Pandemic Preparedness Adviser

In the Department of Health and Social Care, we are proud of our purpose - to enable everyone to live more independent, healthier lives for longer. To achieve this, and create a great place to work, we have four values: we are inclusive, we constantly improve, we challenge, and we are agile. If this sounds like an environment you would like to work in, we would love to hear from you.

The Emergency Preparedness and Health Protection Directorate sits at the heart of DHSC's work to protect the public and ensure the health and social care system is ready for the risks, threats and incidents that matter most. Our work spans emergency preparedness, national security, health protection, pandemic preparedness, risk, resilience and incident response.

These roles offer the chance to work on some of the most varied, high-profile and important policy areas in government. You could be helping to prepare for future pandemics, develop policy, strengthen national capabilities and work with partners across the health and care system, arm's-length bodies and wider government, while opportunities may also arise to work on other emerging risks.

We are looking for people who are curious, proactive and comfortable working with complexity. You do not need to be an emergency planning expert. You will need good judgement, strong communication skills, an ability to work with others, and the confidence to make progress on both longer-term policy projects and urgent issues when they arise.

Pandemic Preparedness Strategy and Portfolio

The Pandemic Preparedness Strategy and Portfolio team leads work to implement the UK's Pandemic Preparedness Strategy which was published in March 2026, turning strategic priorities into agreed plans and providing assurance for their delivery. It also leads on specific priority cross cutting policy deliverables as well as overall pandemic preparedness governance.

PPSP roles involve working across DHSC, the health system and wider government to support strategy implementation, identifying the key priorities and engaging with key stakeholders to agree plans, developing response planning policy and guidance, ensuring effective governance and assurance to support overall delivery of the pan prep portfolio.

These roles suit people who can bring structure to complex policy areas, work collaboratively across organisational boundaries, and help drive delivery in a high-profile area of national preparedness.