Workforce Directorate
Human Resources
Recruitment Team
High East, Crichton Hall, Dumfries DG1 4TG
Fax: 01387 244043
Email: dg.recruitment@nhs.net
JOB DESCRIPTION for the following vacancy:
VACANCY REF No:
G441a.13
VACANCY (Post Title):
Senior Health Intelligence Analyst
GRADE:
Band 6
SALARY:
£25,783 to £34,530 pro rata
HOURS:
22.5hpw
Permanent
Due to restructuring an opportunity has arisen for a suitably qualified person to apply for
this position in the beautiful South West corner of Scotland. Whilst there are opportunities
to be involved with the whole range of public health and health board areas of
responsibility, the main responsibilities of the post involve supporting service redesign
and the integration of health and social services.
The successful candidate will have sufficient training and experience to lead on pieces of
work independently while collaborating on strategic planning for the wider health
intelligence agenda.
For an informal discussion about this post please contact Ananda Allan, Health
Intelligence Specialist on 01387 272769 or a.allan@nhs.net.
Interviews will be held mid October 2013.
Closing Date:
Thursday 26th September 2013 at 5.00pm
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
AfC Ref: ADMIN012PH&SPHIU
Criminal Record Check
With effect from 28th February, 2011 posts considered to be within "Regulated Work" with
Children and/or "Regulated Work" with Protected Adults will require membership of the
Disclosure Scotland Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG Scheme) as a
condition of employment.
Please note:
You do not have to do anything about PVG Membership when submitting your application
form for the post. Candidates selected for appointment will be advised on how to become
a PVG Scheme Member prior to taking up the position.
Further information on the PVG Scheme Membership can be found at the following:http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/pvg
Standard Disclosure Check
For other roles not considered to be within "Regulated Work with Children" and/or
"Regulated Work with Protected Adults", a Standard Disclosure Check may be required
and the cost of this will be met by NHS Dumfries & Galloway.
Applicants who have lived outside the UK within the last five years, if offered a position, in
addition to a Disclosure Scotland Check, will be required to provide a completed police
record check (Certificate of Good Conduct) from the police authority in the country or
countries in which they were resident.
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
AfC Ref: ADMIN012PH&SPHIU
1. JOB IDENTIFICATION – (AfC 6)
Job Title:
Senior Health Intelligence Analyst
Job Holder Reference:
No of Job Holders:
1
2. JOB PURPOSE
To provide specialised advice on health intelligence, statistics and statistical techniques to
information users at all levels to identify and meet the needs of service planners,
management and staff of NHS Dumfries and Galloway for health intelligence.
The post holder will provide input into the process of understanding health needs in the
area, addressing health inequalities, determining priorities for action, assisting wider
understanding of the characteristics of the local population and actively disseminating the
findings of a wide range of analysis.
This involves using highly specialist knowledge of information systems and software,
statistics and analysis to extract, analyse, interpret, present and explain data and their
limitations. In addition, the post holder deputises for the Health Intelligence Specialist(s)
and line manages other analytical staff within the HI Unit.
3. ORGANISATIONAL POSITION
The post holder will sit within the Directorate of Public Health in the Health Intelligence Unit.
The post holder reports to the Health Intelligence Specialists and ultimately to the
Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Head of Health Intelligence. See attached
organisation chart.
AA: 22/11/2012
Director of Public Health
Directorate Coordinator/PA
Consultant in Public Health Medicine:
Head of Health Intelligence
Health Intelligence
Specialist
Health Intelligence
Specialist
Senior Health
Intelligence Analyst
Health
Intelligence Analyst
Health
Intelligence Analyst
Health
Intelligence Analyst
Prescribing
Intelligence Analyst
(Fixed Term)
4. SCOPE AND RANGE
The post holder has responsibilities for health intelligence to:
a) The Directorate of Public Health (which includes managing other Health Intelligence
analytical staff)
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
AfC Ref: ADMIN012PH&SPHIU
b) The NHS Dumfries & Galloway Board
c) The wider NHS in Dumfries and Galloway
The remit of the post holder may include any aspect of health intelligence. However, the
main focus of the post is health intelligence relating to:
• Public health
• The population of Dumfries and Galloway
• Board level outcomes and service planning
• Primary care
• Mapping and geographical analysis, rurality issues
• Deprivation and inequalities
The work of the post holder plays a crucial role in planning services for health based on
information and evidence. The post holder does not directly administer a budget but his or
her work is instrumental in determining how system budgets are apportioned, e.g. the
remuneration and organisation of GP out of hours services or the distribution of health
improvement funding.
