Senior Manager - Patient & Public Involvement and Engagement
Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) provided pay range. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.
Base pay range
Purpose of the post
This is a unique and exciting opportunity for an experienced senior PPIE professional to lead delivery of the HDR UK 2025–2028 PPIE Strategy, which aims to make a tangible difference to people’s lives through health data research. The Senior Manager Patient & Public Involvement and Engagement (Methodology & Implementation Science) will provide operational leadership and provide methodological and scientific strategic advice to ensure meaningful, inclusive and impactful public involvement and engagement across all areas of research. The role will set standards of excellence by embedding evidence-based methodologies, drawing on social and behavioural science, and ensuring robust evaluation to continuously improve practice.
The post holder will be an accomplished individual with a proven track record of working at a senior level in PPIE within an academic environment, with expertise in managing complex delivery plans and in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL). The role also encompasses matrix management responsibilities, leading emerging programmes from inception to maturity, building internal and external collaborations and partnerships across diverse organisations, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation in PPIE practice and programme delivery, and ensuring that best practices are embedded and followed across HDR UK’s research, infrastructure investments and partnerships.
They will take a lead role in reporting and impact tracking and will oversee Public Engagement and Communications activity to ensure that outputs from PPIE work are impactful, widely disseminated and enable effective knowledge exchange with the wider community. The post holder will also provide leadership for strategic activities HDR UK is involved in, including the UK Health Data Research Alliance, the Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative (PEDRI) Good Practice Working Group, and the Health Research Authority and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) facilitated Shared Commitment to Public Involvement.
Main responsibilities
Operational planning and leadership
* Develop an annual delivery plan to operationalise the PPIE Strategy, ensuring objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART), with appropriate resource allocation and risk management.
Programme delivery and line management
* Deliver the HDR UK PPIE Strategy, adhering to the UK Standards for Public Involvement, PEDRI Good Practice Standards and the Concordat for Engaging the Public with Research.
* Oversee recruitment and training of public contributors, quality improvement, budgeting, and development of long-term partnerships.
* Plan, coordinate and deliver PPIE activities (e.g. surveys, focus groups, workshops, dialogues, webinars) in collaboration with funded partners and projects.
* Embed equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) considerations in all PIE methods and communication channels.
* Lead, supervise and mentor team members, fostering a culture of co-production, transparency and continuous improvement while ensuring delivery to agreed standards and targets.
* Commission and manage external suppliers, overseeing budgets, timelines and quality of outputs.
* Apply project management tools and processes to track progress and secure timely delivery across all activities.
Stakeholder development and management
* Champion inclusive and diverse involvement approaches, ensuring that underrepresented communities have a voice in shaping research.
* Recruit, support and retain a diverse community of public contributors and staff, ensuring inclusive participation and effective partnership working.
* Build and maintain strategic relationships with internal teams and external partners (e.g., NHS, voluntary sector, NIHR, UKRI, Wellcome, DARE UK and BHF DSC).
* Lead the management of key advisory entities including the Public Advisory Board, Strategy Steering Group, PPIE Leads Community and HDR UK Voices.
* Act as relationship manager for stakeholders including PEDRI, Shared Commitment to Public Involvement, the Alliance, Understanding Patient Data, and use MY data.
Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL)
* Design, apply and evaluate innovative engagement methodologies informed by the social and behavioural sciences.
* Develop and implement a Theory of Change and associated monitoring, learning and evaluation (M&E) framework to evidence effectiveness and value.
* Establish systems to measure and report on the impact of PPIE, with a focus on diversity, inclusion and progress.
* Use MEL insights to drive continuous improvement in PPIE practice across HDR UK.
* Lead training and capacity-building to strengthen PPIE knowledge and skills across the organisation.
Reporting and impact
* Produce reports, case studies and impact summaries for internal governance, funders and partners (including Researchfish submissions).
* Communicate PPIE outcomes, successes and lessons learned to stakeholders through engaging formats.
Research, dissemination and knowledge exchange
* Build national and international collaborations to advance the science and practice of public involvement and engagement.
* Lead or contribute to peer-reviewed publications.
* Represent HDR UK at conferences, events and meetings to share learning and good practice.
* Ensure research outcomes and PPIE activity are disseminated in accessible and engaging formats.
* Support delivery of the biennial PPIE Celebratory Event.
Strategic support
* Provide expert advice and oversight on engagement strategies, methodological rigour, behavioural insights and PPIE components across HDR UK-funded research, infrastructure and partnerships.
* Lead and support involvement and engagement plans for research funding, strategic initiatives and national programmes.
* Act as an ambassador for HDR UK’s PPIE work nationally and internationally, representing the organisation at external meetings and deputising for the Head of Public Involvement and Engagement as required.
* Develop and sustain stakeholder relationships, identifying opportunities for collaboration and supporting major investments such as the Brain Health Initiative and PEDRI Good Practice Standards.
Seniority level: Not Applicable
Employment type: Full-time
Job function: Management
Industries: Research Services
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