Assistant Director Strategy & Organisational Development (Job Share)

NHS; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 82,000 - 95,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in the UK seeks a compassionate leader for a part-time cultural change role. You will design and implement key initiatives to ensure Oxleas is the best place to work. The ideal candidate has a strong background in organisational development and change management, with the capability to lead significant transformations across complex settings. This secondment role offers flexible working options.

Qualifications

• In depth experience at senior management level.
• Demonstrable experience of leading large-scale cultural change.
• Experience of strategy development informed by feedback.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of leadership and team culture programmes.
• Oversee planning, creation, and execution of culture programmes.
• Work with Quality Management Team to embed continuous improvement.

Skills

Organisational Development

Stakeholder Engagement

Change Management

Communication Skills

Education

Masters degree or equivalent

CIPD qualification or equivalent

Tools

PRINCE2

Quality Improvement tools

Job description

Job summary

This is a job share role for two days a week working alongside the current postholder. The focus of the role is to lead and support cultural change and improvement within Oxleas. As part of this job share you will take a strategic leadership role in the design, delivery, and implementation of key cultural initiatives, particularly around leadership and workplace culture.

You will be responsible for supporting the deliver of our Best Place to Work strategic priority areas integrating OD initiatives and best-practice improvements to address cultural and process aspects of change. The role will support the alignment of our People and Quality programmes.

You will be an excellent, compassionate leader who will be passionate about ensuring that our Oxleas values can be felt throughout the organisation. You will work with us to ensure staff members feel a strong sense of belonging as part of Oxleas. We are proud to have been awarded HSJ Trust of the Year 2025. We are continuously striving for improvement and we want every member of staff to feel that Oxleas is the best place to work. You will have a key role in helping us to achieving this ambition.

Candidates who are applying for a secondment opportunity must gain the permission of their current line-manager prior to submitting their application form.

Main duties of the job

You will lead the development and delivery of leadership and team culture programmes that support our strategic priorities of being a 'Best Place to Work' and delivering 'Great Care'. Working closely with the Head of Culture and Strategic Programmes and the Head of Equalities and Human Rights, you will build and manage a team focused on designing and implementing culturally inclusive leadership and team culture initiatives.

You will oversee the planning, creation, and execution of key leadership and culture programmes, ensuring they align with our organisational goals and values. In addition, you will lead the facilitation of priority leadership and team development programmes, working in collaboration with colleagues across the wider team.

A key part of your role will involve working alongside the Quality Management Team to ensure a strong culture of quality and continuous improvement is embedded in all aspects of our work. This will contribute directly to our commitment to delivering against the NHS Impact domains.

About us

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We're Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Details Date posted

25 July 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8c

Salary

£82,906 to £94,632 a year pro rata inc

Contract

Secondment

Working pattern

Part-time, Job share, Flexible working, Home or remote working, Compressed hours

Reference number

277-7368944-CORP

Job locations

Pinewood House

Pinewood Place

Dartford

DA2 7WG

Job description Job responsibilities

Do you have a passion for organisational development and continuous improvement? Do you have experience of strategy development, informed by staff and service user feedback and best practice? Do you have demonstrable experience of leading and implementing large-scale cultural change across complex working environments?

If you can bring us, through your personal life experience or professional skills, insights that will enhance our ability to make a significant difference to the experience at work of our diverse staff members and the treatment of our service users, we would love to hear from you.

We are keen to encourage applications from the widest variety of people. We welcome applications from all people, including those from a global majority background, those who live with a disability (visible or not) and those who identify as LGBTQ+.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for the main responsibilities of this role.

If you would like an informal conversation about the role, please contact Kim Gilbey, Associate Director of People or Rachel Townsend, Assistant Director of Strategy, OD & Improvement via email [e-mail] or [e-mail]

Interviews will be held on either 27th August or 1 September 2025.

Job description Job responsibilities

Do you have a passion for organisational development and continuous improvement? Do you have experience of strategy development, informed by staff and service user feedback and best practice? Do you have demonstrable experience of leading and implementing large-scale cultural change across complex working environments?

If you can bring us, through your personal life experience or professional skills, insights that will enhance our ability to make a significant difference to the experience at work of our diverse staff members and the treatment of our service users, we would love to hear from you.

We are keen to encourage applications from the widest variety of people. We welcome applications from all people, including those from a global majority background, those who live with a disability (visible or not) and those who identify as LGBTQ+.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for the main responsibilities of this role.

If you would like an informal conversation about the role, please contact Kim Gilbey, Associate Director of People or Rachel Townsend, Assistant Director of Strategy, OD & Improvement via email [e-mail] or [e-mail]

Interviews will be held on either 27th August or 1 September 2025.

Person Specification Education/Qualifications Essential

• Professional knowledge acquired through a masters degree or equivalent.
• Highly developed specialist knowledge of service and organisational. transformation tools, techniques and methodologies.
• Either a CIPD qualification or equivalent Organisational Development qualification.
• Evidence of QI training and understanding e.g.QSIR.
• Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as PRINCE2.

Experience Essential

• In depth experience of operating at senior management level.
• Demonstrable experience of building, maintaining and utilising successful partnerships across a range of stakeholders.
• Experience of strategy development, informed by staff and service user feedback and best practice.
• Demonstrable experience of leading and implementing large-scale organisational or cultural change across complex working environments.
• Highly developed communication skills with the ability to communicate on highly complex matters and difficult situations.
• Considerable and recent experience working in a senior OD role in a complex environment.
• Knowledge of OD theory and Change management models.
• Experience of leading projects to a successful conclusion.
• Experience of designing strategic programmes of engagement and plans.
• Strong track record of promoting and delivering organisational and transformational change.

Values Essential

• Shows evidence of alignment with Oxleas Values as an approach to delivery

Person Specification Education/Qualifications Essential

• Professional knowledge acquired through a masters degree or equivalent.
• Highly developed specialist knowledge of service and organisational. transformation tools, techniques and methodologies.
• Either a CIPD qualification or equivalent Organisational Development qualification.
• Evidence of QI training and understanding e.g.QSIR.
• Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as PRINCE2.

Experience Essential

• In depth experience of operating at senior management level.
• Demonstrable experience of building, maintaining and utilising successful partnerships across a range of stakeholders.
• Experience of strategy development, informed by staff and service user feedback and best practice.
• