Head of Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC)

Our Values

It’s great to know that you are interested in working with us at Coventry City Council. As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for us is committed to our One Coventry values and shares our commitment to becoming a more diverse and inclusive organisation. 

Our Values are:

About the team we are recruiting to

Coventry City Council has been awarded a £5 million boost to tackle inequalities and improve health outcomes across Coventry through research. 

The funding is awarded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to create a pioneering Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) in the city. 

Coventry’s collaboration will undertake this ground breaking work and includes Coventry University, the University of Warwick, University College London, and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire as well as a wide range of partners within the community and voluntary sectors. 

This is part of a wider £50 million investment from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) for a series of local government partnerships across the country, boosting local authorities’ capacity and capability to conduct high-quality research to tackle health inequalities. 

The 10 pioneering Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRCs) provide new research funding to embed a culture of evidence-based decision-making within local government. The HDRCs will help to stimulate economic growth, particularly in some of the most deprived areas of the country and contribute to the Government’s plans to take action for the longer-term resilience of the health and wealth of the country.  

The new partnerships, spanning the length and breadth of the UK, follow a major drive for enabling research to address wider determinants of population health and health inequalities, explicitly responding to the needs of local underserved groups and areas. Examples include facilitating research to better understand and introduce interventions to help with childhood obesity, Covid recovery, mental health and drug use. 

The awarded local authorities stretch from Plymouth in the South West, to Aberdeen in Scotland, including three London Boroughs and regions in the Midlands and North of England. 

The announcement builds on NIHR work started before the COVID-19 pandemic to understand local authorities’ research and evidence challenges. It demonstrates the Government’s aim to stimulate economic growth in all parts of the country and identify local solutions that address the most difficult challenges across the health and care system. 

What is the job role?

We are appointing the Head of the Coventry’s Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC). 

This is an excellent opportunity for you to lead on building an exciting new research platform which will address health inequalities through building research evidence around the wider determinants of health.

Your main duties will be to:

• Work within a unique research collaboration across Coventry City Council (CCC) University of Warwick, Coventry University, University College London, NHS and a wide range of voluntary sector partner organisations.
• Oversee, plan, organise and communicate the start-up and ongoing functions of Coventry’s HDRC programmes and ensure the NIHR reporting requirements are met.
• Provide expert advice and guidance across the HDRC, through the management and oversight of the five key major programmes of the HDRC.
• Drive organisational culture change and a meaningful engagement with communities

The funding for this project is for an initial 3 year period, however this is likely to be extended further, subject to funding. 

Who are we looking for?

We want you to have the passion, leadership and skills needed to drive this new and exciting initiative. You will be someone who has the right skills to:

• Work across local government, higher education institutions, the NHS, local communities, community groups and the voluntary sector.
• Use a variety of consultation and engagement techniques.
• Use project and process management methodologies.
• Manage multiple, complex projects working with several different agencies.

Candidates from under-represented groups are encouraged to apply for this role.

For an informal chat about the role please contact Sue Frossell, Director of Coventry HDRC at Harmony.Lully@coventry.gov.uk

When applying for this role you will be asked to write a personal statement. Applications will be shortlisted against these points:  

• Relevant job experience for this role
• Your experience of working in complex multi-agency environments
• Your knowledge and understanding of research capacity development, relevant research and data protection legislation/guidance as well as knowledge of consultation, engagement, and community development techniques
• Your ability to lead and manage at a senior level on system transformation or complex, long-term projects related to public health or the wider determinants of health.

For full details on the application process please read the attached document on our jobs page labelled 'Coventry City Council Application Process'

Interview date: 29th March 2023

About Coventry

Coventry has a proud, innovative and creative spirit that throughout its history has seen communities come together to tackle problems and bring about real social change.

We are cutting-edge, challenging, youthful, vibrant and diverse.

At Coventry we are committed to excellence in everything we do. With around 4800 staff from a range of different backgrounds, our aim is to recruit and develop talented people who will focus on our customers, take responsibility, work together and find better ways of doing things.

To deliver the best services to our residents, we need the best people working for us to make a difference to our communities.

If you join us, we will provide a fantastic rewards and benefits package - to find out more please visit https://www.coventry.gov.uk/council-vacancies