Vacancy -- Health Economist

'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.

The Welsh Government spends approximately half of its budget on health and social care. Several factors are driving increased demand for health and social care services including an ageing and growing population and the availability of new and expensive treatments expected by patients. At the same time, the Welsh Government’s total budget has decreased substantially in real terms over the last decade. Budget pressures will remain intense for many years to come. Against this background, the need to recruit a specialist health economist to provide health and social care policy colleagues with specialist economic advice on policy interventions is critical.

The Head of Health Economics role has several purposes. The most immediate purpose is to provide health economics advice to Welsh Government Ministers and to the Health and Social Services Group within Welsh Government in order to deliver the work programme A Healthier Wales: our Plan for Health and Social Care, the Welsh Government Response to The Parliamentary Review of Health and Social Care in Wales (at this link: https://www.basw.co.uk/system/files/resources/180608healthier-wales-mainen.pdf). In doing so, the Head of Health Economics will help guide the allocation of resources in such a way that achieves effective and equitable outcomes for the citizens of Wales and value for money for Welsh Government health and social service programmes and policy interventions.

The newly created Head of Economics post has the following key tasks to lead in the areas of health economics analysis:

 

-Transformation Programme & Transformation Fund 

Providing professional economic advice to the Transformation Programme, including developing economic tools and methodologies to evaluate proposed use of the targeted Transformation Fund to support the implementation of the plan “A Healthier Wales” particularly new models of seamless health and social care.

 

-Health and social care spending 

Develop the economic evaluation of the relationship, value and balance between health and social care spending, including evaluating new models of care and new funding arrangements for social care (payers).

 

-Shift of services 

Develop the economic case for shift of services from hospitals to ‘community-based approach’ and developing evaluation methodologies to assess and monitor the delivery of the benefits.

  

-Prevention 

Develop the economic case for shift from treatment to prevention, the baseline assessment of prevention and the case for investment in prevention.

 

-Resource Allocation Review 

Develop a new needs based population resource allocation formula, including the evidence based needs weightings for age/sex, relative needs (including deprivation and health inequalities); and lead the economic evaluation and assessment of the excess cost in rural services.

 

-Value Based Healthcare 

Work with and support the Clinical Lead for value-based healthcare in Wales. This will include focus on outcome measures and economic evaluation, working with industry on value based procurement, including evaluating tenders based on best price/quality ratio, and in developing and promoting the use of allocative efficiency and allocative value approaches within NHS Wales.

 

-Primary Care Contract Reform Programme 

Lead on economic analysis and evaluation of the various opportunities and threats to be achieved through the contract reform programme across the four contractor professions (GPs, dentistry, ophthalmology and pharmacy). This involves the financial flows to GP practices, dental practices and clusters (including the distribution of funding; specifically considering and addressing rural issues, health inequalities single handed practices, population based weightings, deprivation and sustainable business models).

 

-NHS investing in the Welsh Economy 

Undertake an economic evaluation of how health and social care services and spend provide external value in Wales, including economic participation, value return for university and industry partners, procurement from Welsh based businesses, productivity benefits for employers from addressing mental and physical illness, benefits for unpaid carers and family/friends support networks.

 

-Economic Advice 

To provide regular economist input across the Health and Social Services group, to include advice on: 

• evaluation of annual submissions of Integrated Medium Term Plans from Local Health Boards and NHS Trusts, 
• evaluation of capital business cases (five case model submissions) 
• evaluation of clinical, estate and other strategies 
• health & social care policy development 
• pay review body process – providing economic evidence to the pay review bodies, and also on the economic impact of their recommendations

The Welsh Government’s Head of Health Economics is a new post. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to demonstrate the contribution health economics can make to the full range of health policy interventions. The successful candidate will liaise with Welsh Government Ministers and be an expert member of various influential Health and Social Services Group policy boards. The health economics capacity may expand at a future date with the successful candidate operating as the lead official.

 We would welcome applications from academics and candidates working in NHS trusts or equivalent bodies in a health economics capacity who are interested in a secondment of at least two years.    

26/07/2019, 16:00

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

• UK Visas and Immigration - GOV.UK

• Nationality rules – GOV.UK

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

• Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
• Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
• For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
• Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have a disability which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to a disability in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.