Programme Manager – Regions & Communities

Purpose of the post

The Programme Manager will play a central role in strengthening HDR UK’s Regions by acting as a focal point for engagement, intelligence gathering, and coordination across the HDR UK Regions. The role is focused on developing a clear, evidence-informed understanding of regional data capability, access pathways, and ecosystem activity, and on using this insight to support coherence, prioritisation, and adoption across HDR UK and the wider system.

Working closely with regional leads and internal teams, the postholder will harness regional intelligence on data assets, expertise, access challenges, and use cases, helping to articulate how regional activity fits within local and national ecosystems, and where it has relevance for national priorities, policy, investment, and industry engagement. The role will ensure strong linkage between regional insight, the UK Health Data Research Alliance, and the Products & Services Directory, supporting visibility, reuse, and adoption of regional capability.

Main responsibilities

Regional Engagement and Intelligence

• Act as a primary point of coordination for the HDR UK Regions, building strong and trusted relationships with regional leads and delivery teams.
• Develop and maintain a clear understanding of what Regions are doing in practice, including data assets, access routes, governance arrangements, and operational realities.
• Capture and synthesise regional intelligence on data access latency, organisational blockers, and system friction, drawing directly on regional experience.
• Support Regions to articulate their strengths, challenges, and opportunities in ways that are credible and useful to national partners, funders, and industry.

Data Capability, Insight and Use Cases

• Collate and maintain structured insight on regional data capability, expertise, and infrastructure, contributing to a coherent view of the UK health data ecosystem.
• Identify and surface regional activities that represent use cases or exemplars of national significance, including alignment with NHS priorities, government policy, or industry interest.
• Support understanding of how regional capability fits within wider local ecosystems (e.g. NHS systems, universities, industry, local government) and how this connects to national initiatives.
• Ensure regional intelligence informs internal discussion, prioritisation, and strategic decision-making.

Linking Regions, Alliance and Products & Services

• Ensure strong connectivity between regional activity and the UK Health Data Research Alliance, supporting collaboration, alignment, and shared learning.
• Support identification and onboarding of regional assets, services, and exemplars into the Products & Services Directory, improving visibility and reuse.
• Help ensure regional capability is presented clearly and consistently to external audiences, including industry, policymakers, and funders.

System Coordination and Strategic Support

• Work across HDR UK teams to bring together regional, programme, and partnership insight into a coherent, evidence-informed picture.
• Contribute to understanding of system-level issues such as data access, governance, sustainability, and adoption, using regional intelligence as a key input.
• Support preparation of briefings and materials for senior leadership and external engagement, drawing on regional insight and evidence.

Ways of Working

• Operate in a light-touch, enabling manner, respecting regional autonomy while supporting coherence and shared understanding.
• Use structured tools and platforms (e.g. Monday.com) to maintain high-quality, current information with clear ownership and controlled editing.
• Work collaboratively across teams, navigating ambiguity and translating complex system insight into clear, usable outputs.

General responsibilities

• Enable use of appropriate team communications and project management tools.
• Support development of reference communication materials such as standard presentation and communications decks.
• Support the set-up and delivery of stakeholder meetings and events where required.
• Be prepared and able to work flexibly to support colleagues as needed, adapting to an evolving environment and emerging priorities.
• Planning and organising
• Problem solving
• Decision making

To view full JD, please download the attachment.

Please note, as we are a UK-based organisation,  applicants must be living in, and eligible to work in, the UK. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time. 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

We politely request no contact from recruitment agencies or media sales. We do not accept speculative CVs from recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.