Corporate report

UKHSA Advisory Board: Leadership update

Updated 11 March 2025

Date: March 2025

Sponsor: Jon Cocking

1. Purpose of the paper

The leadership portfolio moved into the Culture, Talent and Capability division within the new People and Workplace Directorate in January 2025. The purpose of this paper is for the new team to update the Advisory Board on the previous year of activity, to discuss what is happening now, and to seek input in terms of what is planned next to support our strategic priorities, as we transition into a new structure, with changes to leadership and corporate governance.

2. Recommendations

The Advisory Board is asked to:

• note the decision taken at ExCo based on People Survey results for 2024 relating to Leadership and Line Management being the priority call to action for financial year (FY) 2025 to 2026
• acknowledge that whilst interventions were limited over the previous 12 months regarding ‘Future Engage Deliver’, and the proposed development of a Leadership Plan, Leadership Capability Framework, and a Leadership Development Framework, the work starts now under a new division following a major restructure of the Senior Civil Service cadre (from May 2024 to December 2024) and presents many opportunities; and
• endorse our holistic approach, noting approval of our proposals and the assurance provided by the People and Culture Committee, with the expectation that we return to the Advisory Board at the end of FY 2025 to 2026.

3. Wider context and an appraisal of the previous 12 months of delivery

The paper from January 2024 mentions the Extraordinary Advisory Board in Autumn 2023 which focused on data, strategy, ambition, an approach and the proposition to expose all leaders (Grade 7 and above) to a ‘Future. Engage, Deliver’ (FED) workshop followed by development of a plan and framework, to be developed by EY. There was also ongoing 121 coaching and development for ExCo.

The wider People Survey context for 2023 was a modest increase – Leadership and Managing Change rose 7% from 41% to 48% and ‘my manager’ increased 4% from 72% to 76%. In terms of change, ‘I feel change is managed well in my organisation’ and ‘When changes are made in my organisation they are usually for the better’ scored 33% and 49% (positive) respectively.

The ambition was for FED to be ‘a core component of our leadership offer’ and for EY work to deliver a three-year plan alongside a capability and leadership framework. In part due to priorities relating to the SCS restructure coupled with an over-reliance on EY coupled with a lack of supplier management, the EY work has not delivered.

The People Survey for 2024 shows that scores for Leadership and Managing Change have fallen in and sit below the sector average in most questions. Though not directly involved in the SCS restructure, the G6 cadre experienced the most significant reduction in positive scores, giving some indications of the broader de-stabilising effect of SCS change on next tier leaders.

In conclusion, interventions have been ‘stop-start’, with the only regular focus aimed at ExCo, which is now very different after the SCS restructure. Key learnings are that a reactive, ‘sheep-dip’ approach does not work, and whilst external support can work as a co-pilot, outsourcing to an organisation which made little attempt to understand our requirements was a mistake. Activity is now underway to re-set our expectations of leadership, clarify leadership behaviours, and provide effective programmes of development for all leaders and managers which will be critical in setting the conditions for psychological safety, inclusivity and a culture of collaboration, connectedness and effective delivery in our next phase.

4. Our plans for 2025

Our leaders need to create and sustain an environment where our people can thrive in their day-to-day performance for UKHSA to meet its strategic objectives. Our People Strategy 2024 to 2027 identifies the need to create inclusive leaders at all levels to build high performing teams. We also regularly talk about a ‘high performing agency’, although a more consistent view of what this looks and feels like would be beneficial. If we consider our current leadership capabilities through the lens of our 2024 People Survey results, then there is a clear need for positive change.

It is therefore crucial that we build and sustain both leadership capacity and capability within UKHSA and, as a result, we are developing a comprehensive, sustainable plan of work that supports UKHSA leaders for 2025 and beyond. 

What good looks like

High-performance leadership at UKHSA manifests through several key indicators. Effective leaders consistently demonstrate strategic clarity, articulating our mission with conviction and helping teams understand how their work contributes to organizational priorities. They practice people-centered leadership by showing genuine empathy and active listening while maintaining appropriate performance expectations. Their decision-making is data-driven, utilizing relevant metrics and evidence while clearly communicating rationales and demonstrating flexibility when circumstances change.

We aim to measure leadership effectiveness through multiple complementary approaches. Regular pulse surveys will gauge employee experience of leadership behaviours. Comprehensive 360-degree feedback mechanisms will provide leaders with developmental insights from multiple perspectives. Team health indicators including retention rates, internal mobility, and engagement scores will offer objective measures of leadership impact. Regular self-assessment against our leadership framework will promote self-awareness and continuous improvement.