5. MAIN DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
5.1 Planning and Organisational Skills:
(a) To investigate health information evidence for areas where service shortfalls are
suspected or require benchmarking
(b) To manage a number of projects underway at the same time, and it will be
necessary for the post holder to plan and coordinate other agencies/professionals
as well as organise their own time to meet deadlines
(c) To initiate and plan new pieces of work and make adjustments to meet stakeholder
requirements
(d) To establish information and analysis requirements for incoming requests,
reflecting user needs and understanding and the capacity of the HI Unit
(e) To provide the best health intelligence answer possible in difficult situations, e.g.
where there may be no data or different data sources that conflict with each other
(f) To engage with planners to demonstrate alternative points of view suggested by
the evidence, challenging resistance and championing evidence based practice
(g) To communicate effectively to ensure ongoing performance, capacity and HR
issues of the HI Unit feed into strategic planning
(h) To regularly review ongoing workload and commitments, re-prioritising competing
interests in line with the HI Unit Operational Plan
(i) To maintain workload monitoring system and keep a systematic library of data
sources, analyses and reports
(j) To ensure that users are given appropriate support to effectively utilise analysis
provided, through effective communication e.g. written reports, layman’s
clarifications, clear caveats and expert unbiased summary
5.2 Statistical analysis
(a) To undertake appropriate analysis of data, selecting and using the most
appropriate forms of presentation such as tables, different types of chart or maps
(b) To understand the statistical techniques of confidence limits, standardisation of
rates, standardised mortality ratios and other commonly used health statistics
(c) To understand and use statistical software packages for certain more advanced
statistical analyses including exploring data sets and using chi-square tests
(d) To develop new models, techniques or methodologies of analysis to meet
current/future needs in line with legislation, policies and protocols
(e) To adapt, test and implement innovations in analytical methodologies, applying
new methods and practices locally and disseminates good practice, championing
local uptake
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
AfC Ref: ADMIN012PH&SPHIU
(f) To determine whether innovations in other areas might be suitable to improve
services, evaluating relevance and benefits
(g) To lead by example through implementing new methods and change management
techniques
5.3 Mapping
(a) To provide standard maps to support health planning (e.g. maps of general
practices, localities, population distribution, levels of deprivation)
(b) To undertake geo-spatial analysis of health information to support service planning
and evaluation
5.4 Information Resources
(a) To provide a high quality health intelligence analytical service, paying strict
attention to accuracy and appropriate, ethical interpretation in accordance with
policies and protocols
(b) To extract routine data from existing databases or other existing data sources
(c) To advise on the feasibility and necessary steps to collect data that is not currently
available
(d) To challenge problems with quality of information with relevant stakeholders such
as Information Services, IM&T Department, ISD and NRS contributing to resolving
the underlying issues
(e) To explain the meaning of complex data and any limitations as appropriate
(f) To select the most appropriate data sources, analyses and presentation to
effectively meet the users’ needs, proposing alternative analyses as appropriate
(g) To carry out electronic searches for research evidence, reviews, reports or national
documents and provide reports based on these findings
(h) To act as a knowledge resource for colleagues around where to locate information,
how to access it and to facilitate networking to appropriate individuals who might be
able to help
(i) To keep track of new information releases such as national research, ISD releases
and the Scottish Public Health Observatory
5.5 Reports
(a) To provide written or verbal reports on analysis and interpretation of data to users
(b) To have responsibility for producing regular health intelligence reports (e.g. clinical
outcome indicators, GP profiles, deprivation issues, DPH annual report
appendices) and bespoke health intelligence reports (e.g. implications of Scottish
Health Survey for D&G, pharmacy services provision in D&G)
(c) To act as peer reviewer and co-author on policies and protocols developed within
the Health Intelligence Unit, making recommendations where appropriate
(d) To ensure that the report or data provided to users is clear, accurate, and
understandable and meets the user’s needs
5.6 Management and Human Resources
(a) To deputise for the Health Intelligence Specialist(s) and contribute to the strategic
planning of services
(b) To line manage other Health Intelligence staff
(c) To regularly review staff progress against work and personal development goals
and provide constructive feedback
(d) To act as a development reviewer for staff, providing support, encouragement and
leadership towards developing staff KSF and PDP and achieving positive
outcomes for these
(e) To monitor through performance reviews the performance and capacity of the HI
