NHS England

There will only be 1 intern selected for this position.

Please Note: This internship is co-sponsored. This means the funding for this internship is provided by two institutions at Harvard. The Primary Affiliation is with the Harvard Global Health Institute (HGHI), and the Secondary Affiliation is with the IOP. The primary institute (HGHI) will be the point of contact during the application and internship onboarding process.

Program Type

International

Organization Name

NHS England

Internship Location

London, United Kingdom

Organization

NHS England is the national body responsible for overseeing the planning, funding, and delivery of health services in England. It is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care. NHS England commissions services, sets national priorities, and works to ensure that the NHS delivers high-quality, equitable, and sustainable care across the country.

Position Overview

As part of this programme, the intern will join NHS England’s Strategy Team and contribute to the development and delivery of one of the team’s strategic projects. Working as a full member of a project team, the intern will be involved in strategy and policy development, qualitative and quantitative analysis, options appraisal, and stakeholder engagement across the strategic project cycle.

The internship is designed to strengthen the intern’s understanding of the NHS and the wider health system, while building core skills in problem-solving, strategic thinking, project delivery, communication, and leadership.

Project Details

Possible project areas include:

• Health and Growth Programme

• Prevention Accelerators

• Mental Health Strategy

• Housing and Health

• Futures Thinking

Projects focus on national health system priorities and support the development of long-term, evidence-informed strategies for improving population health and health system performance.

Intern Responsibilities

Phase 1 (approximately 2 weeks):

• Develop understanding of NHS operational and strategic processes

• Build knowledge of key policy areas relevant to the assigned strategic project

• Join a team organisational development (OD) workstream and contribute to wider team development

Phase 2 (approximately 6 weeks):

• Support a project workstream lead with project development and delivery

• Participate in problem-solving sessions

• Support development and commissioning of quantitative analysis

• Contribute to options appraisals

• Engage with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders

Phase 3 (approximately 2 weeks):

• Continue supporting delivery of the strategic project

• Present project outputs and findings to senior team members

• Design and facilitate a team session to reflect on key learnings from the internship

Throughout the internship, the intern will receive ongoing support from their line manager and workstream lead, with weekly one-to-one check-ins focused on progress and skill development.

Qualifications

• Ability to interpret health policy and analyse complex information

• Interest in health systems, public policy, and strategic planning

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including briefing and presentation development

• Comfort working with qualitative and quantitative data

• Ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams

• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage deadlines

Learning Outcomes

• Improved understanding of NHS structures, commissioning, regulation, and the wider health and care landscape

• Experience contributing to national-level health strategy and policy development

• Skills in stakeholder engagement across government, local authorities, providers, and patient groups

• Systems thinking skills, including understanding how different parts of the NHS interact

• Experience interpreting and visualising data to inform decision-making

• Strengthened collaboration, adaptability, and problem-solving skills in a fast-paced policy environment

Nature of Internship

Domestic / Health Policy and Health Systems Strengthening

Work Environment

Hybrid. Interns are expected to work in the office a minimum of two days per week, with remaining days remote.

Additional Onboarding for Selected Intern(s)

No formal onboarding process is expected. Support will be provided by the line manager and project team throughout the internship.

Keywords

Data Analysis; Health Equity; Health Systems Strengthening; Health Policy; Literature Review