Purpose of the post

This is an opportunity to play a senior role in shaping how HDR UK drives uptake, reuse and scale of the capabilities it develops. Sitting within the Capability and Adoption function of the Institute Data Office, the role will work closely with the Chief Data Officer and senior colleagues across HDR UK to ensure that governance approaches, access pathways, standards, products, toolkits and operating practices are designed for adoption, documented for reuse and implemented consistently across programmes, regions and partners.

The Programme Director for Adoption, Reuse and Scaling will help turn strategic intent into practical system scaling and measurable impact. They will lead the development, stewardship and reuse of shared governance, access, standards, product and implementation capabilities, ensuring that what HDR UK builds is taken up by users, sustained across the wider operating model and moved deliberately through Build → Prove → Reuse → Scale.

·         The Chief Data Officer sets the strategic direction for the Institute Data Office and its role in enabling trustworthy data use across HDR UK and the wider health data research ecosystem.

·         The Programme Director for Adoption, Reuse and Scaling is accountable for turning that direction into sustainable uptake and reuse: building shared ways of working, capability playbooks, product and implementation approaches, user experience and access pathways, and measurable improvements in how data programmes are designed, delivered, adopted, reused and scaled.

This role will suit a leader who can operate strategically while staying close to delivery: someone who can build confidence, remove barriers, create practical tools and help teams adopt better ways of working in complex, multi-partner environments.

Working with teams across the Institute, UK-wide NHS data partners, academic leads, patient and public contributors and commercial collaborators, the post-holder will identify capability needs, design effective adoption approaches and ensure new ways of working are embedded in day-to-day practice.

The initial focus will be to establish the operating model, adoption plan, capability map and reusable playbooks that enable the Institute Data Office to support UK-wide health data programmes more consistently. This will include identifying what capability already exists, assessing what should be reused from existing HDR UK assets, improving user experience and access pathways, supporting implementation across programmes and regions, capturing learning from live programmes and exemplar studies, removing barriers to adoption and translating practical experience into scalable capability for future work. The role requires astute leadership, strong change and adoption experience, first-hand understanding of health data research delivery, excellent stakeholder management and the ability to turn complex requirements into practical improvements that people can use and sustain.

Main responsibilities

• Lead the Adoption, reuse and scaling function within the Institute Data Office, ensuring HDR UK’s governance, access, standards, product, service and implementation assets are designed for uptake, reuse and scale.

• Translate strategic priorities set by the Chief Data Officer into a clear operating model for Build → Prove → Reuse → Scale, including capability roadmaps, adoption plans, implementation approaches and measures of reuse and impact.

• Drive adoption of consistent ways of working across the IDO and related programmes, ensuring that governance models, access processes, standards, tools and playbooks are understood, used, reused and improved over time.

• Establish and maintain the HDR UK Capability Map, identifying existing capability, gaps, duplication, dependencies, maturity, reuse potential and practical adoption requirements across teams, programmes and partner interfaces.

• Design and embed capability playbooks and adoption guidance for uptake across programmes and regions, including templates, implementation guidance, governance approaches, user journey materials, stewardship requirements and adoption support for multi-partner data programmes.

• Lead user experience and access pathway improvement so that researchers, innovators, data partners and programme teams can understand, navigate and adopt HDR UK products, services and standards more easily.

• Work with Product, Adoption and Implementation leads to ensure that products and services move from build to use, from use to reuse, and from local implementation to wider system scaling and impact.

• Support deep-dive exemplar studies, drawing out reusable components, evidence of value, governance, technical and operational requirements, and lessons that can inform future adoption, stewardship and scale.

• Develop repeatable approaches for scale, sustain, adapt or retire decisions, ensuring evidence on adoption, reuse, maturity, cost, user experience and ecosystem benefit informs capability portfolio choices.

• Work with programme delivery teams, data partners, academic leads, patient and public contributors, health system stakeholders and commercial collaborators to understand practical barriers to adoption and implement workable solutions.

• Build engagement and confidence among stakeholders by communicating the benefits of new ways of working clearly and tailoring adoption approaches to different audiences.

• Establish measures of adoption, reuse, user experience, discoverability, capability maturity, reduced duplication, ecosystem benefit, public benefit and impact, tracking progress and using evidence to refine approaches.

• Support teams to adopt good practice in data access, governance, trusted research environments, documentation, risk management and continuous improvement.

• Act as a bridge between strategy, delivery and operational practice, ensuring that capability-building activity is grounded in real programme needs.

• Build sustainable adoption capability within the IDO so improvements are embedded, maintained and transferable across programmes.

• Work flexibly to support colleagues as needed, adapting to an evolving environment and emerging priorities.

• Line manage team members as required.

• Represent HDR UK at conferences and events.

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