Head of Human Resources (HR) Partnering and Digitalisation

• Provide senior leadership to the HR Partnering and Digital Services portfolio, setting direction, standards and priorities across HR advisory, employee relations and digital service development.

• Lead and chair relevant internal People governance meetings and working groups, producing clear decisions, actions and follow-through; communicate highly complex and sensitive information to senior stakeholders, managers and staff.
• Establish and maintain performance reporting across the People & OD portfolio, including KPIs, dashboards, deep dives and exception reporting.
• Identify and manage risks and issues (including employee relations risk, change risk and capacity risk), ensuring mitigation plans and escalation routes are effective.
• Provide assurance on the quality and consistency of advice, case management, documentation and decision-making across advisory/employee relations activity; ensure the effective operation, integrity, development and use of workforce information, reporting and associated systems within the portfolio.
• Establish, communicate and monitor clear expectations for case progression, documentation quality, review points, escalation routes and decision-making thresholds across advisory/employee relations activity, intervening where standards, timeliness or consistency are not being met.
• Use workforce and case data, including themes, timeliness, outcomes and variation, to identify service risks and inefficiencies, support assurance to senior leaders, and drive targeted improvement activity across the portfolio.
• Lead the People contribution to organisational change programmes (e.g., restructures, consultation activity, transition planning), ensuring robust processes and positive colleague experience.
• Provide senior oversight of consultation, staff-side engagement, equality considerations and workforce risk management in complex organisational change and transformation activity, ensuring fair, transparent and legally compliant processes.

• Drive continuous improvement of People operating processes, customer experience and service standards; evaluate the impact and sustainability of interventions and adjust delivery accordingly.
• Ensure compliance with employment law, NHS terms and conditions and organisational policies, supporting fair, consistent and timely decision making.
• Oversee the development, review and implementation of People policies and frameworks within the portfolio, ensuring alignment to national guidance and robust governance for high-risk decisions and programmes, and contributing to policy and practice development with impact beyond the immediate service area where required.
• Ensure adherence to data protection, confidentiality and information governance requirements for workforce and employee relations information.
• Provide governance and assurance over key employment controls within the portfolio, including the fair and lawful application of employment checks, fixed-term arrangements, right to work requirements and other high-risk people processes, escalating themes and risks appropriately.
• Lead effective resource planning for the People service, ensuring capacity is aligned to demand and organisational priorities.
• Manage delegated pay and non-pay budgets for the portfolio, ensuring effective budgetary control, forecasting, value for money, delivery within agreed limits, and contribution to wider financial planning and sustainability.
• Identify and deliver productivity and value opportunities, contributing to corporate financial sustainability and workforce efficiency.
• Line manage senior staff within the portfolio, setting clear objectives, providing supervision, developing capability and ensuring high standards of practice.
• Lead a culture of accountability, inclusion, continuous improvement and compassionate leadership across the People team(s).
• Support workforce planning, talent development and succession planning for People roles in conjunction with other parts of the People team.

Essential

• MCIPD qualification and membership (or equivalent senior HR professional qualification).
• Educated to Master's level or equivalent demonstrable experience in HR/OD leadership, organisational development and workforce transformation.

Desirable

• Educated to Master's level or equivalent demonstrable experience in HR/OD leadership, organisational development and workforce transformation.
• Project / programme management qualification or equivalent experience leading complex change programmes.

Essential

• Significant senior HR and/or OD leadership experience, including leading multiple workstreams/teams and delivering organisational priorities.
• Demonstrable experience leading complex organisational change and workforce transformation programmes, including consultation and engagement.
• Extensive experience providing expert advice on complex and sensitive employee

Essential

• Expert knowledge of employment law, employee relations practice, NHS terms and conditions and best practice People governance.
• Proven experience of developing and implementing People policies, frameworks and standard operating procedures at organisational level.

Essential

• Credible and visible leader who models organisational values and behaviours; high integrity, discretion and professionalism.
• Resilient and calm under pressure; proactive, improvement-focused and outcomes-driven with strong personal accountability.