Senior Lead, Payment Development | NHS England

This is a fantastic opportunity to be at the heart of work to support the NHS. In the Finance and Planning Directorate, we:

• work closely with government to agree NHS funding;
• ensure the NHS lives within its annual budget;
• decide how to distribute the funding to the different NHS services and parts of England
• support innovative programmes that improve the care and experience of NHS patients or people using NHS services;
• set out the financial and performance priorities the NHS should be delivering each year
• report how much the NHS has spent on providing services each year;
• explore how the NHS can make the best use of its money;
• look at how spend on building or equipment can improve the care and experience of people using NHS services.
• consider how nationally we use these resources to improve healthcare outcomes, reduce inequality, improve health and support the NHS.

As aSenior Lead, Payment Development, you will be part of a dynamic team working on the NHS Payment Scheme, which governs transactions between providers and commissioners of secondary healthcare. This includesdeveloping policy for new payment approaches and financial incentives to support the wider commitments of NHS England and the priorities set out in the NHS 10 Year Health Plan. In this role,you will support the Head of Payment Development and Deputy Director, and work closely with other parts of the financial strategy and payments team and wider NHS to develop these payment approaches.

The team offers high profile, fast-paced projects. This requires adaptability, rigour and innovation and provides exciting development opportunities for those developing their careers in the NHS, health or the public sector.

This role involves applying strong problem-solving, strategic thinking, analytical, communication and leadership skills to:

· lead the development of payment models and approaches for NHS services, to support wider strategic aims

· engage with other NHS England and DHSC teams and the wider healthcare system to inform policy development and problem-solving

· explore the use of innovative payment approaches to support the longer-term ambitions of the NHS

· contribute positively to wider team culture and development.

This role may also involve responsibility for managing other members of the team.

NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.

Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

In March 2025,the Government announcedthat NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.

If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.

Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.

Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.

Please see attached job description for further information about the responsibilities of this role. You can find further details about the role, a letter from the Deputy CFOs and advice on completing your application in the Document to download section.

Interested in applying and want to find out more about our team and the work we do?

Please contact Kylie Stephen (Head of Payment Development) at emailkylie.stephen1@nhs.net.

Below are the types of skills and experience that we are looking for. Even if you feel you only meet some of the criteria, we encourage you to apply.

Secondments

Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.

This advert closes on Monday 1 Jun 2026