Policy And Research Manager - Employment And Health (Ftc Or Secondment...

The Health Foundation; England; Hybrid; GBP 63,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

The Health Foundation seeks a Policy and Research Manager to shape employment and health policy in the UK, developing options around the NHS’s role in economic participation and sickness absence. This six‑month post (Dec 2026–Jun 2027) is hybrid, with in‑person work required at least two days per week; salary is £70,124 per year plus excellent benefits.

You will work with the Healthy Lives, Analysis, Research and Communications teams, present to external audiences and draft a range of outputs

Responsibilities

• Develop and take forward a work programme to progress the recommendations made by the Commission for Healthier Working Lives.
• Keep abreast of the current work and health agenda, how changes in trends in health shape people's needs, and how health issues are underpinning the high levels of young people not in education, employment or training.
• Be confident in working with external partners, leading on the delivery of delegated aspects of the programme, following good practice in programme and project management.
• Horizon scan external developments in related areas of policy, practice, research and data, to ensure the work programme remains relevant and leading debate in this area.
• Work with the wider Healthy Lives team, Analysis team, Research team and Communications to ensure that the team's activity has external relevance to the work and health agenda and is impactful in promoting policy and practice that supports good health.
• Present to external audiences at various events including roundtables and seminars, and leading events with external stakeholders.
• Draft and contribute to a range of high-quality outputs including reports, briefings, blogs, presentations and interactive web tools.

Job description

Policy and Research Manager - Employment and Health

Salary: £70,124 per annum plus excellent benefits

Contract type: Fixed-term contract or secondment - December 2026 to June 2027

Hours per week: 37.5 hours per week or part time min 30 hours. All staff are required to work in person for a minimum of two days per week, in line with our hybrid working policy. The post-holder may be required to undertake some work outside normal working hours.

About the Health Foundation

Health is our most precious asset. Good health enables us to live happy, fulfilling lives, fuels our prosperity and helps build a stronger society. Yet good health remains out of reach for too many people in the UK, and health and care services are struggling to provide access to timely, high-quality care.

The Health Foundation is an independent charitable organisation with a mission to build a healthier UK. We work to achieve this by generating high quality research and analysis; developing practical solutions to the biggest problems in health and health services; engaging, convening and building coalitions to build understanding, inform debate and drive action; and developing the long-term capability needed to transform health and care.

More about us

Our values

We expect everyone who works with us to be committed to our values and to share our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. Our values are impact, evidence, integrity, and collaboration. You can read more about them in our five-year strategy. We also expect everyone to share our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation and to help deliver our EDI strategy.

About the role

As Policy and Research Manager, you will play a vital role in furthering our influence and research around maintaining good worker health and supporting people to stay in work. You will further develop the policies recommended by the Commission for Healthier Working Lives and influence policy makers and employers to enact them. During the six-month post, you will lead a programme of work which includes developing policy options in relation to the NHS's role in supporting economic participation, improving the legal framework governing sickness absence, and expanding access to caseworker-led support to help people with health conditions remain and thrive in work.

• Develop and take forward a work programme to progress the recommendations made by the Commission for Healthier Working Lives.
• Keep abreast of the current work and health agenda, how changes in trends in health shape people's needs, and how health issues are underpinning the high levels of young people not in education, employment or training.
• Be confident in working with external partners, leading on the delivery of delegated aspects of the programme, following good practice in programme and project management.
• Horizon scan external developments in related areas of policy, practice, research and data, to ensure the work programme remains relevant and leading debate in this area.
• Work with the wider Healthy Lives team, Analysis team, Research team and Communications to ensure that the team's activity has external relevance to the work and health agenda and is impactful in promoting policy and practice that supports good health.
• Present to external audiences at various events including roundtables and seminars, and leading events with external stakeholders.
• Draft and contribute to a range of high-quality outputs including reports, briefings, blogs, presentations and interactive web tools.

Our commitment to equality, inclusion and diversity

We are committed to an inclusive hiring process, where every candidate has the chance to showcase their unique skills and experience in an accessible and supported environment, to ensure that we can make the best appointment for each opportunity on merit.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and encourage those from underrepresented groups in this field to apply to us.

We have identified three key areas to improving diversity. Our aim to achieve a more balanced representation across our organisation, with a particular focus on increasing the number of women in leadership, enhancing the representation of people from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds and welcoming more people with disabilities. As part of this commitment, we strongly encourage applications from these groups.

If you require any support through this process, please contact [e-mail]. Help us work together to make the recruitment process and potential future employment more accessible and enjoyable for you.

Closing date: Sunday, 8 November 2026, 23:59

Interview / Contact date: Tuesday, 24 November 2026