Unit in relation to analysis outputs, quality issues and compliance with professional
standards and take action where standards are not being met
(f) To help towards planning departmental workload against capacity, predicting future
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
AfC Ref: ADMIN012PH&SPHIU
needs and training implications
[Moved]
(g) To audit own and others’ work highlighting where service falls short of desired
quality and discuss this with other HI colleagues and end users
(h) To share good practice and disseminate learning, training other Health Intelligence
staff in the analytical techniques and the practical use of databases, spreadsheets
and maps as needed to provide a health intelligence service
(i) To train and inform other staff about the importance and limitations of data sources
and basic statistical techniques as appropriate
(j) To support and contribute to initiatives such as coaching, e-training and workshadowing
5.7 Training
(a) To undertake all necessary mandatory training
(b) To identify own development needs and anticipate emerging work demands,
developing specialist skills and knowledge in the field of Health Intelligence
(c) To keep abreast of new methodologies, emerging strategies and technologies used
in the field of Health Intelligence, incorporating these into standard working
practices (e.g. GIS, new deprivation scores)
5.8 Confidentiality
(a) To assist in maintaining the confidentiality of data held or used by NHS Dumfries
and Galloway in line with Data Protection Act and Caldicott Guardian Principles
(b) To explain to users the need for confidentiality and any implications in answering
individual requests for health intelligence
(c) To ensure appropriate and secure use of IT equipment and data, identifying
potential risks to the organisation
(d) To make suggestions where potential security breaches might occur, particularly in
own field of health intelligence
6. SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT
Requirements for the post holder are:
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Basic office space and equipment
A PC with adequate memory to run tasks involving large databases and maps
Software including Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint (all Microsoft programmes),
Business Objects, MapInfo, geographical boundary files, STATA (statistical software)
 Access to e-mail, the intranet and the internet
 A colour printer to enable maps to be produced
The post holder requires the ability to use the above hardware and software.
The post holder usually requires to access and analyse data from existing databases rather
than generating new data. However manipulating existing data or recoding of data can
generate new data. The analyst often requires identifiable data in order to appropriately
clean, cross-correlate and analyse the information, and is responsible for ensuring that no
identifiable details (or details that might be identifiable on aggregate or with local
knowledge, such as single points on maps) are released.
7. DECISIONS AND JUDGEMENTS
The post holder has responsibility for assessing Health Intelligence needs and providing a
Health Intelligence service. For example, he or she will advise users about the availability
of information to answer a request, and use judgement to highlight the caveats or limitations
associated with the data. The post holder will identify exactly what is desired and decide on
the best way of meeting that need taking account of feasibility, time and limitations of data.
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
AfC Ref: ADMIN012PH&SPHIU
The post holder can decide on and initiate health intelligence reports, e.g. on new topics
where data becomes available.
The post holder is expected to champion the appropriate use of Health Intelligence within
the organisation, managing conflict with respect and professionalism
The post holder is responsible for prioritising his or her own work and monitoring the
delegated work of the other Health Intelligence staff.
The post holder has access to the Health Intelligence Specialist(s) and the Consultant in
Public Health Medicine (Health Intelligence) for advice and supervision.
8. COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS
The post holder needs to liaise with many different individuals and organisation to provide a
Health Intelligence service. These include:
• Directorate of Public Health
• NHS Dumfries & Galloway directors
• Any member of staff of NHS Dumfries and Galloway
• National organisations including the National Records of Scotland, the Information and
Statistics Division of the Common Services Agency, NHS Health (Scotland) and others
as needed
• Colleagues in other NHS Boards in Scotland and in England in relation to health data
for the population of Dumfries and Galloway
• Members of staff from Community Planning partners, e.g. Dumfries and Galloway
Council, Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway, the Police, the Fire Brigade,
voluntary organisations
• IM&T staff within NHS Dumfries and Galloway
Communication with these individuals or organisations may be in relation to getting access
to data, explaining complex statistical methods, interpreting the underlying meaning of
complex statistics, working in partnership, or championing the proper use of health
intelligence, including compliance with legislation, policies and procedures. All of these
aspects of communication are crucial in providing a health intelligence service.
