ADP Strategic Coordinator (AW)

NHS Ayrshire & Arran; Chandigarh; Hybrid; INR 7,628,000 - 8,899,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Borders is seeking an accomplished public health leader to join the Public Health Department as Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) Strategic Co-ordinator. This senior role provides strategic leadership to the ADP Partnership Board and supports local strategies across treatment, policy and prevention.

The post offers hybrid working across Borders Council Headquarters and Education Centre, with travel throughout the Borders. PVG checks and UK eligibility to work are required.

Qualifications

• Substantial senior-level experience in public health or health improvement.
• Strong track record developing strategy, leading change and delivering complex programmes across organisational boundaries.
• Confident leader able to influence senior stakeholders, manage competing priorities, translate evidence into clear recommendations.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership on alcohol and drugs treatment, prevention, policy and health improvement.
• Lead the development, implementation and evaluation of ADP strategies and delivery plans.
• Commission, procure, monitor and evaluate alcohol and drug services to ensure high-quality care.
• Manage ADP resources, including a budget around £2.3 million, with reporting on performance and risks.
• Lead and develop the ADP Support Team with workforce planning and service improvement.
• Build partnerships across organisations and ensure lived experience informs priorities.
• Analyse data, respond to emerging harms, and produce reports for senior leaders and Scottish Government.
• Deputise for senior managers as required.

Skills

Public health leadership

Strategy development

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Communication

Negotiation

Budget management

Education

Master’s degree in public health

Equivalent professional qualification

Job description

Band 8a | 36hrs 1.0 WTE PERMANENT

Public Health Department | Education Department, Borders General Hospital | Hybrid

Are you an experienced public health leader who can turn strategy into action and build effective partnerships to reduce alcohol- and drug-related harm?

OUR VALUES IN ACTION

• Compassion
• Kindness
• Integrity
• Teamwork
• Excellence

ADP Strategic Co-ordinator

Band 8a | 36hrs 1.0 WTE PERMANENT

Public Health Department | Education Department, Borders General Hospital | Hybrid

Are you an experienced public health leader who can turn strategy into action and build effective partnerships to reduce alcohol- and drug-related harm?

NHS Borders is seeking an accomplished and collaborative professional to join the Public Health Department as Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) Strategic Co-ordinator. This senior role provides strategic leadership to the ADP Partnership Board and supports the development and delivery of local strategies and delivery plans across alcohol and drugs treatment, policy and prevention.

You will act as lead officer for the Health and Social Care Partnership in the commissioning, procurement and evaluation of alcohol and drug services and interventions. Working across NHS Borders, Scottish Borders Council, statutory services, the third sector, independent providers and communities, you will provide specialist advice, strengthen partnership delivery and ensure robust reporting against local and Scottish Government priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership and specialist public health expertise on alcohol and drugs treatment, prevention, policy and health improvement.
• Lead the development, implementation and evaluation of ADP strategies, delivery plans, programmes and services.
• Commission, procure, monitor and evaluate alcohol and drug services, ensuring high-quality, safe, effective and person-centred provision.
• Manage delegated ADP resources, including a budget currently valued at approximately £2.3 million, and provide clear performance, risk and assurance reporting.
• Lead and develop the specialist ADP Support Team, including workforce planning, performance management and service improvement.
• Build effective partnerships across organisational and professional boundaries and ensure the voice of people with lived and living experience informs ADP priorities.
• Analyse complex data and evidence, respond to emerging harms, and produce high-quality reports, briefings and presentations for senior leaders, partners and the Scottish Government.
• Contribute to wider Public Health leadership and deputise for senior managers when required.

About You

You will bring substantial senior-level experience in public health or health improvement, together with a strong record of developing strategy, leading change and delivering complex programmes across organisational boundaries. You will be a confident and credible leader, able to influence senior stakeholders, manage competing priorities and translate complex evidence into clear recommendations and action.

You should have a Master’s degree in public health or an allied discipline, an equivalent professional qualification, or equivalent relevant experience. You will also need experience of managing people, budgets and projects; strong analytical, communication and negotiation skills; and the ability to work autonomously in a complex and fast-moving environment.

Registration as a Public Health Practitioner, or evidence of working towards registration, would be desirable.

Working with us

The post is based within the Public Health Department, with hybrid working across Scottish Borders Council Headquarters and/or the Education Centre. The role requires travel throughout the Scottish Borders and occasional attendance at meetings or events outside normal working hours. A PVG Disclosure check is required.

We welcome applications from experienced leaders who share our commitment to reducing health inequalities, improving outcomes and working in partnership with communities and services across the Scottish Borders.

Closing date for applications: 25th November 2026.

Owen MacDonald at [e-mail].

To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service.

As part of the pre-employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre-settled status. To find out more about these routes of permission, please refer to the GOV.UK website here.

For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licenced Sponsor, and if the post does not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found here.

It is ESSENTIAL that you have checked that you either already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form

• PLEASE NOTE: We cannot accept late applications so please ensure your application is submitted early***

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.

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