The Senior Health Economist is a key role within the Strategic Value Unit (SVU) of Central East ICB. The postholder will embed health economic analysis and evaluation across the strategic commissioning cycle, ensuring that the ICB maximises value through its payer function. The role will support value based decisions across strategic prioritisation and planning, strategic commissioning and Neighbourhood Health.
The role will work to deliver cost-effectiveness analyses, economic evaluations, and value assessments that inform investment prioritisation, service reconfiguration, and decommissioning decisions in line with the Strategic Commissioning Framework.
The SVU is integral to the ICB achieving its goals through data and evidence driven decision-making, grounding transformation and strategic commissioning in decisions about value. The Unit works closely with the Population Health Unit, providing the Decision Intelligence and Population Health Management functions for the ICB. The postholder will work alongside other health economists as part of a multidisciplinary team including data scientists, statisticians, qualitative specialists and public health experts.
- Provide health economic expertise across the strategic commissioning cycle, including population need, opportunity identification, prioritisation, option appraisal, business case development, implementation planning and evaluation.
- Develop and apply economic models to support commissioning and transformation decision.
- Design and deliver economic evaluations of pathways, programmes and service changes.
- Estimate parameters from published literature, routine datasets, local analysis and expert input.
- Work with multidisciplinary colleagues to integrate cost, activity, utilisation, outcome, equity, qualitative and implementation evidence into coherent analytical products.
- Support strategic prioritisation and resource allocation.
- Produce technical reports, options appraisals, business case analysis, committee papers, presentations and briefings.
- Communicate complex methods and findings clearly to different audiences.
- Use appropriate analytical tools in line with team standards.
- Contribute to quality assurance, peer review, documentation and method development within the SVU.
- Support responsible stewardship of public resources by advising on value for money, allocative efficiency, affordability, resource constraints and opportunity costs.
- Provide line management, supervision, matrix leadership, training or technical support to colleagues where required.
We are committed to promoting equal opportunities to achieve equity of access, experience and outcomes and to recognising and valuing people’s differences. We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity; we see this as a strength and part of our founding mission, values and behaviours. We know through experience that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers patient outcomes.
We are committed to creating the best place to work, where your contribution is valued, your wellbeing is supported and all our colleagues can reach their full potential. We welcome and encourage applications from all areas of the community, who meet the criteria for the role, regardless of their protected characteristic. We work to ensure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone, including making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition and support with the recruitment process for people with lived experience.
We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles.
We operate a Carer friendly working environment that is supportive and inclusive. We actively encourage Carers to self-identify themselves.
We are a Disability Confident Employer and commit to shortlisting suitable applicants who meet the essential criteria for an interview. Please inform us of any adjustments you may require.
The Senior Health Economist provides specialist health economics expertise within the Strategic Value Unit (SVU), supporting the ICB to make value based decisions across strategic planning, strategic commissioning, transformation and evaluation. The role will support the Head of Evaluation, Associate Director and wider senior leadership team by applying economic evaluation, modelling, evidence appraisal and allocative efficiency methods to complex commissioning questions.
The postholder will work across the strategic commissioning cycle: identifying opportunities, appraising options, modelling potential impact, supporting business cases, informing resource allocation, and evaluating whether programmes deliver benefits, value and reduced inequalities. The role requires clear reasoning about constraints, trade-offs and opportunity cost, alongside the ability to translate technical analysis into practical recommendations that influence decisions across the ICB and wider system.
The purpose includes:
- To provide health economic expertise within the Strategic Value Unit (SVU), applying economic principles to improve population outcomes, reduce inequalities and support maximum value from ICB resources.
- To embed health economic analysis and evaluation across strategic planning, strategic commissioning, Neighbourhood Health and transformation programmes.
- To lead and contribute to complex modelling and evaluation projects, integrating cost, activity, outcome, equity, workforce and service-use data.
- To support allocative efficiency by helping decision-makers understand where resources can deliver the greatest marginal benefit, and how trade-offs and opportunity costs should be managed.
- To translate evidence, modelling and evaluation findings into actionable recommendations, communicating clearly with commissioners, clinicians, finance, digital, population health and senior leadership teams.
- To support the other senior leads within the SVU to deliver ICB and system strategies that improve quality, outcomes, and efficiency that may impact beyond own area of work.
- To provide visible and supportive leadership, promoting collaboration, inclusion, and continuous improvement across teams and partners.
- To contribute to system integration and service transformation through effective planning, delivery, and partnership working, working beyond own work area and providing expertise where required.
The responsibilities include:
A. Strategic value and decision intelligence : Support the SVU in providing decision intelligence for the ICB, ensuring that transformation and commissioning decisions are grounded in evidence, value and population health need.
B. Health economic modelling : Develop, adapt and interpret economic and analytical models, including budget impact, cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, cost-benefit, return on investment, multi-criteria decision analysis, decision trees, Markov or cohort state-transition models, and scenario or impact models where appropriate.
C. Economic evaluation and benefits realisation : Design and deliver proportionate economic evaluations of programmes, pathways and service changes, linking costs, activity, outcomes, equity and implementation context to inform decisions about continuation, scaling, redesign or disinvestment.
D. Allocative efficiency and opportunity cost : Support prioritisation and option appraisal by making explicit the constraints, assumptions, trade-offs, marginal benefits and opportunity costs associated with competing uses of ICB resources.
E. Evidence, data and methods : Appraise published and grey literature, estimate modelling parameters, assess data quality, triangulate multiple sources and apply appropriate statistical, health economic and evaluation methods.
F. Insight, communication and influence : Prepare clear technical reports, summaries, visualisations, presentations and briefings that make complex analysis understandable and usable for technical and non-technical audiences.
G. Programme delivery and governance : Plan and manage allocated analytical projects, documenting assumptions, methods, limitations, risks and dependencies, and ensuring that work is delivered to appropriate standards of quality, confidentiality and information governance.
H. Capability building : Support colleagues to understand and apply health economic concepts, including value, opportunity cost, evaluation, modelling, uncertainty and the interpretation of analytical outputs.
I. Multidisciplinary working : Work alongside health economists, data scientists, statisticians, qualitative specialists, public health experts and commissioning colleagues to integrate economic evidence with population health, clinical and operational insight.
J. Quality and Improvement : Champion continuous improvement by using highly complex data, evidence, and feedback to drive service redesign and innovation. Encourage learning within teams, ensuring that improvement methodologies are applied consistently.
K. Resource and Budget Management : Manage budgets and resources within delegated limits, ensuring effective use of staff, funding, and digital tools. Contribute to financial planning and workforce development to support service sustainability. Line Management of the team or department including appraisals, attendance and performance.
