Appointment details

Chair of the Health Research Authority

Summary

• Organisation: Health Research Authority
• Sponsor department: Department of Health and Social Care
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Health and Social Care
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 2 day(s) per week
• Remuneration: £45000 per annum
• Length of term: Ministers determine that the length of the appointment will be up to 3 or 4 years.
• Application deadline: Midday on 25 February 2025

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   27 January 2025

2. Application deadline

   Midday on 25 February 2025

3. Sifting date

   19 March 2025

4. Interviews expected to end on

   16 April 2025

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Appointment description

Culture

• Maintain the values of the board and the culture of the HRA so it continues to protect and promote the interests of patients and public in health and social care research, ensuring that the board listens to the public and patient voice and that the outcome of good research can benefit them in the future, whilst making it easier to do research that people can trust to help make the UK a great place to do research;

• be the public face of the HRA as a champion of its role, earning and maintaining people’s trust in research. 

Strategy

• Oversee strategic direction, working collaboratively across a national system of Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs), as well as with key organisations across the health and social care system;

• oversee the delivery of HRA’s vision for high quality health and social care research today which improves everyone’s health and wellbeing tomorrow;

• oversee the HRA’s contribution to the Government’s health and growth missions’ vision by making the UK a world leading place to do research which people can trust.

Performance 

• Support and challenge the Executive Committee whilst providing leadership to the HRA, setting a vision and inspiring high standards;

• ensure risks are managed and appropriate financial controls are in place; 

• lead the HRA board and its development, ensuring the board determines business priorities and fulfils duties; 

• Chair HRA board meetings according to any statutory requirements and agreed policies and procedures, ensuring meetings are reported appropriately and actions are monitored and completed;

• ensure that the HRA carries out its statutory functions with regard to aspects of government policy as the Secretary of State directs, including compliance with statutory and administrative requirements for the use of public funds;

• act on behalf of the board between meetings on matters delegated, such as signing off documents or in response to approaches from external organisations on issues which do not require approval by the whole board;

• ensure the HRA operates proportionately to the risks it carries and the resources it has, both in terms of its own operations, and the way it regulates health and social care research.

People

• Maintain effective working relationships at senior levels with all key players in the health and social care sector, including Ministers, other ALB chairs, research funders including industry and charity and senior figures within academia;

• through support and regular appraisal, ensure a high performance from the HRA Chief Executive and Executive Committee, ensuring that operational and strategic objectives are achieved, and best practice is followed in leadership and people policies and behaviour. 

Organisation description

The Health Research Authority is a non-departmental public body, set up in 2011 and established under The Care Act 2014 with a mission to protect NHS patients, their tissue, and their data when they are involved in research. We have transformed UK research regulation and governance by simplifying processes, removing duplication, and reducing timelines.  

We have better supported the research community by putting people first. To make it easy to do research that people can trust, we: 

• work with people to understand what they want research to look like and act on this so that they can trust research.  
• make sure that people taking part in research are treated ethically and fairly by reviewing and approving health and social care research studies that involve people, their tissue, or their data. 
• work with other organisations across the UK to make sure that, wherever you are, research studies can be set up smoothly and are always subject to the same scrutiny before they start. 
• work with others to coordinate and standardise the way research is set up and managed. 
• encourage and support transparency about research so that everyone can find out what research is taking place, and what it found. 
• are one of the gatekeepers of patient data making sure that information is protected if it’s used for research. 
• put in place and support the digital platforms to help research get set-up and managed in the UK. 

How we work 

Our 260 staff, who work at home and in our offices in Bristol, London, Manchester, Newcastle, and Nottingham, provide specialist advice and learning to researchers about research ethics and governance. They also develop policies concerning research ethics and governance and support our committees and advisory groups to deliver our services. Our staff work with users of our services to design and put in place the digital systems used by the sector to set up studies. and effectively administer the organisation.  

We could not operate without our HRA Community. The Community is made up of our Research Ethics Committees (REC) members, Confidentiality Advisory Group (CAG) members, and our Public Involvement Network (PIN) - which includes members of the public who have experience of, or have been impacted by, research.  

