Deputy Chief People Officer

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Medway NHS Foundation Trust Deputy Chief People Officer

The closing date is 10 September 2026

Apply for this job

Job summary

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.

About us

This is a unique opportunity to join a Trust at an exciting point in its development.

You will work alongside a newly appointed executive team with a shared commitment to improvement, collaboration & culture change.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Shape the future workforce strategy of a major acute Trust
• Influence decision-making at the highest level
• Lead significant workforce transformation & improvement programmes
• Build strong partnerships across the Kent and Medway system
• Develop as a senior executive leader within a supportive & ambitious organisation

Do you have the ambition & vision to deliver our mission of theBest of Careby the Best of People providing excellent care, every time?

Here at Medway, we pride ourselves on working together as one to ensure that our sharedvisionis achieved for our patients.

As a key partner in the healthcare of our local population, we are keen to deliver this as an outcome of our Trust-wide strategy -Patient First.Using an Operational Excellence approach to align our priorities and operational management structures, we are just over a year and half into ourPatient Firstdeployment.

Our culture & values define us here at Medway NHS Foundation Trust & are the heartbeat of who we are as a Trust.

OurBESTvalues underpinPatient First & are at the core of the care we give to our patients, the support we offer to our staff & our overall leadership approach:

B - Bold

E - Every person counts

S - Sharing and open

T - Together

Details

Date posted

27 August 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8d

Salary

£94,356 to £108,814 a year per annum/pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

275-0826-DCPO-WKF

Job locations

Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Windmill Road

Gillingham

ME7 5NY

United Kingdom

Job description

Job 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.

Job description

Job 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.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Master's degree or equivalent level of knowledge and experience acquired through senior professional practice.
• Chartered member of the CIPD (or equivalent professional qualification) Evidence of relevant continuing professional development.

Knowledge

Essential

• Expert knowledge of strategic and operational People practice
• Expert knowledge of employment law, employee relations and industrial relations practice.
• Strong understanding of workforce planning methodologies and workforce sustainability approaches.
• Strong understanding of workforce productivity, workforce affordability and establishment management principles.
• Strong understanding of organisational change, transformation and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Strong understanding of NHS policy, regulation and the strategic workforce challenges facing the NHS.
• Knowledge of leadership development, cultural transformation and organisational effectiveness.

Experience

Essential

• Significant senior People leadership experience within a large, complex NHS organisation.
• Experience of operating at senior leadership level, contributing to organisational strategy and decision-making.
• Experience of leading large, multi-disciplinary People teams through periods of organisational change and improvement.
• Experience of workforce planning, workforce sustainability and workforce transformation.
• Experience of providing strategic workforce advice, challenge and support to Executive Directors and senior leaders.
• Experience of workforce affordability, productivity improvement, establishment management and financial recovery programmes.
• Significant experience of industrial relations leadership and partnership working with Trade Unions and Staff Side representatives.

Skills

Essential

• Ability to provide strategic workforce leadership within a complex and changing environment.
• Ability to influence, negotiate and challenge constructively at all levels.
• Ability to build credibility and effective working relationships with senior leaders, clinicians, staff-side representatives and external partners.
• Ability to analyse, interpret and present complex workforce, financial and organisational information.
• Ability to translate workforce insight into practical organisational solutions and strategic recommendations.
• Ability to lead and deliver complex workforce, transformation and improvement programmes.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Master's degree or equivalent level of knowledge and experience acquired through senior professional practice.
• Chartered member of the CIPD (or equivalent professional qualification) Evidence of relevant continuing professional development.

Knowledge

Essential

• Expert knowledge of strategic and operational People practice
• Expert knowledge of employment law, employee relations and industrial relations practice.
• Strong understanding of workforce planning methodologies and workforce sustainability approaches.
• Strong understanding of workforce productivity, workforce affordability and establishment management principles.
• Strong understanding of organisational change, transformation and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Strong understanding of NHS policy, regulation and the strategic workforce challenges facing the NHS.
• Knowledge of leadership development, cultural transformation and organisational effectiveness.

Experience

Essential

• Significant senior People leadership experience within a large, complex NHS organisation.
• Experience of operating at senior leadership level, contributing to organisational strategy and decision-making.
• Experience of leading large, multi-disciplinary People teams through periods of organisational change and improvement.
• Experience of workforce planning, workforce sustainability and workforce transformation.
• Experience of providing strategic workforce advice, challenge and support to Executive Directors and senior leaders.
• Experience of workforce affordability, productivity improvement, establishment management and financial recovery programmes.
• Significant experience of industrial relations leadership and partnership working with Trade Unions and Staff Side representatives.

Skills

Essential

• Ability to provide strategic workforce leadership within a complex and changing environment.
• Ability to influence, negotiate and challenge constructively at all levels.
• Ability to build credibility and effective working relationships with senior leaders, clinicians, staff-side representatives and external partners.
• Ability to analyse, interpret and present complex workforce, financial and organisational information.
• Ability to translate workforce insight into practical organisational solutions and strategic recommendations.
• Ability to lead and deliver complex workforce, transformation and improvement programmes.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Windmill Road

Gillingham

ME7 5NY

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.medway.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Windmill Road

Gillingham

ME7 5NY

United Kingdom

Employer's website

https://www.medway.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Chief People Officer

Sheridan Flavin

[email protected]

Details

Date posted

27 August 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8d

Salary

£94,356 to £108,814 a year per annum/pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

275-0826-DCPO-WKF

Job locations

Medway NHS Foundation Trust

Windmill Road

Gillingham

ME7 5NY

United Kingdom

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