Head of Dietary Surveys and Reformulation and Head of Nutrition Advice and Translation

The Health Improvement Directorate, part of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) within DHSC, leads on evidence based public health policy and programmes to prevent and reduce the health and social impact caused by drugs, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, unhealthy diets, obesity, and physical inactivity. We have a hugely challenging work programme that is a core element of this Government's shift from treatment to prevention, which if successful will drive real change:

• If everyone ate in line with our dietary advice, we would increase healthy life expectancy and reduce the impact on the environment.
• We are creating the first smoke free generation - the biggest public health intervention in a generation.
• We are reducing alcohol and gambling harms.
• We are expanding drug and alcohol treatment and recovery support.
A large proportion (38%) of ill health and premature death is linked to potentially preventable risk factors, many of which are related to diet and obesity. Improving diet and reducing excess weight is key priority of the Health Mission. The Health Improvement Directorate has two divisions working to improve nutrition and tackle obesity. The Nutrition Evidence, Surveys and Translation (NEST) division, in which these scientific roles sit, is divided into three areas of responsibility each led by a Grade 6:
• Appraisal of nutrition science, secretariat to the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and UK Nutrition and Health Claims committee who undertake population dietary risk assessment, and childhood obesity and growth surveillance;
• Dietary intakes surveillance, reformulation, and food environment monitoring; and
• Advising and translating scientific evidence on diet, nutrition and obesity for DHSC policy, other government departments (OGD's) and the wider public health system.
NEST works closely with the Healthy Weight and Nutrition Division who lead on diet, obesity and physical activity policy. This advert relates to 2 x Grade 6 roles -
• Head of Dietary Surveys and Reformulation whose teams are responsible for the dietary surveys and triangulating consumption data with purchase data to monitor the food environment; and
• Head of Nutrition Advice and Translation whose teams advise and ensure that Government policy is line with dietary recommendations and based on the best, up to date evidence.
Both Grade 6 positions report to the Chief Nutritionist and are a key part of the senior leadership team. Ministers have a keen interest in further action to support healthier diets and curb obesity. This is dynamic and fast paced policy area requiring a strong scientific basis. The Head of Dietary Surveys and Reformulation will oversee two teams: the Dietary Surveys and Food Composition team, and the Reformulation and Healthier sales Monitoring team. These teams provide much of the dietary data that informs the diet and obesity policy, and related decisions of the Health Mission. The Dietary Surveys and Food Composition team manages the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS), the Infant Feeding Survey (IFS) and other dietary and food data collection. The team are also responsible for keeping the food composition database up to date. These surveys are essential tools for generating evidence to support public health nutrition policy development and monitor its impact. The NDNS is a rolling programme. NDNS Year 16 fieldwork started in 2024, and the team will simultaneously be reporting on years 12 to 15. Fieldwork for the current IFS is in its final stages, with reporting planned in 2025. This IFS is a follow on from an earlier series undertaken every five years until 2010 and will provide information on breastfeeding and the use of foods and drinks other than breastmilk in infancy, complementing the information collected in the NDNS. The reformulation team are responsible for the voluntary reformulation programme which requires all sections of industry to reduce levels of salt, sugar and calories in everyday food and drink, including commercial baby food and drink. OHID publishes reports on industry progress to achieve these reformulation targets using a third party, commercial data set. The team are also responsible for collecting intelligence on food industry product improvements. The other side of the team have led the Food Data Transparency Partnership working with stakeholders on the feasibility of individual businesses reporting on the healthiness of their sales, thus moving accountability from a sector level to a business level. The post holder is responsible for overseeing these significant programmes, teams, and budgets, engaging internally and externally with key stakeholders. The post holder is expected to use their leadership skills and experience to bring together these different data sets, covering consumption and purchasing, to improve our understanding of societal and industry behaviours and norms, how they are shifting and what influences them. The Head of Nutrition Advice and Translation will oversee two teams: the Nutrition Advice team, and the Nutrient Profiling and Labelling team. Both teams actively advise DHSC and other government departments (OGD) policy teams in the application of nutrition scientific evidence to policy. The Nutrition Advice team is responsible for the Eatwell Guide which encapsulates the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) dietary recommendations, NHS.UK messaging, the 5 a day logo and nutrition content of marketing campaigns. They also support nutrition policy development across government, for example with the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), Department for Education (DfE), HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and NHS England (NHSE), including catering guidance and food standards. The Nutrient Profiling and Labelling team are responsible for the Nutrient Profile Model (NPM), the algorithm which defines if a product is healthier or less healthy according to the balance of negative and positive nutrients in a product, and the front of pack labelling Multiple Traffic Light (MTL) thresholds. The team is responsible for managing any updates to the NPM or MTL thresholds, commissioning the necessary research, expert advice, consulting with relevant stakeholders, publishing the findings and associated guidance. The post holder is responsible for overseeing these significant tools and products and engaging internally and externally with key stakeholders. The post holder is expected to use their leadership, management skills and experience to ensure the best and most robust scientific nutrition advice informs policy decisions, and that processes are transparent given this is a litigious policy area. All the Grade 6 positions in this division play a key role in research and evidence generation. They are expected to lead in the identification of research gaps, and the development and oversight of research proposals, working closely with the public health policy and analytical teams.

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