They all make an invaluable contribution to our work and the experience of people taking part in research. They helps us make sure that people can trust the research that we approve, so the research findings can improve care. They give their time generously, enabling the HRA to operate efficiently and respond rapidly when needed.  

To deliver our ambition to make it easier to do research that people can trust and ensure that health and social care research is conducted with and for everyone, it is important that we are informed by a range of insights and experiences that reflect the population we serve. 

We can make better decisions by working with a diverse group of people and we work with our HRA Community to ensure working with us is a positive experience, open to everyone.  

The HRA has a robust governance framework in place with the Board’s terms of reference set out in the HRA’s standing orders and standing financial instructions. 

Board composition

Board meetings are normally held at the main office on the 3rd Wednesday of every other month at: 

No2 Redman Place

Stratford

London

E20 1JQ

Specific dates are as follows: 

21 May 2025 (Public session) 

9 July 2025 (Private session) 

17 September 2025 (Public session) 

19 November 2025 (Public session) 

Please note – 1 meeting a year is held at one of the HRA’s other offices, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, Newcastle, and meetings also take place virtually. 

Regulation of appointment

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website 

Person specification

Essential criteria

To be considered, you must be able to demonstrate that you have the qualities, skills, and experience to meet all the essential criteria for appointment.

• strong strategic leadership skills with a significant record of achievement at the highest levels in the public or private sector and the proven ability to lead an organisation through ongoing change and adaption, during a time of constrained finances and ideally involving a digital transformation

• the ability to drive forward the highest standards of board level and public sector accountability, including strong financial governance, probity and propriety, and developing executive and board experience

• demonstrable interest in the work of the HRA and understanding of the opportunities and challenges it faces, with experience in a relevant field including research regulation and governance, medicine, health or social care research or medical ethics

• excellent communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across organisational boundaries to lead and drive development and improvement. Adept at building productive and constructive relationships with multiple stakeholders.

Application and selection process

How to apply

Thank you for your interest in the appointment of a Chair for the HRA.

The Department of Health and Social Care’s Public Appointments Team (PAT) is managing this recruitment campaign.

In order to apply you will need to create an account or sign in on the “Apply for a public appointment” website. This is a central, online recruitment platform managed by the Cabinet Office, which candidates use to apply for public appointments with any government department or a body which they sponsor.

Once you are logged into your account, click on 'apply for this role' and follow the on-screen instructions. To apply, all candidates are required to provide:

• a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• a supporting statement
• equality information
• information relating to any outside interests or reputational issues

Guidance on what to include in your CV/supporting statement and tips for applying can be found in the corresponding sections below and on the public appointment website: Public appointments - GOV.UK.

We will ask you to check and confirm your personal details to ensure your application is accurate.

You will also have the opportunity to make a reasonable adjustment request or apply under the disability confident scheme before you submit your application.

You will also be required to make any declarations related to standards in public life and ensuring public confidence in your supporting statement. Further information on this can be found in the relevant section below.

If you are unable to create an account and apply online, or if you have any problems submitting your application online, please contact Karen Dinsdale on 0113 2545414 or Ben Jones on 0113 2546557.

The Advisory Assessment Panel reserves the right to only consider applications that contain all of the elements you have been asked to provide and which are listed above, and that the applications are received before the published deadline.

In completing an application, please firstly note the following information set out below, in relation to:

• Disqualification from appointment
• Conflicts of interest
• Political activity and social media
• Standards in public life and ensuring public confidence.

Overview of the application process

Public appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process which is conducted in accordance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments. We will deal with your application as quickly as possible and will keep you informed at key stages. We aim to conclude the appointment process within three months of the deadline for applications – this is in accordance with the Governance Code.

The assessment process

1. Ministers are responsible and accountable to Parliament for the public appointments made within their department. As a result, they must be consulted at every stage of the appointments process.

2. An Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) is appointed by Ministers to assist them in their decision making. The role of the Panel is to decide, objectively, which candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the role.

3. At the shortlisting meeting the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates have best met the criteria, who should be recommended for interview. Ministers will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist. If you have applied under the Disability Confident Scheme and you meet all the essential criteria, then you will also be invited for an interview.

