Job overview
Shape the future of our People services. Strengthen the experience of our colleagues. Improve lives across our communities – nurture the power in our communities.
This is an exceptional opportunity to join RDaSH as our Deputy Director of People—a pivotal leadership role where you will help shape a modern, compassionate, high‑performing People function that delivers on our organisational strategy and our 28 Promises to colleagues and patients.
Main duties of the job
As a key member of the Trust’s senior leadership team, you will provide strategic direction across the People Directorate, ensuring our services enable outstanding care, an engaged workforce, and a culture where colleagues feel valued, supported, and able to thrive. You will lead high‑performing teams, drive innovation, and champion approaches that strengthen recruitment, retention, wellbeing, leadership development, and organisational culture.
You will act as a trusted adviser to leaders at every level and will deputise for the Director of People, playing a central role in shaping the future of our organisation as we continue to evolve to meet the needs of our communities.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please view the attached job description and person specification to view the full details about the role.
We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if there are a high amount of applications.
Person specification
Skills
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, able to engage with stakeholders at all levels to influence, persuade and resolve difficult situations.
- Ability to set out a clear strategic direction, inspire others and assume command, together with an ability to translate strategic objectives into deliverable operational plans.
- High level planning, prioritising and organisational skills, experience of managing multiple projects, ensuring effective and efficient use of available resources.
- Strategic and business planning – able to think and plan strategically, tactically and creatively and gain agreement to relevant plans and to implement plans through service delivery.
- Ability to effectively provide and receive highly complex information which may require analysis and interpretation and develop solutions if required.
- Ability to receive, process, summarise, interpret, and communicate highly complex, sensitive, and contentious People information where there are barriers to acceptance and resistance to change.
- High level of emotional intelligence; able to understand and master own emotions and facilitate multi- disciplinary teams to work together to solve problems during circumstances of conflict, tension or emotional distress.
- Ability to engage, work with, and influence a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to bring about change and service improvements.
- Able to challenge and promote new ways of working, encouraging a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.
- Demonstrate strong empathy and sensitivity to the needs/experiences of individuals/groups.
- Ability to challenge poor behaviour and effectively manage and resolve poor performance.
- Able to confidently lead and undertake HR processes in relation to organisational change.
- Politically astute and able to respond to the often-competing agendas required in a large complex organisation with integrity and professionalism.
- Demonstrable ability to manage, and to promote diversity in day-to-day practice of self and others
Knowledge
Desirable
- Knowledge of NHS HR systems, processes, and terms and conditions.
Experience
Essential
- Significant experience at a senior level within a role of a similar nature of working in a complex organisation.
- Proven track record of leading multi-disciplinary People & OD teams and senior managers.
- Consultation, negotiation and influencing different stakeholders, including staff and staff representatives.
- Demonstrable experience of having led large programmes of transformational change.
- Experience of partnership working, including system partners, trades unions and professional associations.
- Budgetary management and CIP delivery.
- Experience in managing workforce issues arising from significant structural re-organisation or service change including TUPE.
- Experience of advising on complex employee relation cases, including Employment Tribunal responses.
- Experience in building personal and professional credibility with the Board, management, and stakeholders.
- Understand and respond to the challenges facing the workforce currently and in the future with knowledge of activities to support workforce planning in line with strategic business planning.
- Significant experience and understanding of UK employment legislation.
- Track record of delivering stretching objectives on time.
Qualifications
Essential
- Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management or relevant area or equivalent level of experience.
- Full membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (chartered or chartered fellow) or equivalent level experience.
- Evidence of postgraduate study showing the acquisition of specialist knowledge in the area of people and OD.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Deputy Director of People with Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust in Doncaster, North East and Yorkshire, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Manager and corporate role. The advertised salary is £79,504 - £91,609 per annum. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 03 Jul 2026.
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