View Vacancy - CPK - Senior Policy Officer, Health and Social Care, C4(L)

The successful candidate will be joining a high performing, vibrant joint FCO/DIT team in the Embassy which focuses on deepening our policy collaboration with China on health, life science and social care issues. China has ambitious plans to reform its health and social care systems and the UK, with its extensive experience in these sectors, is keen to work with China as it goes through the reform process–both in terms of policy collaboration and supporting commercial opportunities for the UK. China is also a vital partner in the fight against twenty-first century global health challenges, such as infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance. Engaging with China on these issues is a key part of the team’s work. The team has an evolving remit and other issues may be added to its portfolio over time.

You will support the First Secretary Health and Social Care and lead on specific areas of the team’s portfolio, for example pharmaceutical policy, depending on your prior experience and expertise. You will also be asked to lead on specific market access issues to support the trade environment for UK companies in China. 

You will be involved with planning and executing Ministerial visits and high level dialogues, including the UK-China People-to-People Dialogue and Health Dialogue.

You will ideally have experience in the health and life science field and/or working for government or an international mission.  You will be a proactive self-starter, who has the ability to devise and implement ambitious influencing strategies on policy and advise on how best the UK can project its sectoral strengths.  You will need to have strong networking skills and draft fluently in English.  You will need to demonstrate the drive to take responsibility for ministerial level dialogues and have the experience necessary to deputise for the First Secretary Health and Social Care in their absence. You will need to be flexible and have a can-do attitude.  This will be an exciting opportunity to work in area of growing importance in the UK-China bilateral relationship with a supportive line manager who is keen to develop your talents.

A strategic approach to maximising the policy and commercial opportunities of the UK’s healthcare links with China:

You will lead on developing and implementing a strategy for your specific policy areas in line with UK government objectives for health cooperation with China.  This will involve driving forward an overall strategy and using your policy expertise to give strategic direction to Prosperity Fund work.  It will also involve complementing this work with a particular focus on the commercial opportunities presented by the UK’s healthcare sector, working alongside colleagues in the Department for International Trade.  

Manage market and policy analysis:

You will build a clear picture of both the policy and market landscape, healthcare trends and the burden of disease, and analyse how this translates into commercial opportunities.

Support relationships between key UK and China health bodies:

You will support new and existing relationships between health bodies in the UK and China.  This will include the relationship between the Department of Health and Social Care and China’s National Health Commission, Public Health England and China Centre for Disease Control, the UK and China drug regulators, and industry bodies such as the China Britain Business Council.

Develop and lead the team’s communications on health and social care with HMG and external stakeholders:

You will lead on ensuring the UK projects its sectoral strengths in the health and social sector and its global health messages to best effect.  You will identify and plan the best methods of achieving this, looking at tools such our articles, blogs and speeches, and produce communications materials for these media.

• A Bachelor’s degree in any subject, ideally in a health-related field
• Experience of working in the health and life science sector and/or government or international mission