The post holder needs to be able to explain complex information in different ways as
necessary and bearing in mind the different levels of knowledge and understanding of
individual users. He or she may need to overcome barriers relating to users’ levels of
numeracy, understanding of complex technical information, political climate and
personal/professional agendas. He or she must provide written or verbal reports relating to
health intelligence requests. This may involve giving presentations to groups.
9. PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB
The post requires high level use of a PC, keyboard and mouse. Prolonged and intense
concentration is needed, sometimes for sustained periods. Accuracy of health intelligence
is paramount as errors would make the output of health intelligence misleading or wrong.
There is often a need to work under pressure and to short deadlines.
10. MOST CHALLENGING/DIFFICULT PARTS OF THE JOB
There are a number of challenging aspects to the post of Senior Health Intelligence Analyst:
• the need for prolonged periods of intense concentration and very high accuracy
• prioritising demands at the same time from a number of users all with high seniority in
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
AfC Ref: ADMIN012PH&SPHIU
•
•
•
the organisation for tight deadlines
communicating complex statistical concepts such as natural variation or confidence
limits in simple terms to lay people
work can be isolating, with the post holder solely able to produce some pieces of work
keeping abreast of the latest techniques, information and thinking in the rapidly
developing field of Health Intelligence
11. KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED TO DO THE JOB









Educated to first degree level
Further specialist knowledge and experience of information analysis and statistics
acquired through further qualification, continuous professional development or relevant
experience
Experience of working with multiple sets of data and information systems in NHS or
similar public sector organisations for at least 3 years
Experience in project management and delegation
Advanced knowledge of database and spreadsheet packages as well as statistical
software packages, and have the knowledge and experience to undertake complex data
management and manipulation
Report writing and presentation skills
Familiarity with data security and rules on confidentiality including Data Protection Act
and Caldicott principles
Knowledge and experience of analytical methodologies, undertaking statistical analyses,
and dissemination of findings with the ability to communicate complex information to
specialists and non-specialists
Able to exercise high degree of personal initiative in organising own work, taking decisions
and working independently
12. JOB DESCRIPTION AGREEMENT
Job Holder’s Signature:
Date:
Head of Department Signature:
Date:
AA: 22/11/2012
NHS Dumfries & Galloway
AfC Ref: ADMIN012PH&SPHIU
Senior Health Intelligence Analyst
Person Specification
ESSENTIAL
1. Educated to first degree level.
DESIRABLE
1. Higher degree in Information
Management/ Public Health/
Statistics or other relevant subject.
Experience
1. Specialist knowledge and experience of
working with statistics, including
calculation of rates, frequencies and
cross-tabulations.
2. At least 3 year’s experience in
information analysis and management.
3. Experience in managing projects and
delegation.
1. Specific experience of working
with health data.
2. Experience of giving advice on
data management aspects of
research and audit projects.
4. Experience of managing and
supervising staff.
3. Experience of calculating and
using confidence limits and
standardisation of rates.
Knowledge and
Skills
1. Advanced knowledge of Excel and
Business Objects
2. Skills in using statistical software (e.g.
STATA).
3. Report writing.
4. Clear and accurate verbal and written
communication.
5. Familiarity with data security and rules on
confidentiality, including Data Protection
Act and Caldicott principles.
1. Knowledge of MSAccess
2. Detailed knowledge of Scottish
health information systems (SMR
datasets, QOF, HEAT)
3. Knowledge of a geographical
information system (e.g. MapInfo).
Personal
Characteristics
1. Able to exercise high degree of personal
initiative in organising own work.
2. Able to take decisions and work
independently.
3. Able to sustain periods of intense
concentration and high accuracy in work.
4. Able to deliver work on time.
5. Able to relate to and present information
to people at all levels and from a variety
of different organisations.
6. Able to communicate clearly and
appropriately the complex concepts in
data analysis.
7. Able to tailor communication to individual
levels of understanding.
8. Able to work as a member of a team.
-
Qualifications
AA 20/11/2012