Head of Assurance

Necsu; North East; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous holidays

Pension scheme

Free car parking

NHS discounts

Job summary

NECS is seeking a Head of Assurance to lead digital and solutions assurance across its directorate, shaping the strategy for testing, quality and security of systems and applications. The role requires strategic leadership, external-facing service development, and robust governance across the software release lifecycle.

You will manage teams, budgets and interfaces with senior leadership, ensuring risk and issues are escalated and resolved promptly.

Qualifications

• Masters level or equivalent in a relevant field.
• Postgraduate diploma or equivalent in quality assurance or related discipline.
• Experience in testing digital products and security testing.
• Proven ability to manage budgets and multi-stakeholder groups.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Directorate in strategy for assurance and testing of systems and applications.
• Develop and monitor solutions assurance standards, policies and controls.
• Determine appropriate tools, staffing and methodologies for assurance.
• Ensure testing and assurance are embedded throughout the software release lifecycle.
• Lead development of an externally facing solutions assurance service.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Digital assurance

Stakeholder communication

Team leadership

Risk & issue management

Education

Masters degree or equivalent

Postgraduate diploma or equivalent

Tools

Azure Cloud Platform

SIEM

FireWall/WAF

Job description

Go back NHS North Of England Commissioning Support Unit

Head of Assurance

The closing date is 18 November 2026

Are you an experienced digital assurance leader looking for an opportunity to shape and lead the delivery of high-quality, secure and reliable digital services?

We are looking for a Head of Assurance to support the BSA DDAT function. The Head of Assurance is a senior leadership role responsible for establishing and leading a robust strategy for the assurance and testing of systems and applications. The postholder will have overall responsibility for software quality assurance standards, policies and procedures and will ensure assurance is embedded throughout the software release lifecycle. The role will also lead the development and continuous improvement of a high-quality professional solutions assurance service.

This is a hybrid working role, with the successful candidate working across a mixture of home and office locations.

This vacancy is restricted to employees currently working within a Commissioning Support Unit (CSU). The role is being recruited to support services moving to NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). The successful applicant may therefore potentially transfer to NHSBSA as part of the relevant service transfer arrangements. Further information will be provided as part of the recruitment and transfer process.

This role will close Wednesday 18th November and interviews/selection are expected to take place during the week commencing 23rd November.

For an informal discussion, please contact Mark Chapman at [e-mail].

Main duties of the job

This role will be responsible for:

• Provide strategic leadership for digital and solutions assurance.
• Develop, implement and monitor the solutions assurance strategy, standards, policies and controls.
• Determine appropriate assurance tools, techniques, staffing and methodologies.
• Ensure effective testing and assurance are embedded throughout the software release lifecycle.
• Lead the assessment and management of complex assurance risks, issues and escalations.
• Present assurance findings and complex technical information to senior stakeholders and boards.Lead, motivate and develop specialist assurance staff.
• Develop a professional, externally facing solutions assurance service and promote continuous improvement.

About us

At NECS we are very proud to be part of the NHS England family. We are one of the very few truly customer‑owned entities within the NHS. We have grown from our roots in the North East to be an NHS business with customers the length and breadth of the UK and further abroad. Our customer base has diversified significantly over this period, and we are now very pleased to be serving NHS providers as well as commissioners, NHSE regions, Local Authorities, General Practices and national NHSE Directorates.

NECS combines specialist skills and expertise with scale and resilience to achieve required results. We combine core NHS values with a sharp focus on customer care and a relentless pursuit of continuous improvement. We very much see ourselves as a key partner in the future success of the healthcare system and we take our share of the responsibility for shaping effective delivery.

Our people are the heart of our organisation. We strive to ensure they feel trusted, valued and empowered. Were passionate about nurturing and developing people. When you join us, we want you to grow, and we offer many opportunities for you to do that as well as an excellent benefits package including generous holidays and pension plus free car parking and access to NHS discounts.

