Job Overview
Wessex Health Innovation Wessex is delighted to offer a fantastic opportunity to work with us. Please see below for the detailed job description of the role.
Role Summary
We are looking for a Chief Commercial Officer to lead commercial innovation across two pioneering organisations. The Chief Commercial Officer – Joint Role across Health Innovation Wessex (HIW) and Wessex NHS Secure Data Environment (SDE) – is a rare opportunity to shape the future of health innovation, data-enabled collaboration and commercial growth across Wessex. This joint post brings together two ambitious organisations – Health Innovation Wessex and the Wessex NHS Secure Data Environment (SDE) – in one high‑impact leadership role designed to drive partnerships, unlock income opportunities and create real‑world value for patients, the NHS and industry. As Chief Commercial Officer, you will sit at the heart of strategic growth: leading commercial strategy, developing compelling offers for partners, and building influential relationships across healthcare, academia, industry and research. This is more than a business development role – it is an opportunity to help position Wessex as a national leader in commercial innovation, real‑world evidence and data-enabled transformation.
Working for Wessex Health Innovation Wessex
Health Innovation Wessex Health Innovation Wessex is a company limited by guarantee, owned by the NHS and hosted by University Hospital Southampton. Based at Southampton Science Park in Chilworth in a bright modern office easily accessible from the M3, M27 and Southampton Parkway train station, the location offers free parking with a café area and networking spaces on site. 27 acres of the Science Park site are designated a protected Conservation Area and open to staff. We are keen to ensure that staff enjoy a successful work/life balance and offer flexible hybrid working dependent on the requirements of the role. Health Innovation Wessex endorses personal development and provides training allowances to help you deliver in the role and meet your career goals. We also have a proactive approach to wellbeing in line with our core values of being Innovative, Inclusive and Collaborative, with staff engagement groups shaping the organisation’s culture and driving initiatives to allow our people to flourish despite times of challenge, change and high demand.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
- Lead and deliver a clear commercial strategy that drives sustainable growth and achieves ambitious income targets.
- Build long‑term strategic partnerships with industry, particularly within pharmaceuticals, life sciences, medtech and digital health.
- Develop and promote a compelling SDE commercial offer, including consultancy services and opportunities to generate real‑world evidence.
- Identify new markets, funding streams and commercial opportunities that strengthen the long‑term position of Health Innovation Wessex and the Wessex NHS SDE.
- Use market insight and relationship‑building skills to convert opportunities into qualified leads, contracts and partnerships.
- Work at the executive level to influence strategy, shape go‑to‑market plans and position Wessex as a partner of choice for innovation and commercial collaboration.
Role Responsibilities Within HIW
The Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) will be a key member of the HIW Executive team, accountable for the achievement of the yearly revenue targets for HIW and for overseeing the efforts across the organisation within directorates towards achieving year on year sustainable growth. They will lead the Commercial Growth and Customer Relationship functions across the organisation, working with the Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships and Business Development to drive innovation, business growth and commercial excellence. They will play a critical role, responsible for working on large‑scale collaborations with industry partners as well as driving and supporting HIW’s international footprint. They will be experienced in pricing and packaging products and services, and in developing and closing deals with new and existing partners.
Role Responsibilities Within Wessex NHS Secure Data Environment (SDE)
- Develop a SDE commercial offer for industry clients that Health Innovation Wessex can promote, to include consultancy services offered by the SDE.
- Foster long‑term partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry, understanding their strategic direction and priorities and aligning to services offered by SDE.
- Interpret potential pharmaceutical industry clients’ shorter‑term priorities and identify opportunities for real‑world evidence generation, including the use of the AI Sandbox. Make qualified leads into the SDE team and advise on RWD pricing based on market insight.
- Understand pharmaceutical industry clients’ longer‑term priorities and translate into future data requirements – helping to inform SDE strategy to integrate additional data nodes and inform anticipated consultancy skillsets.
- Actively contribute to the SDE business development plan and the Go to Market strategy.
Why This Role Is Special
- A genuinely unique joint role spanning Health Innovation Wessex and the Wessex NHS SDE, giving you influence across both innovation adoption and secure data infrastructure.
- The chance to shape and promote a commercial offer for industry clients, including consultancy services and opportunities linked to real‑world evidence generation.
- A role with visibility and reach – working closely with executive leaders, national partners, commissioners, life sciences organisations, and academic and NHS stakeholders and industry, particularly within pharmaceuticals, life sciences, medtech and digital health across the region.
- An opportunity to help translate Wessex’s strong culture of collaboration, rich data assets and innovation capability into meaningful growth, better services and improved patient outcomes.
Desired Profile
- A strong track record in commercial strategy, business development and income generation.
- Experience in developing offers, pricing services and securing partnerships or contracts with new and existing partners.
- The ability to build trusted relationships across senior stakeholders in the NHS, academia, industry and research.
- Commercial insight combined with a genuine interest in innovation, healthcare improvement and data-enabled transformation.
- The confidence to work across organisational boundaries and help shape a bold, future‑facing vision for Wessex.
Person Specification
Qualifications / Training Required
- Masters degree in Business Administration, Healthcare management or a related field.
- Significant evidence of continuous professional development; record of CPD shows strong self development ethos and learning from a broad range of interests.
- Experience of MedTech/ Health Tech industry, Life Sciences and or the NHS.
Previous or Relevant Experience
- Strong knowledge of RWD/RWE use cases and market forces.
- Strong understanding of the healthcare landscape, including market dynamics, regulatory environment, and reimbursement models.
- Proven track record of driving revenue growth, managing business development, and building strategic partnerships.
- Significant experience in commercial leadership roles, preferably within the healthcare or not-for-profit sector.
- Experience and expertise in the delivery and performance management of work portfolios.
- In-depth knowledge of business issues and innovations to create sustainable solutions.
- Extensive knowledge of programme and project management principles and wide-ranging experience of successfully applying these in practice.
- A detailed knowledge of planning and performance management within health and/or social care.
- A substantial proven and successful track record of leadership and operational management, ideally within health or social care.
- Experience of leading the development and production of strategic plans through processes of engagement and involvement with a range of stakeholders.
- Experience of working effectively in a politically sensitive and complex environment.
- Experience of successfully managing teams and business functions effectively and efficiently to improve outcomes.
- Experience of leading in a visionary, dynamic, highly ambitious and fast paced organisational environment.
- Previous responsibility for a budget, involved in budget setting and a working knowledge of financial processes.
- Experience of motivating and inspiring staff to work together to achieve a common objective.
- Ability to build highly functioning teams.
- Able to delegate effectively.
- Business development and commercial experience.
Values and Behaviours
- Quality – People – Together.
- Innovative.
- Inclusive.
- Collaborative.
- Achieving.
- Trustworthy.
- Patients First.
- Always Improving.
- Working Together.
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