4. Once the shortlist has been agreed by Ministers, you will be advised (by e-mail) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview.

5. The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. The Panel may invite you to make a brief presentation at the start of the interview and will go on to question you about your skills and experience, including asking specific questions to assess whether you meet the criteria set out for the post. The Panel will also explore with you any potential conflicts of interest or any other issues arising from your personal and professional history which may impact on an appointment decision.

6. Details of the panel’s assessment of interviewed candidates are provided to Ministers, including whether they have judged a candidate to be appointable to the role. It is then for Ministers to determine merit and decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, Ministers may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.

7. Ministers may choose to meet with candidates before deciding the outcome. Candidates should therefore be prepared for a short time gap between interview and a final appointment decision being made. Candidates who have been interviewed will be kept informed of progress.

8. Once the decision on the appointment has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application, including whom they may approach for feedback. Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment should they agree to take up the position.

Further information about appointments, including tips on applying, can be found on our guidance pages on gov.uk.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

Advisory Assessment Panels (AAP) are chosen by ministers to assist them in their decision-making. These include a departmental official and an independent member. For competitions recruiting non-executive members of a board (apart from the Chair), the panel will usually include a representative from the public body concerned.

AAP’s perform a number of functions, including agreeing an assessment strategy with ministers, undertaking sifting, carrying out interviews in line with the advertised criteria and deciding objectively who meets the published selection criteria for the role before recommending to ministers which candidates they find appointable. It is then for the minister to decide who to appoint to the role.

The panel will include

• Gail Marzetti, Director of Science, Research & Evidence, Senior Sponsor for HRA, as Panel Chair.

• Professor Anthony Harnden, Chair of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as Panel Member. 

• Professor Alan Boyd, Former President of the Faulty of Pharmaceutical Medicine as the Independent Panel Member.

Eligibility criteria

In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.

There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. 

You cannot be considered for a public appointment if:

• you are disqualified from acting as a company director  (under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986);

• have an unspent conviction on your criminal record;

• your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors.

When you apply, you should declare if:

• you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this. 

• you are subject to a current police investigation.

You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points. 

When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)

If you need further advice, please contact  karen.dinsdale@dhsc.gov.uk

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to undertake Baseline Personnel Security Standard checks in line with the Civil Service guidelines. Additional Security Clearance may also be required for certain roles. However, where this applies, candidates will be notified during the appointment process. Further information on National Security Vetting can be found on the Gov.uk website here.

The Department of Health and Social Care also requires all those appointed by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to public appointments, to be a fit and proper person, comparable with the requirements placed on board members in the NHS. As such, the successful candidate will be required to undertake security checks to ensure that you meet these requirements. For more information see the Candidate information pack. 

Additional information for candidates

Equality and diversity

We encourage applications from talented individuals from all backgrounds and across the whole of the United Kingdom. Boards of public bodies are most effective when they reflect the diversity of views of the society they serve and this is an important part of the Government’s levelling up agenda.

We collect data about applicants’ characteristics and backgrounds, including information about people’s educational and professional backgrounds, so that we can make sure we are attracting a broad range of people to these roles and that our selection processes are fair for everyone. Without this information, it makes it difficult to see if our outreach is working, if the application process is having an unfair impact on certain groups and whether changes are making a positive difference.

When you submit your application, your responses are collected by the Cabinet Office and the government department(s) managing your application. The data is used to produce management information about the diversity of applicants. You can select “prefer not to say” to any question you do not wish to answer. The information you provide will not be seen by the Advisory Assessment Panel who review applications against the advertised criteria and conduct interviews.

Disability confident

We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. We use the Disability Confident scheme symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in employing people with a disability. The scheme helps recruit and retain disabled people. As part of implementing the scheme, we guarantee an interview for anyone with a disability whose application meets the essential criteria for the role, set out in the advert, and who has asked that their application is considered under the scheme. Indicating that you wish your application to be considered under the scheme will in no way prejudice your application. By ‘essential criteria', we mean that you must provide evidence which demonstrates that you meet the level of competence required under each of the essential criteria, as set out in the job-advert. When you apply you will have the opportunity to select if you would like your application considered under this scheme.