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose

The role will lead the Directorate and the team in establishing a robust strategy for the assurance and testing of systems and applications across the directorate, ensuring this is bedded into the software release cycle.

You will establish and have overall responsibility for the goals, policies, and procedures for software quality assurance function within the Directorate. The postholder will assess and determine the tools, techniques, staffing and methodologies that ensure the efficient release of quality software features and new products.

The post holder will lead in the development of an externally facing and marketable professional service offer, to promote the growth of the service and establish AGEM CSU as a centre of excellence for solutions assurance; as well as being accountable for internal adherence to solutions assurance strategy.

The post holder will be responsible for:

• Manage the teams business support function, including developing and managing the teams annual business plan, progress and dashboard reporting and risk and issue management.
• Liaise with functions with the CSU.
• Manage all corporate business returns, including planning and workforce returns.
• Develop and implement a content management system to ensure information is properly managed and best practice is shared across the team, Directorate, and the wider NHS organisations.
• Take a lead in the coordination of training, development and recruitment activity across the Directorate.
• Oversight and management of all aspects of the Directorate budgets.

Core Duties and Responsibilities (Key Result Areas)

Communication and Relationships

• The post holder will be required to have regular contact with internal and external stakeholders and will often need to engage with them over sensitive, complex, contentious, and confidential issues.
• Take a practical approach to providing advice, giving persuasive explanations of complex software security including Cyber security verbally and through strong written formal papers to a range of audience, in a clear and accessible manner, including managing politically sensitive and contentious conversations in a calm and diplomatic manner.
• Take decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action and provide clear reasoning for the decisions.
• Participate in relevant internal and external working groups/projects, services, and initiatives to provide specialist advice and expertise on solutions assurance.
• Overseeing the team to develop and implement a robust solutions assurance strategy that will provide test evidence that is gathered and stored in a systemic manner, to provide assurance both internally and externally.
• Present solution assurance findings, explaining complexities, to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• To liaise with other Managers to share best practice and comply with regulations and standards.

Analytical and Judgemental

• Working within the overall strategic objectives, devise, implement and monitor the Solutions Assurance Strategy. Evaluate, interpret, and locally implement best practice.
• Play a strategic and technical role in driving SARTs aim to innovate state-of-the-art applications and systems that we provide to our clients.
• Critically appraise and lead the direction of technology choices, development tools and techniques used by the team.
• Provide leadership to SART in support of strategic healthcare projects by researching, experimenting, and testing applications and software infrastructure.You will lead from the front in taking these solutions to production environments from an assurance point.
• Strategic thinking with the ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
• Provide overall management to the function.
• Develop and implement qualitative and quantitative measures to determine performance against the organisational strategy. Report progress against the strategy through personal representation at senior management forums and by written reports to appropriate boards and groups of staff.
• Analyse and present complex information on all aspects of solutions assurance in a clear, understandable, and audience-appropriate manner to senior management and board level groups, and provide a range of options.
• Ensure that best practice is developed and delivered at organisational and departmental levels. Challenge ways of working and persuade, motivate, and influence other senior managers to realign their practice where necessary.
• Ensure a smooth transition through decision making process to the management of contracts.
• Ensure that an appropriate Solutions Assurance Strategy is in line with business objective and are fully cascaded with existing and new applications fully subjected to rigorous testing as part of the software release cycle.
• Personally lead, support, and contribute to formal negotiations with senior level staff from external stakeholders, providing a high level of negotiating expertise to secure the most advantageous arrangements.
• Advise on innovative opportunities in relation to software assurance and validation and support all departments in their strategies and programmes to maximise service benefits.
• To lead in Software assurance techniques, technologies, and best practice to support the team in developing their specialist understanding and knowledge.
• Oversee the tracking of progress against plans and transition milestones, ensuring appropriate processes are in place to flag issues, risks, and concerns with the relevant stakeholders.
• Work closely with the Heads of other Directorates to ensure that units understand and adhere to rules and standards, intervening as appropriate.
• Ensure the securing of value for money, giving due consideration to all relevant factors including risk, quality, and other factors.
• Devise, manage and update policies and procedures, ensuring the adoption of best practice methodology, rules, standards, and thresholds. Disseminating these methodologies etc. to staff within the department and throughout the organisation.
• Collect and report on information of expenditure within the organisation and other relevant governing bodies.

