UK Domestic Health Lead in London

Palladium is a global company working to design, develop and deliver positive impact on the lives and livelihoods of people around the globe; broaden access to health, water, power, and infrastructure; build enduring, sustainable, and transformative institutions and market systems to address global challenges; and conserve the natural world. We operate in over 90 countries and have a workforce of 2,100 talented, motivated, and diverse staff of all religions, races, languages, and gender identities.

This Opportunity: Palladium's UKEA Partnership is seeking a Health Lead to advance their UK market diversification. This position is crucial for shaping Palladium's regional health portfolio, developing scalable models for expansion, and promoting health equity through collaborative engagement.

Specifically, this individual will drive the end‐to‐end pursuit of health sector tenders with local authorities, initially in the South East region. The ideal candidate will have the ability to create and foster strong relationships as well as build on their existing networks – preferably with commissioners and clinicians in the South East (e.g., Directors of Public Health, Heads of Commissioning, Cabinet Members, health service provider organisations etc.). This person will build a pipeline of opportunities in core health services, healthy lifestyle programmes, and/or information and advice/guidance services, as well as lead the full tender process through to submission and post‐tender negotiations.

Location: The position will be based in the UK, and we are open to a flexible remote working arrangement with occasional travel to one of Palladium's UK offices.

Reporting Lines: The UK Domestic Health Lead will report into a Director, Health, with indirect reporting lines to the senior leadership team. This role will not have supervisory responsibilities to start but will as the domestic health practice grows.

Primary Responsibilities

• Relationship Building: Establish and nurture relationships across the health commissioning and procurement ecosystem, including public health commissioners, procurement teams, elected decision‐makers, and, where relevant, Integrated Care Boards, to foster trust, credibility, and genuine collaboration. Engage in the commissioning cycle to help shape service models before tenders are released. Participate in consultations, soft market testing, and provider engagement events that shape future tenders.
• Business Development: Identify and develop a pipeline of commercially viable business opportunities, primarily with local authorities, with expected expansion to central government ministerial departments. Conduct research and analysis to understand client requirements. Engage with like‐minded companies to form partnerships for strategic pursuits. Lead proposal development, including technical writing and commercial proposals, ensuring all documentation meets compliance requirements. Monitor bid performance and pivot strategy based on lessons learned. Mentor and guide junior staff in business development with UK domestic clients. Ensure alignment of business development efforts with Palladium's global strategy and regional growth priorities.
• Programme Delivery: Provide strategic leadership for won/successful programmes to ensure alignment with client requirements and expectations.
• Other: Contribute to shaping and advancing broader health cluster strategy (UK and international). Provide thought leadership through technical positioning papers, public speaking engagements, and strategic partnerships. Lead quality assurance initiatives to identify and implement opportunities for improvement across the health portfolio. Collaborate with other practice areas and business units to deliver integrated development services and solutions.

Essential Criteria

• 10+ years' experience in UK health, public health, or related fields.
• Demonstrated track record in business development and strategic partnership growth.
• Evidence of strong relationships with commissioners, Primary Care Practitioners (across the ICBs), NHS trusts and Directors of Public Health.
• Commercial acumen – both a strategic understanding of health‐related funds to place and a practical grasp of funding models commonly associated with health related contracts.
• Experience engaging with ICBs and NHS structures, with a clear understanding of how commissioning decisions are made and how funding flows across health systems.
• Proven ability to leverage digital health technologies and online platforms, with experience overseeing the development and management of technology‐enabled partnerships and programmes (e.g., healthy lifestyle initiatives delivered virtually).
• Operational experience within the health sector (programme/service delivery, systems management, data collection/management etc.).
• Deep understanding of UK health systems, council structures, and funding mechanisms.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship‐building skills.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience spanning both council roles and external organisations (consultancy/NGO).
• Demonstrated ability to drive innovation in health service design and delivery, applying creative approaches and evidence‐based solutions to improve outcomes, strengthen partnerships, and adapt to evolving market needs.
• National‐level profile with visibility in health policy forums or conferences.
• Experience securing multi‐year, multi‐council contracts.
• Existing network across health charities and community organisations.
• Applied knowledge of health‐related behavioural science, with the ability to translate insights into programme design, delivery, and stakeholder engagement.

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. We encourage you to apply early as the position may close once a suitable candidate is found.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion: Palladium is committed to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into everything we do. We welcome applications from all sections of society and actively encourage diversity to drive innovation, creativity, success and good practice. We positively welcome and seek to ensure we achieve diversity in our workforce; and that all job applicants and employees receive equal and fair treatment regardless of their background or personal characteristics.

Should you require any adjustments or accommodations to be made during the recruitment process (due to disability, neurodiversity, or for any other circumstance), please email our team at accessibility@thepalladiumgroup.com and we will be in touch to discuss.

Safeguarding: We define Safeguarding as "the preventative action taken by Palladium to protect our people, clients and the communities we work with from harm". We are committed to ensuring that all children and adults who come into contact with Palladium are treated with respect and are free from abuse. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced selection process including safeguarding‐focused interviews and a rigorous due diligence process.