Head of Digital Change & Skills Development, Band 8b (Maternity Cover)

Job overview

Senior specialist role responsible for leading organisational digital change, workforce capability development, and digital adoption across Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The postholder is a key member of the Digital, Technology & Insights senior leadership team.

Leads the development of digital literacy, confidence and capability across clinical and corporate services, ensuring staff have the skills and support needed to embrace new technologies and ways of working.

Working closely with operational, clinical and system partners, the postholder will design and implement digital training programmes, change management approaches and engagement initiatives that drive sustainable adoption and measurable benefits.

Champion inclusion, accessibility and user-centred design, supporting staff through change and embedding a culture of innovation, continuous learning and digital confidence.

Provides strategic leadership for digital skills development, workforce readiness and cultural transformation, ensuring investment in digital technology translates into improved patient care, service efficiency and staff experience.

As part of the wider Integrated Care System, the Head of Digital Change & Skills Development will collaborate with partners to strengthen digital capability and support the successful delivery of transformation across organisational boundaries

The proposed interview date is; 3rd August

Main duties of the job

Provides strategic leadership for digital change, workforce capability and digital literacy across the Trust. Responsible for developing and delivering a Trust-wide approach to digital adoption, learning and organisational change, ensuring staff have the confidence, skills and support needed to embrace new technologies and ways of working.

Working across clinical, operational and corporate services, the post holder leads programmes that drive the successful adoption and optimisation of digital systems, embedding change management, stakeholder engagement and workforce development approaches. They develop digital capability frameworks, learning pathways and training strategies that improve workforce readiness, enhance user experience and support the delivery of measurable benefits for patients, staff and services.

Champions a culture of innovation, inclusion and digital confidence, ensuring digital transformation is accessible and responsive to the needs of staff and patients.

As a senior leader within the Directorate, the post holder leads the Digital Skills and Development Team, manages associated budgets and resources, and provides expert advice on digital capability, workforce readiness and organisational change. They represent the Trust within local, regional and national networks, building partnerships that strengthen capability and support sustainable digital transformation.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Digital Literacy Development

- Develop and Lead the Digital, Technology and Insights strategy for digital change and skills development across Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and partner organisations, ensuring alignment with national policy and workforce planning objectives.

- Translate the Trust’s Digital Strategy and national into practical training and change programmes (e.g. Building a Digital Ready Workforce, Topol Review), digital literacy pathways, and workforce capability frameworks

- Work with Human Resources, Learning & Development, and Digital teams to integrate digital skills training into induction programs and ongoing professional development.

- Design and implement interactive learning experiences, including e-learning modules, workshops, and peer-led training to ensure staff at all levels feel supported in adopting digital ways of working.

- Develop tailored digital training approaches for different staff groups, including frontline clinicians, administrative staff, and leadership teams.

- Evaluate the impact of digital training initiatives through staff feedback, uptake metrics, and service improvement data, adapting the approach as needed.

- Advise senior leadership and Trust Board on digital skills strategy, progress, risks, and measurable impact.

- Build organisational change leadership capacity by embedding structured change methodologies (Kotter, ADKAR) into leadership development programmes, strengthening change capability and culture across divisions.

- Stay informed about best practices and emerging trends within digital technology and apply these insights to enhance the Digital, Technology and Insights training and support.

Change Management & Adoption of Digital Solutions

- Apply proactive change management methodologies that not only support colleagues through digital transformation but also drive faster adoption and earlier delivery of benefits, ensuring minimal disruption to patient care.

- Ensure that new digital tools and processes are aligned with the realities of frontline healthcare delivery, listening to staff concerns and addressing barriers to adoption.

- Develop tailored support plans for teams implementing new digital solutions, ensuring that they receive hands-on guidance, training, and troubleshooting support.

- Work closely with operational managers and Digital teams to ensure seamless integration of digital tools into workflows, avoiding duplication or inefficiency.

- Support clinical and non-clinical teams in identifying how digital solutions can enhance productivity, improve patient care, and streamline administration.

- Ensure alignment with frameworks such as the NHS Digital Capability Framework, Building a Digital Ready Workforce (BDRW), and the Topol Review recommendations.

- Lead evaluation efforts to measure the effectiveness of digital initiatives using KPI and workforce data, ensuring that lessons learned are fed back into future transformation plans.

Digital Culture & Stakeholder Engagement

- Build and sustain strong coalitions across clinical, operational, and partner organisations to drive momentum, encourage collaboration, and ensure collective ownership of digital initiatives.

- Lead cultural change initiatives to embed digital-first approaches across the workforce, addressing concerns, resistance, and capability gaps.

- Develop and implement a digital engagement strategy, ensuring that staff and service users are actively involved in shaping and refining digital transformation efforts.

- Work with senior leaders and operational teams to embed digital ways of working into everyday practice, ensuring alignment with workforce and service delivery strategies.

- Develop clear and compelling messaging to communicate the benefits of digital transformation, ensuring that staff and patients understand how digital tools enhance care, efficiency, and accessibility.

- Create opportunities for ongoing feedback and dialogue, using forums, focus groups, and digital champions to continuously refine digital engagement efforts.

- Foster communities of practice and peer-learning forums to accelerate adoption and sustain engagement beyond individual projects.

- Act as the Trust’s liaison with NHS Digital Academy, Health Education England, universities, and training providers, shaping curricula and embedding national best practice locally.

- Develop and sustain cross-system partnerships with ICS partners and community groups, ensuring that digital workforce transformation is joined-up and inclusive.

Workforce Development, Inclusion & Accessibility in Digital Transformation

- Ensure that digital initiatives are inclusive, accessible, and do not exacerbate health inequalities.

- Embed user-centered design principles to ensure any digital change or training development is accessible, engaging, and impactful for all stakeholders.Ensure digital inclusion is built into service design, avoiding the creation of new barriers for patients or staff.

- Work with HR/OD to embed digital capability expectations into job descriptions, appraisals, induction, and workforce planning, ensuring sustainability of change.

- Work with patient engagement teams to co-design digital services that meet the needs of diverse user groups, including older people, those with disabilities, and people with limited digital access.

- Support staff in understanding digital accessibility best practices, ensuring that NHS digital services are compliant with NHS Digital and government accessibility standards.

Leadership & Management

- Influence senior leaders and frontline staff to create a culture of digital curiosity, confidence, and capability.

- Act as a visible leader, advocating for staff and patient needs in digital transformation efforts and ensuring that digital adoption is led by user experience, not just technology.

- Represent the organisation in regional and national digital literacy and transformation networks, ensuring that best practices are shared and adopted

- Engage organisationally to foster a multidisciplinary team of digital workforce and education professionals.

- Lead and manage the Digital Skills & Development team ensuring continuity of delivery and the development and support of team members.

- Manage budgets, contracts, and resources related to training, ensuring value for money and measurable returns on investment.

- Understand and contribute to the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies/ protocols/ guidelines relevant to digital change and skills development.

- Identify own development needs, aligning these to service requirements and personal aspirations. Proactively develop and improve own practice using all available resources.

- Openly question and challenge practice in a constructive way so that standards of training and digital literacy within the organisation are continually evaluated and improved.

General Working Conditions

On Call Responsibilities - The post holder is expected to be available out of hours to respond to urgent problems with the telephone, network and computer server systems as part of the DTI Business Continuity Management plan and process.

- The post holder is expected to participate in an on-call rota

- Flexible working is supported but due to the nature of the role frequent on-site presence is expected to fulfil the requirements, including clinical engagement & meetings, DTI team collaboration, system go lives etc.

- Software releases and upgrades often require working outside of normal working hours.

'We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role'