Why the change is needed

Recent changes to our senior leadership structures seek to ensure an optimum level of leadership capacity. Subsequent implementation has reduced the SCS cadre by 21 positions (15%), enabling the potential for a more efficient use of this leadership cohort and importantly a more appropriate bandwidth for individuals to lead and manage. Changes to formal governance also supports better use of leadership capacity.  It will be important to review the realisation of benefits from this overarching change during FY 2025 to 2026. It is also important to ensure that our leadership structures are not seen as being fixed following this change – we need to continue to ensure that our senior structures remain fit for purpose over different future time horizons.

There remains some short term instability as a result of: the imminent departure of our current Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Advisor; the remaining transition activity relating to the changes to the leadership structure (and associated departures of individuals through quarter 4 in FY 2024 to 2025), and, with about 29 substantive SCS posts needing to be filled (many of these posts are currently filled on a temporary basis rather than sitting vacant).  Given that all SCS posts are recruited through external campaigns by default, this allows us the opportunity to make positive progress to the diversity profile of this cohort, and importantly, ensure we are recruiting to the leadership competences we need now and in the future. It is therefore critical that we test for these during the selection process.

We currently operate talent programmes to develop internal capability. These include cross-Government schemes: Beyond Boundaries, Crossing Thresholds, FLS/SLS and the Civil Service Fast Stream. Accelerate, our in-house talent development scheme, is for UKHSA employees that identify as ethnic minority and/or have a disability or long-term health condition. We are also piloting ‘Own Your Talent’ with a view to rolling out across UKHSA.

However, we need to and will go further in terms of talent management for leadership capability, focusing on structured identification processes to recognise high-potential leaders throughout UKHSA. For these individuals, we aspire to create personalised development paths combining formal learning, mentoring, coaching, and stretch assignments tailored to their specific growth needs. We also intend to develop robust succession planning framework for critical leadership positions will provide clear development roadmaps, complemented by cross-functional rotation opportunities to broaden leadership perspectives and organisational knowledge. Internal mentoring programs connecting developing leaders with experienced leaders across the health sector will further strengthen our leadership pipeline.

Finally, our performance management approach continues its shift toward a continuous framework featuring quarterly check-ins and regular feedback conversations, stepping beyond the limitations of annual reviews. We will promote the need for clear, measurable objectives aligned with organisational priorities that cascade effectively through all leadership tiers. This will be supported by our leadership framework, creating a common language for performance discussions. As with succession planning, this has to be supported by technology solutions that enable real-time tracking and feedback working closely with our colleagues on the MaPs programme.

5. Building and sustaining leadership capability

In general terms we need to be more explicit with our leaders in our expectations of them, and the capabilities we need them to hold. We need to ensure our performance management ecosystem reinforces and assesses against these expectations.  And, whilst we should continue to ensure improvements in overall capability against these expectations, it is important for FY 2025 to 2026 that we focus what our people are telling us need improving as leaders, including but not limited to: managing change, tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination and building a culture of learning.

Whilst building our leadership capabilities at an individual level is important, we also need to take opportunities to build cohesive leadership teams within groups and across the organisation. This must be beyond formal meetings.  Informal ways of working, as a set of corporate leaders and leaders of our people, is of fundamental importance in delivering our services today and achieving longer-term ambitions.    

The steps below identify the immediate actions being planned, over the coming weeks and months which will evolve as our leaders begin to take more ownership of what’s needed within UKHSA to help leaders and leadership to excel. We will:

• engage on a new Leadership Framework – this consultation is underway across the SCS cohort, before a formal launch across UKHSA at the start of FY 2025 to 2026
• build the Leadership Framework into the performance and development cycles – we will support with an ongoing programme of aligned learning and development
• launch the Framework at an SCS awayday on 4 March which will focus on ‘Empowering Leaders, Transforming Together’ – working together to realise the benefits of the restructure and setting the shared vision of leadership for the future
• revise and update the Line Manager and Leadership suites of development resources and engagement channels
• re-launch the Civil Service Line Manager standards along with a new line manager development offer (for all line managers)
• in support, on-going analysis of how we are doing via our People Check-In tool and dashboard will give us the results to allow us to identify and share ‘bright spots’ of improvement and innovation, as well as areas of decline or concern – this will contribute towards in-year course correction, action taking or peer-to-peer learning

This approach will also align with the direction of travel for the Civil Service People Survey led by the Cabinet Office, for which 2025 to 2026 will be a ‘transition year’. Work is being undertaken to determine the optimal approach for the future of the survey and related strands of work on the employee experience insights programme. We remain close to the Cabinet Office on this work, but the likelihood is a move towards ‘much faster pulse information’ as cited by the Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office, Cat Little, at a recent Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (Cabinet Office perm sec eyes Civil Service People Survey changes) at the end of 2024. To our knowledge, we are the first Civil Service body to have moved towards this approach, led by our People Experience team in partnership with our analysts so we are confident that we will be able to keep check on our progress throughout the year.

