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SalaryIn 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’d like to work in, we’d love to hear from you.
Over 20 million people in the UK have a Musculoskeletal (MSK) condition such as arthritis or back pain and 1.3m economically inactive people have reported MSK as their main health condition. The postholder will have an important role within the new MSK Policy team, which is focused on improving MSK health across the life course and improving employment outcomes for people with MSK problems.
The MSK Policy Team, sits within the Health Division, which forms part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Joint Work and Health Directorate (JWHD).
The JWHD aims to improve the integration of health and work agendas to deliver better health and work outcomes for individuals and populations and deliver key manifesto commitments. JWHD is part of Employers, Health and Inclusive Employment Directorate, a large Directorate. The JWHD is part of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, with bases in London and Leeds.
The team leads on developing MSK Policy and Delivery. It does this by working closely with DHSC policy teams, DWP delivery and analytical teams, building on evidence and practice. Success means aligning action across government, arm’s length bodies, health systems, voluntary and community sector (VCS), and local government to address MSK related work and health issues, including the wider determinants of health.
The JWHD secured over £100m as part of the 2023 Spring Budget, to expand and create new elements to the MSK programme. This major new funding covers 2023/24-2027/28 and work is underway, in collaboration with NHS England and VCS stakeholders, to develop and deliver existing and new programmes of work to address MSK and improve work and health outcomes. The team also contributes to the development of the Department of Health and Social Care Major Conditions Strategy. MSK has been announced as one of the six main conditions the strategy will focus on, with opportunities to develop and introduce new policy that gives MSK greater parity with other health conditions.
The MSK Policy team is seeking a Policy and Delivery Lead who, working as part of a small immediate team though a much larger programme team, will lead on the day-to-day policy development and management of MSK health improvement projects. Notably, the policy lead will have responsibility, for working alongside the DWP delivery and analytical teams to develop and deliver the Employment Advisors in MSK pathways project and the MSK Physical Activity hubs in the Community project.
The development of these two pieces of work is at a critical stage and requires a highly experienced Policy and project individual who can demonstrate their ability to adapt, work collaboratively and lead the day-to-day design, delivery and implementation of complex, inter-connecting health improvement programmes. The two projects are briefly described below:
- MSK Physical Activity hubs in the Community: aims to design and scale up MSK Physical Activity hubs to expand access to community based physical activity interventions, including access to vocational support. This work cuts across government departments, the NHS, VCS, Local authorities and the leisure and fitness sector. There is the opportunity to explore alignment with integrated neighbourhood teams to expand access to community based physical activity interventions and vocational support, helping people with MSK conditions start, stay and succeed in work.
- Employment advisors (EAs) in MSK pathways: this work aims to assess how to integrate EAs within MSK Pathways and explore whether it provides better patient health and work outcomes. Based on learning from EAs in NHS Talking Therapies (NHS TT) programme, phase one of a wider evaluated roll out, will see Integrated Care Boards and MSK services implementing and integrating EA teams, across MSK pathways, to support people with MSK conditions with employment advice.
These two projects exist as part of a much broader and significant programme of work to deliver on MSK, which OHID is working to develop and deliver with DWP and the NHS.
