Leeds, London

Job Summary

In the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), we are proud of our purpose – to enable everyone to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. To achieve this, and create a great place to work, we have four values: we are inclusive, we constantly improve, we challenge, and we are agile. If this sounds like an environment you would like to work in, we would love to hear from you.

The DHSC are currently in the early stages of a major transformation programme to bring together NHS England employees and DHSC employees to help enable delivery of the 10 Year Health Plan. This is an exciting time to join both the DHSC and the HR function as we embark on this journey.

Within the HR function, this role sits within the Culture and Leadership team in our Organisational Development unit. The team are responsible for enabling the DHSC to develop a culture in line with its values and delivery mission, including a specific focus on assisting leadership with their development.

Crucial to our service offer, is understanding the current culture and staff sentiment across the whole organisation, as well as the development requirements of leadership. We deliver various high-profile events and engagement initiatives to achieve this. This is where you come in - this role will lead on the design and delivery of engaging and impactful engagement activities including leadership events.

The outputs from your work will be fundamental to shaping our leadership and management development programmes, the wider transformation programme, and empower our senior leaders and managers to achieve DHSC’s strategic priorities in line with our departmental values: we are inclusive, we constantly improve, we challenge, and we are agile.

Job Description

The Leadership Engagement and Events Manager will design, deliver, and continuously improve a portfolio of high impact leadership engagement events and activities that support DHSC’s strategic priorities and strengthen leadership capability across the department.

This includes organising established events for the leadership community. Primarily, this is an annual gathering of the Senior Civil Service (SCS) from across the organisation and a separate, linked event for staff at Grade 6 or 7, who make up a large proportion of our leadership and line management cohort. The frequency and shape of these may alter as required by the Executive Team.

In addition, this role will also launch and lead on a new engagement initiative – all staff pulse surveys, which are planned to commence in the spring. They will support leadership sense-making and work with stakeholders to translate insights into clear priorities and actionable next steps.

You will also provide essential administration support to ensure smooth coordination, governance, and delivery of the wider leadership and organisational development portfolio.

The role plays a pivotal part in shaping how senior leaders connect, collaborate, and engage with organisational priorities, ensuring that events and interventions are evidence based, inclusive, and aligned with DHSC’s leadership and management development offer.

The Leadership Engagement and Events Manager will design, deliver, and continuously improve a portfolio of high impact leadership engagement events and activities that support DHSC’s strategic priorities and strengthen leadership capability across the department.

This includes organising established events for the leadership community. Primarily, this is an annual gathering of the Senior Civil Service (SCS) from across the organisation and a separate, linked event for staff at Grade 6 or 7, who make up a large proportion of our leadership and line management cohort. The frequency and shape of these may alter as required by the Executive Team.

In addition, this role will also launch and lead on a new engagement initiative – all staff pulse surveys, which are planned to commence in the spring. They will support leadership sense-making and work with stakeholders to translate insights into clear priorities and actionable next steps.

You will also provide essential administration support to ensure smooth coordination, governance, and delivery of the wider leadership and organisational development portfolio.

The role plays a pivotal part in shaping how senior leaders connect, collaborate, and engage with organisational priorities, ensuring that events and interventions are evidence based, inclusive, and aligned with DHSC’s leadership and management development offer.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities

Organise leadership events - design and oversee the delivery of our flagship leadership engagement events including the Leadership Forum for DHSC Senior Civil Servants, the Director Forum for Directors and Leadership Live for our Grade 6 and Grade 7 colleagues.
Maintain engagement - build and maintain positive engagement with target audiences between events, including participation with the new departmental pulse survey, to create a cohesive and holistic engagement experience that aligns with DHSC’s wider leadership and management development offer.
Manage pulse surveys - launch and manage the cycle of departmental pulse survey activity, engaging senior leaders with insights to support leadership sense‑making, working with stakeholders to progress agreed priorities, and ensuring decisions are clearly communicated to staff.
Collaborate - work collaboratively with our key stakeholders, including senior sponsors, other HR teams, internal communications and strategy teams to identify, discuss, agree and manage the objectives, design, logistics and evaluation of interventions.
Analyse data - use quantitative and qualitative data to inform sense-making, setting priorities and agreeing activities, e.g. the annual Civil Service People Survey and pulse survey data, feedback from previous events and leadership development activity.
Innovate - seek ways to continuously improve and innovate both our services and product offerings, especially in relation to how we engage our leaders on DHSC’s priorities.
Report - provide good quality verbal and written reports on the impact of activities delivered under this portfolio of work for a range of stakeholders and weave any feedback back into the portfolio.
Procure external expertise - procure and manage any external services and provision that is required to support interventions.
Team player - play an active role within the Culture and Leadership Team, and the wider Organisation Development Unit, where we aim to offer each other high support with high challenge, fostering a high-performance environment and a great place to work. This includes providing support for other delivery initiatives across our portfolio, as necessary to meet demand.

