Head of Evaluation & Insights

HOURS: 37.5

TYPE OF CONTRACT: Fixed term for 12 months

LOCATION: Hybrid working; principal place of business at The Beehive, Gatwick, with travel across Kent, Surrey, Sussex

The role will cover the whole of Kent, Surrey, Sussex geography and the postholder will be required, at times, to travel in and around the geography and periodically outside of the KSS geography.

JOB PURPOSE: Our purpose at Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex is to transform lives through innovation. Working in close partnership with our local systems, innovators and wider stakeholders, our licence remit is to develop a rich pipeline of demonstrably useful, evidence-based innovation and to support the adoption and spread of proven innovation across the systems in our geographical area. The Evaluation and Insights role will support health and care teams across our region to understand the impact of introducing innovations, from new technologies to service redesign, on patients and the public, health and care professionals, budget holders and the wider system. Our evaluation and insights work takes a variety of forms, including rapid insight generation, evidence synthesis, mixed-methods service evaluation, and health economic analysis. We also support the real‑world validation of innovations to understand their impact on patients, staff, and the health economy, and to assess the potential value of wider adoption.

About us: Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) is the health innovation network for the Kent and Medway, Surrey and Sussex regions. There are 15 health innovation networks across England, established by NHS England in 2013. We transform lives through innovation by supporting health and social care teams to find, test and implement new solutions at scale to the NHS's greatest challenges, driving economic growth. We connect citizens, NHS and academic organisations, local authorities, the third sector and industry to facilitate change across whole health and social care economies. Our impact comes from our ability to bring people, resources and organisations together, delivering benefits that could not be achieved alone.

Job responsibilities: The Head of Evaluation & Insights will provide strategic leadership for our approach to evaluation and insights both internal and external, ensuring that we understand the impact of our work, influence action, and share best practice. This is an important new role within Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex's development and growth phase and the job holder will lead the development of the insight and analytical approaches we use to measure impact and value internally and for external stakeholders and customers. The post holder will support the delivery of a hybrid approach to evaluation delivery using internal and external expertise and services. This job description provides an overview of roles and responsibilities for the Head of Evaluation & Insights, noting that an early requirement of the role will be to lead the development of the detailed programme of work for the evaluation and insights function and embedding it into the organisation.

Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex operates a flexible resourcing model which means that the details of specific evaluation and insights work may be varied over time to meet the needs of the organisation in supporting delivery of commissioner requirements.

Key result areas: The post holder will lead and deliver a defined set of evaluation and insights activity to generate evidence of impact on health and healthcare through working with our stakeholders. The post holder will be responsible for the successful delivery of the required outcomes relating to evaluation and insights work, including governance and assurance, monitoring, risk management as appropriate and be responsible for reporting using our internal Verto tool. The post holder will represent Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex at the Network wide Community of Practice forum. The post holder will generate income from third party sources for the organisation.

Key responsibilities will include:

• To collaborate with Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex's teams including delivery (including innovation and enterprise), translational research, commercial/DDAI and Corporate in the design and delivery of evaluation and insight activity and implementation strategy.
• To lead the delivery and growth of a pipeline of evaluation and insights activity (in line with Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex's business development ambitions), securing funding from a range of sources, and collaborating with our diverse and multi‑disciplinary stakeholder communities.
• Support the selection and management of evaluation suppliers and delivery activity to enhance the insights tools and approaches, ensuring they meet the needs of the organisation and evolving these over time.
• Manage the supplier framework for evaluation services.
• Provide scoping of evaluations for innovators, health and care stakeholders, Pharma and internal colleagues as required.
• Design and deliver webinars in relation to evaluation and analytic services for a range of stakeholders, not limited to but focusing on Innovators and system leads.
• To work closely with Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex teams to ensure meaningful patient and public involvement and community engagement is embedded in our evaluation methods and processes.
• To advocate the appropriate use and value of data and insight to drive improvement and innovation and business cases for health economics through communications, processes, webinars and workshops for and to our stakeholders.
• Embed a culture and system of continuous learning into approach to work in order to evolve our core methods in evaluation, spread and adoption, knowledge management and patient and public partnership.
• Quality assure the delivery of evaluation and insights work and activity.
• Be a role model for best practice, learning from experience and from others, supporting the spread of innovation within the organisation and beyond.
• Be accountable for the delivery of robust information systems to ensure that all evaluation and insights documentation is stored and used effectively.
• Communicate the vision for Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex and support the development of strategy and operational policies that support this vision, as may be required.
• Communicate, engage and build relationships with key stakeholders across the organisation, wider health innovation network and wider health and social care systems and partner organisations.
• Engage and manage relationships with stakeholders to achieve a common purpose and realise mutual benefits.
• Forge close working relationships across the organisation and beyond to facilitate an effective matrix management approach to delivery of evaluation and insights activity.
• Provide advice and guidance to the wider programme and project management team as a subject matter expert in insights and evaluation methodologies, tools and approaches and where appropriate provide training to staff.
• Communicate highly complex, sensitive and contentious information to a wide range of audiences, including in public and local consultations where there may be hostile/antagonistic audiences.
• Hold budgetary responsibility for the evaluation and insights function, tracking and monitoring spend.
• Constantly strive for value for money and greater efficiency in the use of budgets and to ensure that they operate in recurrent financial balance year on year.
• Build a collaborative working environment and innovative culture.
• Advise on innovative opportunities and support all departments in their strategies and programmes relating to evaluation and insights activity.
• Promote innovation and development initiatives as may be appropriate to secure cost and service improvements from alternative methods of operation or re‑engineering existing processes.
• Contribute to the development of strategic processes and policies that support the work of evaluation and insights activity within the wider organisation and across health and social care.
• Develop policies relating to the delivery of evaluation and insights work.
• Work within organisation and national guidance, interpreting national guidance relevant to evaluation and insights activity and act as a subject matter specialist.
• Provide advice and guidance across the Health Innovation Network and beyond on specific subject matter areas.
• Work with other Health Innovation Network Evaluation leads to develop long‑term strategic plans that integrate evaluation and insights activity across the Health Innovation Network and the two local integrated care systems we serve.
• Responsible for leading the delivery of the portfolio of evaluation and insights work for Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex.
• Leading and overseeing the set‑up and delivery of evaluation and insights work both in the short and medium term.
• Working across all teams and with the Executive Management Group to design and develop a model for this service post the contract term.
• Representing Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex on the Network Community of Practice Group.

