Head of Strategy Development

Are you passionate about making a positive impact on people’s lives? Do you want to be part of a company that is striving to revolutionise access to healthcare in the UK? At Simplyhealth, our health plans provide the opportunity to attend routine dental treatments, visit the optician, have complementary therapies (e.g. physio) and much more by providing financial support to those that really need it.

But we’re not just your average health company; we’re aiming to revolutionise access to healthcare in the UK by offering innovative health and wellbeing solutions that are affordable, accessible, and effective. From preventive care to comprehensive medical support, we aim to empower individuals to take charge of their health, inspiring them to make the most of their wellbeing.

As Head of Strategy Development, you’ll facilitate and drive the development, evolution, and execution of our Group, Line of Business’s and Centre of Excellence strategies. This position will partner closely with a wide network of senior stakeholders to develop, align, communicate and monitor Simplyhealth’s strategic plans, as well as support on special projects that are strategic business priorities.

Reporting to the Director of Commercial Finance, you’ll lead the development of a high-level portfolio strategy across the Group, as well as taking a deep dive into special projects and strategic support for the various Lines of Business and Centres of Excellence. The role will have a strong focus on strategy development & execution, market insight, M&A activities, thought leadership, and innovation & new opportunity assessment.

Key responsibilities

• Facilitate the shaping and direction of the overall Group and Line of Business strategies in conjunction with the respective owners of the strategies and other stakeholders - utilising external market insights and collaborating closely with senior leadership to build the direction, ambition, evolution of each line of business aligned with Group vision
• Support our Centres of Excellence with the development and execution of their strategic plans - play a key role in the group strategic planning processes; including an annual review of the existing strategy, updating the 3-year strategic planning cycle, and facilitating the development of new longer term strategies and ambitions as required
•  Ensure alignment of the strategic golden thread through the organisation, aligning OKRS from Group through to Line of Business and Centres of Excellence
• Identify opportunities for growth & innovation (including new ventures, partnerships, and investments)
• Support the quarterly planning process, including the review of strategic plan outcomes versus expectation and impact of any divergence, advising and supporting the senior leaders to make business decisions to enable the best outcome for customers and the business
• Lead or advise on special projects across the business that address key challenges or identify significant new growth opportunities to meet our strategic aims, including CEO or Board initiatives
•  Support the wider business to translate our group strategy into operational plans, and create a “golden thread” between Line of Business Strategies and Group-wide Strategy
• Champion a cohesive approach to strategy execution, ensuring clear communication, accountability, and alignment across the Group
• Drive the development and monitoring of OKRs across the organisation to support our strategy, by working closely with finance and operational teams
• Support M&A: the strategic identification, evaluation, and execution of mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships to enhance the Group portfolio and market position
• Advise the Emerging areas of the Group; ensure strategic alignment for SH Venture Capital acquisitions of minority stakes in Health-Tech businesses, and guide Foundry on the exploration and incubation of new business concepts
• Collaborate with stakeholders across the organisation to foster strong relationships, as well as healthy challenge and respect, ensuring effective communication, collaboration, and alignment throughout all strategic planning

This is a high impact role that requires working with a high level of ambiguity and changing priorities to meet the evolving demands of the business.

Building positive relationships with team members and stakeholders is a key success factor, requiring the ability to be aware of and work successfully with various perspectives and styles.

Our ideal candidate will be confident to speak up in meetings and state their opinions, identifying and championing opportunities to improve performance and processes across the business – including your own. You’ll promote a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging innovation and learning across the Group with a collaborative can do approach, embracing Simplyhealth’s cultural values and behaviours

To be considered you must have:

• Experience operating at a senior level in a group strategy role
• Proven experience driving candid thought leadership at Board/Exco level, guiding business decision-making and creating the strategies necessary to deliver company ambition, purpose, and vision
• Experience of developing and delivering strategies developed in data and achievable in the real world
• The ability to provide a commercial and strategic lens across a portfolio: addressing key business issues and unlocking areas of opportunity for the group
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, able to establish credibility & influence senior leaders across the organisation up to Board level
• Strong storytelling and communication skills; proven ability to craft strategic narratives and communicate clearly and effectively to internal and external stakeholders
• A track record of excelling under pressure, prioritising & completing strategic projects in constantly evolving environments
• Ability to assimilate and simplify multiple trends, insights, and data sources into a structured strategy that drives action
• Experience using data-driven insights to inform decision-making and challenge the status quo
• Strong commercial acumen & financial literacy, comfortable with interpreting financial models & quantitative data sets
• Has up to date knowledge of current market topics and trends impacting Health and Financial Services industries (e.g. digital innovation, ESG, etc.), demonstrating an understanding of the opportunities and risks they presen

• Previous consulting experience within a top tier strategy/management consultancy

What’s in it for you

As well as a competitive salary, our benefits package includes:

• Group bonus scheme
• Generous pension with a 6% pension gift from us
• 36 days holiday (with the option to buy and sell a further 5 days)
• Flexible benefits pot (which you can choose to use against some great benefits such as critical illness, private medical insurance, shopping vouchers and more)
• Your own health plan
• Access to a wellbeing hub
• Shopping discounts
• Recognition awards
• Give as you earn
• 3 volunteering days

We have a head office in Hampshire, but depending on your role, you’ll be able to enjoy our ‘smart working’ approach This means you can flex when and where you spend your time. For many of us this means day to day work can be handled remotely, but there will also be times when we need to come together in the office to collaborate, attend training sessions, induction, briefings and more.

We’re focused on providing an application, assessment and onboarding journey that is fair, consistent, diverse and inclusive for all, allowing us to hire top talent based on the skills and behaviours pivotal to your and our success.

Your process

• Screening call with Talent Acquisition Team
• Virtual Interview with the hiring manager and team
• Aptitude assessment
• Presentation/case study with the hiring manager and team
• Offer

Should you require any additional support with your application, or need us to make any adjustments for you, please contact our Talent Team; [email protected].”

Please note: Working for a purpose driven company like ours is a fantastic opportunity so we often receive high volumes of applications for our roles. In these cases, we may close our job adverts early and aren’t able to consider applications after this time.