The Health Foundation

The Health Foundation - Building a healthier UK

Health is our most precious asset

We are an independent charitable organisation working to build a healthier UK.

Good health enables us to live happy, fulfilling lives, fuels our prosperity, and helps build a stronger society. Yet good health remains out of reach for too many people in the UK and services are struggling to provide access to timely, high-quality care. It doesn’t have to be like this. Our mission is to help build a healthier UK by:

  • Improving people’s health and reducing inequalities
  • Supporting radical innovation and improvement in health and care services
  • Providing evidence and analysis to improve health and care policy.

We aim for excellence across our work and will achieve this by producing research and analysis, shaping policy and practice, building skills, knowledge, and capacity, and acting as a catalyst for change. Everyone has a stake and a part to play in improving our health. By working together, we can build a healthier UK.

What we do

We deliver impact against our three priorities in multiple ways:

  • We build evidence by conducting, commissioning and mobilising the highest quality research and analysis. We use the latest innovations in data analytics and learn from other countries.
  • We use this evidence to shape policy and practice by influencing national and local government. We’ll encourage long-term thinking and work with stakeholders including health and care organisations, other public services, investors, businesses and communities.
  • We build skills, knowledge and capability by supporting people and organisations, including through partnerships, fellowship programmes, networks and events.
  • We act as a catalyst for change by promoting improvements to front-line care. We’ll encourage and spread innovation and support new initiatives where a large-scale, long-term focus is needed to make a difference.

No single organisation could achieve our mission alone. Everyone has a stake and a part to play in it. By working together, we can build a healthier UK.

Benefits of working for us​

Learning and development

We are committed to the continuous learning and development of all staff to enable people to develop individual skills and realise their full potential. We aim to engage all staff with a challenging and exciting learning culture and encourage openness, discussion and feedback so we can develop and continuously improve what we do.

Everyone has their own personal development plan with learning needs discussed and agreed by both the individual and the line manager, encouraging staff to take responsibility for their own learning. We apply the 70:20:10 framework, also known as the ‘3 Es’ approach, so that our people develop through experience, exposure and education. Our offerings include on the job training, in-house expertise, opportunities to attend external conferences and internal workshops, networking, mentoring, and LinkedIn Learning.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion​

At the Health Foundation we believe in a work culture where equality and diversity is important and people are valued, respected and know that they matter. We treat all people equally when recruiting, training, promoting and in our day-to-day work. We recognise that people are different. This creates a culture that is fair and inclusive, harnesses the abilities of all our people and ensures advancement is based on ability and performance.

Our top priority is finding the best candidate, and that might be you.

We’re committed to building an inclusive workplace that values diversity, which is why we encourage you to apply for our job even if you don’t meet every requirement. We value professional and lived expertise and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. We particularly encourage those from underrepresented and underserved groups in this field, such as people of colour, people from the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to apply.

We encourage you to speak with us about your neuro-diversities, disabilities, long term medical conditions, chronic illness, mental health, wider health conditions and/or caring responsibilities etc so we can work together on adjustments to make the recruitment process and work more accessible and enjoyable for you. We offer flexible working as well as a range of excellent benefits. Please contact us on recruitment@health.org.uk so we can support should you wish to discuss this further.

We’re dedicated to an inclusive hiring process, where every candidate has the chance to showcase their skills in a comfortable environment. So, come apply to join our team and let’s work towards building a diverse and authentic workplace together.

For more information, read our equity, diversity and inclusion policy.

Our offices

Our offices are based at 8 Salisbury Square, London, EC4Y 8AP.

The nearest tube station is Blackfriars (District and Circle lines, Thameslink), with Blackfriars Pier co-located. St Paul’s (Central line), Chancery Lane (Central line) and Farringdon (Metropolitan, Circle, and Hammersmith & City lines, Thameslink) are all close by. If you prefer to cycle to work, we have a basement where you can safely leave your bike.

Our office is fully wheelchair accessible. The entrance to the Health Foundation is on Salisbury Square and our premises is split across the ground and lower ground floors.

Pay and benefits

We offer an attractive salary and benefits package and are proud to be a living wage employer. We are committed to paying competitive salaries and also recognise that many people value non-financial benefits. We have a hybrid working policy and offer flexible working opportunities for all staff.

We offer staff the following benefits:

  • 30 days holiday a year
  • Flexi annual leave, employees have the opportunity to buy up to 3 days of annual leave (in addition to the standard leave entitlement) and the option of selling up to 3 days of unused annual leave
  • Generous sick pay scheme
  • Income protection scheme following 26 weeks of continuous sickness, or disability
  • 10 days of paid carers/dependents leave per annum
  • Contributory pension scheme: the Foundation will match and double employee pension contributions up to a maximum employer contribution of 10%
  • Death in service benefit of six times annual salary
  • 26 weeks full pay for new parents, covering maternity, paternity, and adoption, providing they meet specific eligibility requirements, to include having at least 26 weeks service with the Foundation
  • Employee assistance programme
  • Paid eye tests and up to £60 towards the cost of new glasses or lenses
  • Subsidised gym membership or £60 towards the cost of your choice of fitness benefit
  • Access to Headspace
  • Season ticket loan
  • Cycle to work scheme
  • Give as you earn scheme for charity donations
  • Funding for job-related development plus corporate learning and development opportunities
  • Travel insurance (both business and personal) for employees and family members (this is a taxable benefit)

In addition, the Health Foundation’s social club organises a range of optional social activities, which includes discounted events throughout the year. There is an annual Christmas celebration and an organisation-wide staff away day once a year

The Health Foundation - Building a healthier UK

The Health Foundation priorities

We can build a healthier UK if we value our health as an asset. If we improve policy. If we support services to innovate and improve. And if we focus on the wider factors that shape our health and drive inequalities. We will play our part in this by focusing on three key priorities.

Improving people’s health and reducing inequalities

We will work with others to improve people’s health and reduce inequalities. We’ll do this by increasing understanding about the economic and societal benefits of good health. We’ll focus on the key role of economic, social and environmental factors in shaping health and driving inequalities. And we’ll work with stakeholders to build cross-sector support, mobilising action for the changes needed to promote healthier lives.

Supporting radical innovation and improvement in health and care services

We will support radical innovation and improvement in health and care services. We’ll do this by promoting and evaluating new approaches to improve and transform services. We’ll help to build an ecosystem that generates, spreads and adopts new ideas and innovations. And we’ll help strengthen cultures and capability to deliver change among health and care professionals, organisations and systems.

Providing evidence and analysis to improve health and care policy

We will provide evidence and analysis to improve health and care policy. We’ll do this by publishing high-quality research, producing analysis, insights and commentary that inform discussion and debate. And we’ll work with stakeholders to develop long-term thinking and solutions to the challenges facing the health and care system.