6. Interventions overview

It is important that we prioritise our areas of focus in our capability build.  We will approach this through a ‘now, next and beyond’ approach, making assessment of progress through each of these phases. There is a significant time-commitment to this approach, which we see taking place over an extended period of time to ensure we move away from ‘sheep-dipping’ and towards a more curated approach to development, harnessing technology and reaching the majority of UKHSA. Further details including reach and volume can be found in Annex A.

Activity currently underway

Impactful Manager Programme (IMP)

Redeveloping the existing lengthy programme into a bitesize modular format to improve accessibility and reduce time scales which has been identified as a barrier to some learning.  This will lead to greater consistency in how we manage across UKHSA.

Leadership Pulse Page

Providing ongoing leadership updates and resources. This provision of ‘in-the-flow’ of work, supports just in time learning that is accessible at the point of need.

Bitesize Learning for Line Managers

Focused, practical sessions to support day-to-day leadership and management. This programme will be developed through ongoing engagement to identify current needs and hot topics.

Revised Line Manager Induction

Strengthening onboarding for new managers, ensuring that all relevant essentials are made available so that new managers to UKHSA feel empowered to be effective in their roles.

Cross-Functional Leadership Development

Running interdisciplinary leadership programmes at the London Interdisciplinary School (first cohort June 2025). This is aligned to greater cross functional working and supporting leaders to manage in complexity.

Engaging SCS

Gathering input to shape leadership development initiatives, that empower and ensure greater accountability for decision making. This engagement will ensure future change initiates reflect the SCS voice so that change is collaborative and not seen to be ‘done to’ people but rather ‘with’ our people.

What we will do next

Succession planning

Work is underway to mature our performance and talent processes to ensure we are differentiating on performance and identifying future leadership talent, utlising technology (MaPs) where possible to provide access to data for evidence-based decision making in these areas.

Continue to focus on improvements to our People Performance process

Linking back to MaPs improvements and work to improve line manager capability and on-going in-year conversations, much of this data can be used to track and measure organisation KPIs where they are directly linked to individual and team performance.

Launch of IMP (FY 2025 to 2026)

Full rollout of the modularised Impactful Manager Programme, providing at scale development for managers.

Leadership Spotlights in Learning at Work Week

Enhancing leadership visibility and engagement, creating better relationships across teams and areas.

MaPS Performance, Learning and Development and Talent Management Functionality

Enabling effective People Performance, the capture, curation and creation of UKHSA-specific content for Learning and Development and a platform for our ‘Own Your Talent’ approach.

Strengthening Leadership Forums

Improving the Directors Forum and refining engagement based on feedback, along with evolution of leadership and line management forums. Making greater use of SCS time and enabling better links between strategy and front-line delivery.

What we will do beyond that

Leadership in AI

Exploring AI’s role in leadership and decision-making, through augmentation there will be opportunities to free up capacity and improve our decision-making time and accuracy through AI usage.

Expanding Cross Functional Leadership Development to Grade 6

Broadening cross-functional learning opportunities, the objectives of this development align to much or what staff are saying within the People Survey around managing change and better co-creation of work solutions.

Professions Action Plan Implementation

Addressing profession-specific leadership capability gaps, building technical capability will have a direct impact on leaders’ role in managing their people’s performance, enabling greater accountability and responsibility for everyone in delivery.

Second SCS Leadership Event (Autumn/Winter)

Continuing high-level leadership engagement and progress on actions, checking in on progress of actions agreed from the March event.