Essential

Key skills and experience required for the role

Strong planning and organisational skills to deliver quality outcomes to tight deadlines, with high attention to detail
Strong stakeholder management skills, including experience of working with senior leaders, handling challenge constructively and bringing people together around a common goal
Proven experience of designing, delivering and evaluating high-impact engagement events and activity for senior managers and leaders, including in-person, virtual/hybrid delivery methods and other digital tools
Experience of building and managing effective collaborative relationships with internal partners and external suppliers to deliver successful outcomes
Experience of using data, evidence, and insights to identify themes, trends and gaps to inform the content, design and evaluation of interventions
Ability to communicate effectively with different audiences and for different purposes, mainly in writing, including producing engagement materials (such as toolkits, case studies and intranet content) and reports for governance boards and senior leaders
Supportive and collaborative team player, with the ability to adapt to changing priorities while maintaining resilience and delivery standards.

Desirable

Experience of facilitating sessions using a range of tools and techniques, suitable for in person, virtual and hybrid events with both small and large groups.

Your normal place of work will be your contractual primary workplace, usually either London or Leeds. Within DHSC we offer non-contractual hybrid working. The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time spent in the office, enabling in person interaction and collaboration, and enhancing team working, learning, and support.

You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas and some travel may be required across the DHSC estate.

Opportunities for some working from home may be available; other flexible working options may be discussed with the hiring manager in line with individual circumstances and business need.

There are a limited number of DHSC colleagues who have existing agreed homeworking contracts resulting from Our Future Estate Programme 2023-2024. Colleagues covered by these arrangements are eligible to apply for this role whilst continuing their agreed existing home working arrangement. Occasional travel to DHSC offices or other locations may still be required according to business need. Travel and subsistence will be provided in line with the pre-agreed homeworker arrangements.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Communicating and Influencing
Managing a Quality Service
Working Together
Seeing the Big Picture

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

Communicating and Influencing
Managing a Quality Service

Alongside your salary of £42,360, Department of Health and Social Care contributes £12,271 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Learning and development tailored to your role
An environment with flexible working options
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Selection process details

Applications will be sifted week commencing: 13th April 2026

Interview date: week commencing 27th April 2026

Interview location: By video

Further details and interview slots will be released to candidates who are successful at sift.

Applications will be sifted on CV, Personal Statement, and Behaviours. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

An initial sift based on the Personal Statement may be held if a large number of applications are received. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Please use your CV to set out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role. These can be found in the ‘key skills and experience required for the role’ section of the advert.

Please use your personal statement to (in no more than 750 words) outline how you meet the key skills and experience required for the role as set out in the job advert.

At interview candidates will be assessed on Behaviours and Strengths.

Candidates will be asked to give a presentation which will assess the behaviour - Communicating and Influencing. Details of the presentation question will be issued to candidates with the release of the sift scores.

Further Information

Existing Civil Servants and applicants from accredited NDPBs are eligible to apply, but will only be considered on loan basis (Civil Servants) or secondment (accredited NDPBs). Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

Any move to DHSC from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

To find out more about working in the department please visit our page on the Civil Service careers website https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/departments/working-for-the-department-of-health-social-care/ and to find out more information on how to apply visit the Civil Service careers website https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/how-to-apply/

Applicants who are appointable but were not successful in appointment to this vacancy, may be held on a reserve list for up to 12 months, and contacted if similar vacancies become available.

Please be aware that some travel may be required across the DHSC estate.

Candidates must ensure that all information provided in their application is factually accurate. Any examples provided must be taken from personal experience. The Civil Service abides by honesty and integrity as part of its core values, if evidence of plagiarism is found, applications may be withdrawn.

Please note that applicants will require BPSS clearance.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via DHSCRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Terms and Conditions

Candidates should note that DHSC’s Terms and Conditions of employment changed from 1 October 2013. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful.

New Entrants to the Civil Service

New entrants appointed in grades AA to G6 will receive DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions:

Annual Leave: 25 days on entry rising by one day for each completed year of service to a maximum of 30 days and pro-rata for part-time staff
Privilege Leave: 1 day - for the King’s birthday
Hours of Work: 37 hours (net) per week for full time staff in all geographical locations, including London and pro rata for part-time staff
Occupational Sick Pay (OSP): one month full pay/one month half pay on entry, rising by one month for each completed year of service to a maximum of five months’ full pay and five months’ half pay
Mobility: Mobility clause in contracts allow staff to be mobile across the Civil Service
Probation: 6 month probation period

Existing Civil Service staff transferring from another Government department, on either level transfer or promotion

All staff moving to DHSC will transfer onto DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions (as outlined above).

Existing DHSC staff, appointed on promotion

If DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions are already held, the employee will retain those terms and conditions. If DHSC’s pre-modernised terms and conditions are held, the employee will transfer onto DHSC’s modernised terms and conditions (as outlined above).

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups

UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact

Name : cultureandengagement@dhsc.gov.uk
Email : cultureandengagement@dhsc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email : dhscrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact the DHSC Central Recruitment Team at DHSCrecruitment@dhsc.gov.uk

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/contact-us/

Department of Health and Social Care

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