Reasonable adjustments

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to make sure applicants with disabilities, physical or mental health conditions, or other needs are not substantially disadvantaged when applying for public appointments. This can include changing the recruitment process to enable people who wish to apply to do so.

Some examples of common changes are:

• ensuring that application forms are available in different or accessible formats;
• making adaptations to interview locations;
• allowing candidates to present their skills and experience in a different way;
• giving additional detailed information on the selection / interview process in advance to allow candidates time to prepare themselves;
• allowing support workers, for example sign language interpreters;
• making provision for support animals to attend.

When you apply you will have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments to the application process.

Principles of public life

The Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works as a public office-holder.

1. Selflessness

Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.

2. Integrity

Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

3. Objectivity

Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.

4. Accountability

Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.

5. Openness

Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.

6. Honesty

Holders of public office should be truthful.

7. Leadership

Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

Code of conduct for board members

The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards. In support of this, all non-executive board members of UK public bodies must abide by the principles set out in the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. The Code sets out the standards expected from those who serve on the boards of UK public bodies and will form part of your terms and conditions of appointment.

Management of outside interests and consideration of reputational issues

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully: 

• any outside interests that you may have, such as shares you may hold in a company providing services to government; 
• any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or public statements that you have made; 
• and/or - any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported; 

which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

You will need to answer relevant questions in relation to these points when making an application. Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being interviewed. If you are shortlisted for an interview, the panel will discuss any potential conflicts with you during that interview, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them and record that in their advice to ministers. Alongside your own declaration, we will conduct appropriate checks, as part of which we will consider anything in the public domain related to your conduct or professional capacity. This may include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information. The successful candidate(s) may be required to give up any conflicting interests and their other business and financial interests may be published in line with organisational policies. 

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment, but must be declared).

Status of appointment

As this is an office holder appointment, you will not become a member of the Civil Service. You will not be subject to the provisions of employment law.

Appointment and tenure of office

Appointments are for the term set out in this advert, with the possibility of re-appointment for a further term, at the discretion of Ministers.  Any re-appointment is subject to satisfactory annual appraisals of performance during the first term in the post. There is no automatic presumption of reappointment; each case should be considered on its own merits, taking into account a number of factors including, but not restricted to, the diversity of the current board and its balance of skills and experience. In most cases, the total time served in post will not exceed more than two terms or ten years in any one post. 

Remuneration, allowances and abatement

Remuneration for this role is treated as employment income and will be subject to tax and National Insurance contributions, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid. 

You can claim reimbursement for reasonable travel and subsistence costs which are properly and necessarily incurred on official business, in line with the travel and subsistence policy and rates for the organisation to which you are applying. However these payments are taxable as earnings and will be subject to tax and national insurance, both of which will be deducted at source under PAYE before you are paid.  

Pension and redundancy

This is an office holder appointment and does not attract any benefits under any Civil Service Pension Scheme. You will not be eligible for redundancy pay as you are not an employee. No other arrangements have been made for compensation upon the end of your term of appointment because an office holder who is appointed for a limited duration would have no expectation of serving beyond that period.

Application feedback

We will notify you of the status of your application. We regret that we are only able to offer detailed feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.

How to complain

We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and to treat all applicants with courtesy.

Please contact the public appointments team in the first instance if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at appointsment.team@dhsc.gov.uk. They will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.

How to complain to Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA)

If you are not content with the appointing department’s response you may wish to further complain to the Commissioner at publicappointments@csc.gov.uk.Further information on how the Commissioner handles complaints can be found on the Commissioner for Public Appointments’ website https://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/regulating-appointments/investigating-complaints/

Data protection

The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.

The DHSC privacy notice can be found at DHSC privacy notice - GOV.UK.

Contact details

For further information regarding the role of HRA and the role of Chair please contact:

Name: Dr Alex Churchill

Tel: 07928 128437 / 020 7972 4160

Email:  alexander.churchill@dhsc.gov.uk   

Attachments

• Candidate Information Pack