Programme Director for Data Delivery

This role sits within the Institute Data Office and works in close partnership with the Chief Data Officer, Programme Director – Data Partnerships and the Chief of Staff & Director of Strategy, who oversees the Institute’s Brain Health portfolio.

The Programme Director – Data Delivery is accountable for translating this into delivery – ensuring that complex, multi-partner data programmes are executed effectively, at pace, and to a high standard. This role is the primary delivery lead for UK-wide data programmes, ensuring that strategic intent is converted into real, working data access and analysis.

The Programme Director – Data Delivery is both a strategic leader – proactively identifying opportunities and developing plans to realise them – and a hands-on deliverer. The role will play a pivotal role, working with teams across the Institute and with UK-wide NHS data partners, academic leads and commercial collaborators to initiate, progress and deliver UK-wide data studies.

The initial focus will be to deliver the GSK shingles vaccine study – working with the Chief of Staff and Director of Strategy, alongside colleagues at the UK Dementia Research Institute and study research leads, Professors Angela Wood and Cornelia Van Duijn and acting as the operational lead across all partners.

This role is responsible for the end-to-end delivery of UK-wide health data programmes, ensuring that:

• data can be accessed and used in practice across TREs;
• academic teams can deliver high-quality analysis efficiently; and
• multi-partner programmes are executed to time, quality, and partner expectations.

The role will lead the overall delivery of the programme, working with project team members across HDR UK and its delivery partners. They will also contribute to building a scalable UK health data delivery capability grounded in real-world execution, creating a standardised playbook for multi-partner delivery to create reusable and lasting capability that can be reapplied in other areas. Over time, they will work across other programmes and projects to support data delivery.

As such, this role requires astute leadership abilities and experience, first-hand knowledge of NHS routine data use for research and innovation, experience with commercial/pharma sponsored research delivery and excellent people management and programme management skills.

Main responsibilities:

• Delivery of UK-Wide Data Programmes – leading the day-to-day delivery of complex, multi-partner data programmes;
• Translate strategic priorities into clear delivery plans and execution;
• Drive progress against milestones, ensuring pace, discipline, and accountability and own delivery outcomes across time, quality, and cost;
• Operationalising Data Access Across TREs – work across multiple TREs/Secure Data Environments to ensure consistent, efficient access for researchers, identify and resolve practical barriers to accessing and using data;
• Work closely with academic leads to ensure they can access the right data, navigate TRE environments effectively and deliver their analyses to agreed timelines;
• Provide hands-on support to resolve delivery friction, including data access issues, governance bottlenecks and technical/environment inconsistencies;
• Multi-Partner Delivery Management, coordinating day-to-day delivery across NHS data providers TREs/SDEs, academic teams and industry partners, ensuring clarity of roles, responsibilities, and timelines across all delivery partners;
• Manage interdependencies and proactively escalate risks where needed and maintain alignment to delivery commitments;
• Apply strong understanding of UK NHS data structures and flows, Trusted Research Environments / Secure Data Environments, data governance and access processes to ensure solutions are workable, efficient, and scalable in delivery terms;
• Establish and run effective programme management disciplines: detailed planning and tracking, risk and issue management and delivery reporting;
• Build a Scalable Delivery Capability – capture delivery learning and translate into standardised approaches to UK-wide studies and reusable processes and playbooks for multi-partner delivery grounded in real-world execution;
• Be prepared and able to work flexibly to support colleagues as needed, adapting to an evolving environment and emerging priorities;
• Be responsible for line management of team members as required;
• Represent HDR UK at conferences and events.