Director of Health & Inequalities
The Health Foundation
Based at 8 Salisbury Square, London EC4Y 8AP
circa £150,000 per annum
Health is our most precious asset. Good health enables us to live happy, fulfilling lives and to achieve our potential. It fuels our prosperity – a healthy and productive labour force is the engine that powers our economy. And it helps to build a stronger society by enabling us to play a full part in family life, make social connections and contribute to our communities. Yet good health remains out of the reach of too many people in the UK.
As an independent endowed charitable Foundation committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK, we shine a light on what needs to be done to improve health and care for the UK population. We inform policy at a national level, we give grants to support those working at the front line to innovate and improve care, and we fund initiatives to improve the health of local populations. Our aspiration is to fund practical changes and use what we know works on the ground to inform effective policymaking and enable wider systemic change for the better. By sharing what we learn, collaborating with others and building people’s skills and knowledge, we aim to make a difference and build a healthier population.
THE ROLE
We have three strategic priorities: improving people’s health and reducing health inequalities; providing evidence and analysis to improve health and care policy; and supporting radical innovation and improvement in health and care services.
Within this context, our Director of Health and Inequalities leads all our work on population health – one of the twin ‘pillars’ to our Strategy 2030. In the role, you will be responsible for shaping the portfolio for our population health work, setting priorities, delivering our business plan commitments and ensuring our work is always carried out to the highest possible standards. This is a high-profile expert role at the heart of our mission.
We are seeking an accomplished, highly credible professional with a strong personal profile, reputation as a thought leader and a track record of leading and managing significant programmes of work in the pursuit of impact and change. The ideal candidate will combine their strategic insight into population health, technical expertise and real world experience, and role model the professionalism and commitment to our mission, purpose and strategy expected of the team.
This is a particularly rewarding time to join us, as we embark on the next phase of our development. With the NHS and social care system under pressure to meet need, improvements in life expectancy stalling and health inequalities holding back potential, the need for our work has never been greater. Your contribution can truly help shape the future of health and care across the nation and we very much look forward to hearing from you.
INFORMATION
Download the candidate brief to find out about the role.
DOWNLOADHow to apply
To make an application, please click on the apply now button below, with the following prepared:
- Your CV (no more than three sides).
- A covering letter that sets out briefly your experience against the criteria in Part One of the Person Specification (no more than two sides).
- Please tell us how you became aware of this opportunity.
We would also be grateful if you would complete the Equality and Diversity monitoring form on the online application process. This form is for monitoring purposes only and is not treated as part of your application.
Recruitment timetable
Closing date: Friday 10th April 2026
Preliminary interviews: Likely to be late April 2026
Final Panel interviews: Likely to be mid-May, potentially w/c 11th May 2026
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