Jake McClure, Deputy Director – Culture, Talent and Capability

Malcolm Taylor, Head of Capability and People Development

March 2025

Annex A

Numbers with Line Manager (LM) responsibilities:

Grade	Position numbers	Filled
AA/AO	1	n/a
EO	35	n/a
HEO	147	n/a
SEO	457	n/a
G7	934	n/a
G6	904	750
SCS1	106	88
SCS2	19	16
SCS3	2	1
SCS4	1	1
Total	2,587	856

Category	Intervention	Estimated reach and time
Activity currently underway	Impactful Manager Programme (IMP) – Redeveloping into a modular format for better accessibility.	Each module can accommodate up to 20 people. There are 10 modules, and these can be undertaken as a full course or a mix and match depending on individual needs. We expect to run multiple cohorts per year.  Completion will be tracked as part of our data gathering and L&D reporting.
	Leadership Pulse page – Providing ongoing leadership updates and resources.	All staff across UKHSA can to access this page and review content, with an oversight from the People Development and Comms teams to ensure content is maintained and updated regularly.
	Bitesize Learning for Line Managers – Practical sessions for day-to-day leadership and management.	These have been developed by our HRBP colleagues and have already been delivered locally. As we evolve this content it will be digitally developed and hosted on MaPs for self-lead learning at scale, and made available for all staff to help current and aspiring leaders develop,
	Revised Line Manager Induction – Strengthening onboarding for new managers.	Having just taken an overhaul of the main induction to not only reduce time (now just 2.5 hours), but, to make it more accessible with automated enrolment, focus has turned to inducting new LMs into UKHSA to ensure they have all relevant knowledge to be effective in their roles. Expected numbers are >100 per annum and will be online with automated enrolment to enable greater accessibility.
	Cross-Functional Leadership Development – Running interdisciplinary leadership programmes.	First cohort enrolled for June 25, covering 20 SCS colleagues. Plans to have all 120 SCS completed within the next 18 months.
	Engaging SCS – Gathering input to shape leadership expectations framework development.	All SCS have been involved in shaping the framework, with the March 4 event dedicated to identifying what good looks like, how this plays out in our work, and how we co-create actions to role model and embed this vision in the weeks and months ahead. Initially all SCS 120 with wider roll out planned for all staff from Q1 FY 25/26
	Line Manager Community – A social learning and peer support initiative, including virtual monthly meetings and a dedicated engagement space.	Reach is around 2,000 UKHSA employees that are shown to have line management in their UKHSA job profile
What We Will Do Next	Succession Planning – Maturing performance and talent processes.	Reach is around 2,000 UKHSA employees that are shown to have line management in their UKHSA job profile
	Improvements to People Performance Process – Enhancing line manager capability and tracking KPIs.	Reach is around 2,000 UKHSA employees that are shown to have line management in their UKHSA job profile, along with all staff impact
	Full rollout of Impactful Manager Programme (IMP) (FY 2025 to 2026) – Scaling the IMP.	Each module can accommodate up to 16 people. There are 10 modules, and these can be undertaken as a full course or a mix and match depending on individual needs. We expect to run multiple cohorts per year.  Completion will be tracked as part of our data gathering and L&D reporting.
	Leadership Spotlights in Learning at Work Week – Increasing leadership visibility and engagement.	All UKHSA staff and links into ongoing work with ‘building a learning culture’ which was identified as a call to action via People Survey 2023 and continues now as BAU
	MaPS Performance, Learning, and Development and Talent Management Functionality – Enhancing performance tracking and learning content.	Current timelines looking at quarter 1 or 2 for user testing with go live quarter 2 or 3 for all staff
	The re-launch of a learning series based around implementation of the Civil Service Line Manager standards with the launch Line Manager Connect- to pair line managers in a buddy style system for peer support and knowledge share.	Open to all approximately 2,000 LMs and content on the cross-government learning portal is open to all staff
	Strengthening Leadership Forums – Improving engagement through refined leadership and line management forums.	Open to all those with LM responsibilities c2000.  Work has already been delivered to move from Teams chat to Pulse Engage. The Director forum and what was known as the ‘Leadership Team’ forum and the ‘Leadership Team Advisory Group’ is also undergoing change and more on this will be identified as part of the SCS event
What We Will Do Beyond That	Leadership in AI – Exploring AI’s role in leadership and decision-making.	Much of the AI leadership will be delighted through our professions (25 currently) and will be part of an AI delivery.
	Expanding Cross-Functional Leadership Development to Grade 6 – Broadening leadership learning opportunities.	SCS of around 120 if we go G6 then extend to a further 900 approximately
	Professions Action Plan Implementation – Addressing profession-specific leadership capability gaps.	25 HoPs and nominated deputies
	Second SCS Leadership Event (Autumn/Winter) – Continuing engagement and checking progress on leadership initiatives.	SCS cadre