Head of Technical Programmes

NHS ENGLAND; City of Westminster; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS England is seeking a senior leader to drive delivery of complex technical programmes and technology services. You will provide strategic direction, governance, and assurance across multi-location teams, balancing insourced and outsourced work to meet organisational objectives.

The role emphasizes deep technical expertise, programme management, and collaboration with internal teams, senior stakeholders, and external suppliers to ensure high-quality digital services and outcomes for NHS

Qualifications

• Deep technical expertise across digital technology environments.
• Strong programme and service management capability.
• Ability to engage with senior stakeholders and external suppliers.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and strategic direction for delivery of complex technical programmes and technology services, ensuring alignment with NHS England's technology strategy and wider objectives including the 10 year health plan.
• Develop, implement and assure the directorate's technical strategy in a complex, evolving digital environment.
• Lead and manage large-scale programme structures across multiple locations, including insourced and outsourced teams with effective governance.
• Provide expert technical and operational assurance into system design, infrastructure, and service introduction ensuring alignment with budgets and standards.

Job description

Delivery Management

Provision central capabilities that support the efficient and effective delivery of the Technology environment. Drive performance, accountability, and transparency in business operations. Efficiently and effectively deliver and support business operations. Deliver technical projects within a live service environment. The post holder will provide strategic and operational leadership across complex, large-scale technical programmes, ensuring the successful delivery, operation and continual improvement of critical digital technology services that support NHS England and the wider health and care system

The role requires deep technical expertise, strong programme and service management capability. The post holder will work closely with internal teams, senior stakeholders, and external suppliers to deliver technology programmes aligned to organisational strategy, manage risk and assurance, and ensure high-quality, reliable digital services that enable improved outcomes for NHS England

Main duties of the job

• Provide leadership and strategic direction for the delivery of complex technical programmes and technology services, ensuring alignment with NHS England's technology strategy and wider organisational objectives including the 10 year health plan.
• Develop, implement and assure the directorates technical strategy, providing clarity and direction in a complex and constantly evolving digital environment.
• Lead and manage large-scale programme structures across multiple locations, including mixed environments of insourced and outsourced teams and suppliers, ensuring effective governance and risk management.
• Provide expert technical and operational assurance into system design, infrastructure architecture and service introduction, ensuring solutions meet customer needs, budget constraints and agreed standards.

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.