Job requirements
Essential
25 listedRequirements the employer expects applicants to meet.
- Skills, abilities and approach
A clear commitment to improving care for people using mental health services and an appreciation of the communities SLaM serves
- Skills, abilities and approach
The ability to set a practical direction, prioritise competing demands and turn strategy into sustained delivery
- Skills, abilities and approach
Sound judgement in complex or sensitive situations, including the ability to distinguish between matters requiring executive intervention and those best managed through delegated responsibility
- Skills, abilities and approach
An approachable and visible leadership style, with the ability to listen carefully, assess situations fairly and develop the capability of existing colleagues
- Skills, abilities and approach
The confidence to support colleagues when their professional advice is challenged, while remaining open to scrutiny and alternative views
- Skills, abilities and approach
The ability to establish credibility across different professions and work effectively through shared responsibilities and relationships outside direct management
- Skills, abilities and approach
The ability to maintain constructive relationships through disagreement, challenge established practice and hold others to account respectfully
- Skills, abilities and approach
A calm, consistent approach under pressure, with discretion, self-awareness and a willingness to reflect and learn
- Skills, abilities and approach
The ability to combine fair and robust employment practice with compassion, proportionate decision-making and a restorative approach
- Skills, abilities and approach
Clear communication and influencing skills, including the ability to explain difficult decisions and respond thoughtfully to staff concerns
- Skills, abilities and approach
The ability to interpret evidence critically and show whether interventions have improved services, staff experience or workforce outcomes
- Skills, abilities and approach
Digital understanding to enable the assessment of opportunities for automation and artificial intelligence
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
A substantial record of leading a broad People & OD function in a large, complex organisation, with responsibility for both service delivery and strategic development
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Significant experience of working at Board level, advising and influencing executive and non-executive directors, providing assurance and constructive challenge as part of an executive team involved with sensitive or consequential decisions
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Evidence of improving the reliability and responsiveness of People & OD services and building confidence among staff, managers and senior leaders
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Experience of developing and supporting leadership teams through sustained pressure and change, with clear delegation and accountability
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Strong professional HR knowledge across employee relations, employment practice, workforce governance, recruitment, reward and organisational risk
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Experience of developing workforce plans with operational and finance colleagues and delivering changes to roles, skills or deployment in response to service needs
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Evidence of using organisational development approaches to improve leadership, organisational effectiveness and the delivery of change
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Experience of building effective relationships with trade unions and leading consultation, negotiation and there solution of difficult employment issues
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Evidence of personally leading action to address racism or other inequalities, with demonstrable changes in practice or outcomes
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Experience of managing budgets,commissioned services and supplier performance, with a clear understanding of financial control and value for money
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Experience of using workforce information and digital improvement to support decisions and improve services
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
An understanding of the accountability, professional relationships and workforce challenges involved in publicly funded healthcare, including the needs of a multidisciplinary clinical workforce
- Experience and Professional Knowledge
Chartered membership of the CIPD, or equivalent professional standing supported by substantial relevant experience and continuing professional development
Desirable
Not listed in the available specification.
Job overview
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provides mental healthcare for around 1.3 million people across South London, alongside specialist services nationally and internationally. Its more than 240 services span inpatient, community and specialist settings, with close partnerships with King’s College London, King’s Health Partners and local communities connecting care with research and education. The quality of that care depends on its people: colleagues working across different professions and settings, supporting people with complex and often profound needs. SLaM is committed to delivering consistently excellent, equitable and person-centred care, and to becoming an anti-racist organisation in both its services and its workplaces.
The Trust is seeking a Chief People Officer to join its Executive Team and Trust Board. Reporting to the Chief Executive, the appointee will strengthen the reliability and responsiveness of People & Organisational Development (OD) services, build confidence in the function and support the organisation to deliver change. This means developing a capable, trusted People & OD team, with clear priorities and the authority to deliver, while translating the Trust’s strategy into practical workforce plans.
Main duties of the job
Working with clinical, operational and academic colleagues, the Chief People Officer will help develop new roles and ways of working, strengthen leadership and organisational effectiveness, and ensure sound employment practice and Board assurance. They will bring a clear focus on what staff need to provide safe, effective and compassionate care.
The successful candidate will bring substantial experience of leading a broad People & OD function in a large complex organisation, with evidence of improving services and delivering sustained change. They will combine professional HR expertise with organisational development capability and the confidence to advise and challenge Boards and executive colleagues. Credible with the different professional groups that make up SLaM’s diverse and skilled workforce, they will build constructive relationships with trade unions and staff networks, and show how their leadership has addressed inequality. SLaM needs an approachable, consistent leader who listens, delegates well and supports colleagues through difficult decisions. They must be able to maintain trust through disagreement, work effectively across shared responsibilities and turn plans into delivery. Above all, they will be motivated by the contribution they can make to staff, patients and the communities SLaM serves.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust on this appointment. For further information about the role, including details about how to apply, please visit roles.saxbam.com using reference AADASE. Alternatively email [email protected]. Applications should be received by midday on Monday 23rd November 2026.
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Chief People Officer with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in Beckenham, England. It is listed as a Chief people officer role. The advertised salary is Dependant on experience. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 23 Nov 2026.
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