There will be an INCOME GENERATION TARGET (To be confirmed).

Person Specification:

Specific Skills- Analysis & Judgement: Ability to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information where there may be significant challenge. Excellent analytical skills with an ability to analyse and consider complex information and develop a range of options. Ability to anticipate problems before they arise and offer appropriate solutions. Able to work with research partners and undertake complex audits and collation of results. Experience of collecting and interpreting information to support change programmes and the ability to use Word and Excel as well as a range of other relevant evaluation and insights tools and software packages. Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making. Problem diagnosis and solving using creative thinking. Able to identify and assess a clear pathway through a complex situation which leads to a clear output involving a number of different parties and opinions. Listen, question and provide constructive challenge. Evaluating and measuring performance/culture e.g. through culture/climate surveys and/or debriefing. Sensemaking and strategic thinking: seeing the bigger picture, mapping out the system, identifying connections and gaps, appreciating complexity and interdependencies.

Knowledge: Knowledge of data insight, architecture, analysis, research and governance best‑practice, methodologies, tools, and frameworks. Knowledge of patient safety, improvement and innovation, coaching, effectiveness/related field e.g. research, audit, evidence‑based practice, quality improvement. Knowledge of a range of change/improvement/programme & project models including use of risks, issues, and project change control. Must understand the background to and aims of current healthcare policy and appreciate the implications of these. Must understand the relationship between the Department of Health and individual provider and commissioning organisations. Excellent working knowledge of evaluation and insights software and tools as required for the role, Microsoft Office suite and advanced keyboard skills. Knowledge of Project Management software e.g. Verto. Knowledge of a wider range of useful tools used to deliver high quality evaluation and insights activity. Knowledge and experience of implementing major changes to working methods and evaluating its effectiveness. Knowledge of the psychology of change and human factors.

Qualifications: University Degree in analytics or business related subject. Educated to Masters level or equivalent experience in a relevant area of evaluation and/or health economics. Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to role. Formal training/coaching qualifications.

Specific skills- Communication & Relationships: Advanced written and oral communication skills. Highly developed motivational, influencing and negotiating skills with proven experience of success at senior levels of organisations and across organisations including with clinicians and directors and innovators. Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively at all levels with a wide variety of stakeholders. Experience of dissemination activities such as giving presentations, writing reports and blogs, conferences, podcasts and social media. Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action. Able to work as part of a team and able to lead and direct multi-skilled teams. Ability to draw complex qualitative and quantitative information from a range of sources and present it in a clear and concise way. Ability to negotiate on difficult and contentious issues including performance and change. Strong ability to build relations with internal and external partners which are critical in securing the strategic objectives of the business. Experience of developing and delivering training in a variety of formats. Experience of coordinating and chairing meetings. Experience of planning and facilitating both small (30) scale events. Comfortable with conflict and ambiguity. Experience of patient and carer involvement and/or co‑design. Experience of using virtual communication tools e.g. social media, facilitating online meetings or events.

Experience: Significant management experience in health or social care, or wider life sciences/education/academic setting. Experience in undertaking and/or commissioning a wide range of research methods including rigorous quantitative and qualitative techniques such as surveys, mapping exercises, interviews and focus groups, ethnographic research, health economics, Budget Impact Modelling and advanced statistical analysis. Experience of successfully applying for a range of evaluation and research grants and developing collaborative evaluation and insights projects with other organisations. Experience of managing data security and data protection legislation, including implementation of GDPR compliant approaches. Experience of delivering complex evaluation and insights work in a health or life science setting including but not limited to health economics. Record of achievement of delivering objectives and finding innovative solutions to problems. Broad experience and evidence of working in partnership with NHS organisations at all levels and successfully engaging with multi‑disciplinary and/or multi‑agency teams to achieve successful outcomes. Previous experience of managing budgets including budget setting and monitoring. Experience of researching best practice and developing solutions that can achieve optimal outcomes for all stakeholders. Experience of generating income and wider business development partnership working. Working with commercial or industry partners, or external suppliers. Policy and strategy development. Working with community and voluntary groups and excluded sections of the community. Experience of working across organisational boundaries and of delivering projects across multi‑disciplinary sites working with multiple stakeholders. Experience of managing and supervising staff. Experience of engaging with, accessing and interpreting data from the Secure Data Environment.

Specific Skills - Planning & Organisation: Excellent organisational and time management skills. Able to work independently as required, to tight deadlines and to prioritise effectively against conflicting priorities. Able to set own agenda and able to provide leadership, motivation and inspiration to facilitate collaborative working across the agenda. Experience of leading complex, large‑scale change, allocating roles and delegating responsibilities. Able to formulate and implement long term strategic programme plans which impacts on the whole organisation including developing operational frameworks. Ability to effectively plan and think strategically and analyse and resolve problems in a multi‑disciplinary environment. Organised and able to confidently lead and manage a portfolio of projects, delivering on time and to an excellent standard. Creative, inquisitive and logical thinker, looking for opportunities to add value beyond the immediate delivery requirements of the work portfolio. Knowledge and experience of network development to support collaboration for improvement.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.