Head of Health Data Acquisition

We have an exciting opportunity for a Head of Health Data Acquisition who will sit within the Science Team and liaise closely with Strategic Partnerships, Communications, Programme Operations, Technology, and Product Teams to ensure continued coordinated, cross-functional team progress in building collaborations across the UK, aimed at securing access to the data required to support effective research. 

The Head of Data Acquisition will raise the profile of Our Future Health within a wide variety of organisations and departments including the NHS, Public Health Scotland, Digital Health and Care Wales, Health and Social Care of Northern Ireland and others, to build strong collaborations with each home nation. This will build awareness and trust with the aim of promoting data linkage to data assets held by these and other organisations and maximise the research value that Our Future Health is creating and ensure that research is supported throughout the UK. 

Our Future Health will be the UK’s largest ever health research programme, bringing people together to develop new ways to detect, prevent, and treat diseases. We are a charity, supported by the UK Government, in partnership with charities and industry. We work closely with the NHS and with public authorities across all nations and regions of the UK.

What you’ll be doing:

You will provide strong leadership, build long-lasting stakeholder relationships, and strategic direction to raise the profile of Our Future Health and build our reputation, and develop the strong stakeholder relationships needed to support the programme’s successful delivery.  

Your key responsibilities will include but not be limited to:

• Lead our relationship with key organisations and teams involved in data linkages across all home nations.
• Continue to develop and implement a data linkage strategy covering our high priority datasets (primary care, secondary care, cancer and death registrations) and beyond in each of the home nations.
• Where appropriate, lead the Our Future Health contribution to the development of data linkage-associated policies in any of the home nations of the UK.
• Advise the Executive Team on issues associated with policy, strategy and data acquisition for our programme, and coordinating our involvement in relevant initiatives.
• Convening and engaging with relevant experts and external organisations to support the development of data linkages, metadata, curation and harmonisation. 
• Lead on all necessary applications and submissions necessary to secure access to required data held by data controllers in all four home nations.

Requirements

To succeed in this role, you will also have some of the following skills:

• Bachelor’s or master’s Degree or equivalent experience, ideally in epidemiology, data, health, science or a related field.
• Significant experience in data management or related field, including a senior or leadership role overseeing data integration projects.
• Experience in leading on strategy and teams associated with large UK data linkages for research.
• A strong understanding of the UK cohort and health data landscape, with a preference for evidenced connections and collaborations across the sector.
• Experience in managing external stakeholder relationships.
• Experience in data governance including drafting and negotiating data linkage applications, contracts, and data sharing agreements.
• An understanding of data linkage technical processes as well as data wrangling and curation for research.
• An understanding of health data linkage policies in the UK, as well as issues that influence Our Future Health.
• Knowledge of UK data protection laws (e.g., Data Protection Act 2018, UK GDPR) and governance frameworks to ensure ethical use of linked data and compliance with legal requirements.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to deliver data linkage projects on time, within scope, and on budget. A preference for familiarity with agile team methodologies.
• Experience of reporting into senior/Executive team structures.
• A proven ability to solve problems in a methodical way and innovate when required.
• Strong relationship building and diplomacy skills.
• Excellent writing and presentation ability, ideally with experience of authoring published reports in a relevant field.
• Self-motivation, professionalism and commitment, with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.

Benefits

• From £89,000 per annum basic salary.
• Generous Pension Scheme – We invest in your future with employer contributions of up to 12%.
• 30 Days Holiday + Bank Holidays – Enjoy a generous holiday allowance with the flexibility to take bank holidays when it suits you.
• Enhanced Parental Leave – Supporting you during life’s biggest moments.
• Career Growth & Development – £500 per year to spend on Learnerbly, our learning platform, plus regular appraisals and development opportunities.
• Cycle to Work Scheme – Save 25-39% on a new bike and accessories through salary sacrifice.
• Home & Tech Savings – Get up to 8% off on IKEA and Currys products, spreading the cost over 12 months through salary sacrifice.
• £1,000 Employee Referral Bonus – Know someone amazing? Get rewarded for bringing them on board!
• Wellbeing Support – Access to Mental Health First Aiders, plus 24/7 online GP services and an Employee Assistance Programme for you and your family.
• A Great Place to Work – We have a lovely Central London office in Holborn, and offer flexible and remote working arrangements.

Join us - let’s prevent disease together.

At Our Future Health, we recognise the importance of having a diverse workforce and ensuring that all candidates, regardless of their background, have equitable access to our application process. We proactively encourage applicants who identify as having a disability, neurodiversity, or long-term health conditions to let us know if they require any reasonable adjustments as part of their application process. 

If you do require any reasonable adjustments, please email us at [email protected] 

Application closing date: 04/09/2025