on our breadth of expertise across public health, sport and exercise science, psychology, life sciences, engineering and management. As our inaugural Director of Preventative Health & Care Innovation, you will be a catalyst and pathfinder. Your mandate is to forge strategic connections between our world‑class academic researchers and external partners including NHS Trusts, Integrated Care Systems, local authorities, and health and care companies operating in a range of sectors. You will translate academic excellence into practice‑based solutions that address real‑world challenges and make a positive impact. This role demands more than technical expertise. We need a proven innovation practitioner who understands value propositions and can identify market opportunities where partners recognise the commercial and social value of collaboration. You will secure commercially viable partnerships, generate sustainable income streams, and match institutional capabilities with partner needs. Success will be tangible: establishing multiple significant contractual collaborations and demonstrating substantial growth in external income over the two‑year period.

Responsibilities

• Leading strategic health innovation collaborations across NHS, local government, and commercial sectors
• Identifying and securing funding from NHS innovation sources, NIHR, Innovate UK, and other mechanisms
• Translating academic research into practice‑based pilots and real‑world solutions
• Building and leading a team of innovation practitioners to expand institutional capability
• Representing the University in national forums and regional health strategy discussions
• Developing new impact pathways and income sources including contract research, CPD, and consultancy
• Overseeing the inaugural strategic partnership with Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire Hospitals, serving as a blueprint for future partnerships. This is a full‑time, fixed‑term position for 24 months with potential to evolve as the initiative develops. The role is based at the University of Bath with hybrid working options. Some travel will be required.

You will be supported by a Strategic Partnership Manager and empowered to recruit additional practitioner expertise as the initiative grows. This role is funded by the Vice‑Chancellor's Strategic Investment Fund, demonstrating the institution's commitment to this strategic priority.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in preventative health, public health systems and/or social care transformation
• Strong track record in service innovation and knowledge translation into practice
• Evidence of securing partnerships and understanding commercial viability in health and care contexts
• Excellent leadership and team‑building skills, with the ability to inspire and galvanise academics
• Outstanding stakeholder management across academics, health systems, and commercial environments
• Experience in securing funding and delivering innovation projects that generate measurable impact
• Ability to translate between the different languages of academia, health systems and business
• Understanding of NHS commissioning, integrated care systems and community care delivery
• Experience as a clinician or in health and care companies is highly desirable, bringing practical credibility and insight into how solutions are developed and commercialised

Benefits

We're continually expanding our benefits package to better support you and enhance your experience with us and the below is just an example of some of the many great benefits we offer:

• Free counselling services through Health Assured
• Cycle to work scheme
• Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
• Staff discount at Team Bath gym
• Staff discounts on postgraduate tuition fees
• Staff discount on language courses
• Generous employer contributory pension schemes
• Generous annual leave allowance with an additional 5 discretionary days
• A wide range of personal and professional development opportunities including Apprenticeships, LinkedIn Learning and more
• Free entry to the Holburne Museum in Bath
• Local discounts and more
• A family‑friendly workplace
• An excellent reward package that recognises the talents of our diverse workforce
• Relocation allowance
• Visa reimbursement and interest‑free loan to help with the cost of some immigration expenses

We consider ourselves to be a university where difference is celebrated, respected and encouraged. We have an excellent international reputation with staff from over 60 different nations and have made a positive commitment towards gender equality and intersectionality, receiving a Silver Athena SWAN award. We truly believe that diversity of experience, perspectives and backgrounds will lead to a better environment for our employees and students and encourage applications from all genders, backgrounds and communities, particularly from under‑represented groups, and value the positive impact that will have on the university. We are committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students, staff and community by reinforcing our Safer Recruitment commitment. We're very proud to be a signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, an accredited Disability Confident Leader; an autism‑friendly university, committed to building disability confidence and supporting disabled staff.

Find out more about our benefits and watch the video to hear from our staff about what makes the University of Bath a great place to work as well as following us on X and LinkedIn.