Job requirements
Requirements from the employer’s person specification. These describe the role, not your personal match.
Essential
22 listedRequirements the employer expects applicants to meet.
- Skills
Ability to provide strategic workforce leadership within a complex and changing environment.
- Skills
Ability to influence, negotiate and challenge constructively at all levels.
- Skills
Ability to build credibility and effective working relationships with senior leaders, clinicians, staff-side representatives and external partners.
- Skills
Ability to analyse, interpret and present complex workforce, financial and organisational information.
- Skills
Ability to translate workforce insight into practical organisational solutions and strategic recommendations.
- Skills
Ability to lead and deliver complex workforce, transformation and improvement programmes.
- Knowledge
Expert knowledge of strategic and operational People practice
- Knowledge
Expert knowledge of employment law, employee relations and industrial relations practice.
- Knowledge
Strong understanding of workforce planning methodologies and workforce sustainability approaches.
- Knowledge
Strong understanding of workforce productivity, workforce affordability and establishment management principles.
- Knowledge
Strong understanding of organisational change, transformation and continuous improvement methodologies.
- Knowledge
Strong understanding of NHS policy, regulation and the strategic workforce challenges facing the NHS.
- Knowledge
Knowledge of leadership development, cultural transformation and organisational effectiveness.
- Experience
Significant senior People leadership experience within a large, complex NHS organisation.
- Experience
Experience of operating at senior leadership level, contributing to organisational strategy and decision-making.
- Experience
Experience of leading large, multi-disciplinary People teams through periods of organisational change and improvement.
- Experience
Experience of workforce planning, workforce sustainability and workforce transformation.
- Experience
Experience of providing strategic workforce advice, challenge and support to Executive Directors and senior leaders.
- Experience
Experience of workforce affordability, productivity improvement, establishment management and financial recovery programmes.
- Experience
Significant experience of industrial relations leadership and partnership working with Trade Unions and Staff Side representatives.
- Qualifications
Master’s degree or equivalent level of knowledge and experience acquired through senior professional practice.
- Qualifications
Chartered member of the CIPD (or equivalent professional qualification) Evidence of relevant continuing professional development.
Desirable
Not listed in the available specification.
Job overview
Deputy Chief People Officer Workforce
Division Corporate
Band 8d
Salary £94,356 - £108,814 per annum
Medway NHS Foundation Trust is on a journey of continual improvement, focused on delivering the best of care by the best of people, providing excellent care every time.
We are building a strong, stable, values-driven leadership team & are seeking an exceptional workforce leader to join as Deputy Chief People Officer.
This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping the future workforce of the Trust, providing strategic leadership across workforce sustainability, affordability, planning, people operations, ensuring our people services support the delivery of safe, effective & compassionate patient care.
You will lead a significant portfolio including
- People Partnering
- Employee Relations
- Recruitment
- Temporary Staffing
- Workforce Planning, Intelligence & Reporting
- Workforce Governance
We need an experienced, credible leader who can operate at Executive level & build strong relationships across the Trust.
We require
- Experience of workforce transformation & complex organisational improvement
- Strong workforce planning & affordability expertise
- Experience of supporting Boards & Executive Teams through high-quality workforce advice & assurance
- A passion for creating positive workplace cultures
You will need to demonstrate the leadership behaviours to build trust, strengthen capability & create an environment where staff feel valued & supported
Main duties of the job
The Deputy Chief People Officer is one of two formal deputies to the Chief People Officer (CPO) and a key member of the Trust’s senior leadership community. The postholder provides strategic leadership across assigned areas of the People & Culture portfolio and supports the delivery of the Trust's workforce, culture and organisational improvement priorities. In the absence of the Chief People Officer, the postholder will act on their behalf and provide senior leadership to the People & Culture function.
The post holder will support the Chief People Officer, to deliver the wider operational, strategic and improvement objectives of the Trust, leading initiatives to develop high levels of workforce engagement, organisational culture and performance.
The Deputy Chief People Officer has a wide-ranging and extensive portfolio including Employee Relations and Business Partnering, Recruitment and Temporary Staffing, EDI and Workforce Systems. They will drive value, improvements and innovation in the delivery of people services.
Responsibility for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Wellbeing, Occupational Health and Staff Experience sits within a separate Deputy Chief People Officer portfolio. The postholder will work collaboratively across both Deputy portfolios to ensure an integrated approach to workforce, culture and organisational priorities.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Act as one of the formal deputies to the Chief People Officer and provide senior leadership across the People & Culture Directorate.
- Provide strategic workforce advice, challenge and support to Executive Directors and senior clinical and operational leaders.
- Support development and delivery of the Trust People Plan and wider organisational strategy.
- Ensure workforce plans are aligned to organisational priorities, operational delivery requirements and service transformation programmes.
- Lead workforce affordability, productivity and establishment management programmes.
- Support delivery of financial improvement and productivity objectives through workforce interventions and workforce redesign
- Support managers and leaders to resolve workforce issues proactively and consistently, reducing dependency on formal processes wherever appropriate.
- Lead continuous improvement of operational workforce services and identify opportunities for greater efficiency, consistency and service quality.
- Ensure organisational learning is captured from workforce issues, employment tribunals, investigations, grievances and employee relations activity
- Lead workforce governance, assurance and reporting arrangements across the Trust.
- Maintain oversight of workforce risks, workforce performance, workforce intelligence and regulatory requirements, ensuring timely escalation of issues requiring Executive or Board attention.
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 Deputy Chief People Officer with Medway NHS Foundation Trust in Gillingham, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Chief people officer role. The advertised salary is £94,356 - £108,814 per annum/pro rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 10 Sep 2026.
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