Financial and Physical Resources

• The post holder will have budgetary responsibility for the Solutions Assurance team and the services provided within it. This will include evaluating the value for money of new contracts, monitoring the performance of existing providers and ensuring that provider performance aligns, and complies, with contractual terms and conditions.
• The postholder will be directly responsible for all budgets associated with the management of the Solutions Assurance team.
• Act in a way that is compliant with Standing Orders and Standing Financial Instructions in the discharge of this responsibility.
• Constantly strive for value for money and greater efficiency in the use of these budgets and to ensure that they operate in recurrent financial balance year on year.

Person Specification

Skills / Abilities

• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Ability to analyse complex facts and situations and develop a range of options.
• Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action.
• Strategic thinking ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight and often changing deadlines.
• Skills for direct line management and job management.
• Skills for delivering results through managing through others and using a range of levers in the absence of direct line management responsibility.
• Skills for managing relationships with a range of different stakeholders.
• Ability to work on own initiative and organise workload, allocating work as necessary.
• Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues.
• An ability to maintain confidentiality and trust.
• Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change.
• Ability to carry out procurements for highly detailed, high value contracts that require analysis, comparison and assessment.

Knowledge

• Must have an understanding of the background to and aims of current healthcare policy in the NHS and appreciate the implications of this on engagement.
• Should have an appreciation of the relationship between the Department of Health, the Strategic Health Authority and individual provider and the commissioning organisations.
• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills.
• Proven ability and experience of successfully testing digital products and/or services within tight timescales.
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of equality of opportunity and diversity taking into account and being aware of how individual actions contribute to and make a difference to the equality agenda.
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of equality of opportunity and diversity.
• Knowledge of one or more security standards (Cyber Essentials, ISO2700x, etc.).
• Knowledge of IT System Monitoring (SIEM).

Mobility

• Car driver / owner or reasonable alternative.
• Must be able to commit to working outside of core hours, with occasional evening and weekend working.
• Will be required to travel regionally and could lead to early starts or late evenings to make meetings as a result or occasional overnight stops in hotels.
• Will be required to travel regionally, resulting in early starts, late evenings, or occasional overnight stops in hotels to attend meetings.

Qualifications

• Educated to Masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through post graduate diploma or equivalent in depth technical and strategic knowledge and experience or training plus further specialist knowledge or experience to masters level equivalent underpinned by theory and professional experience of quality assurance and automation.
• Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development.
• Member of relevant professional body.
• Commitment to continuing professional development.

Experience

• Plans and organises a broad range of complex activities, formulating and adjusting plans to reflect changing circumstances.
• Significant experience of creating and executing assurance strategies and inputs to strategic plans across NHS and within the specific teams.
• Works with Stakeholders to develop solution assurance plans and to develop plans for innovation and opening up the market.
• Experience of testing web-based applications and demonstrate examples of security testing.
• Experience designing, developing and implementing automated testing tooling and processes.
• Good use of available information sources to enable efficient and effective planning.
• Manages team within the constraints of NHS strategic plan.
• Previously responsible for a budget, involved in budget setting and working knowledge of financial processes.
• Used to working in a busy environment and experience of working in an Agile environment.
• Experience in using Azure Cloud Platform.
• Experience in Firewall/WAF administration.
• Experience of API testing.
• Experience of PEN testing.
• Experience of NIST Framework & OWASP.

Interpersonal Skills

• Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
• Persuade board and senior managers of the respective merits of different options, innovation and new market opportunities.
• Negotiate on difficult and very complex and detailed issues.
• Awareness of equality and valuing diversity principles.
• Understanding of Confidentiality and Data Protection Act.

NHS North Of England Commissioning Support Unit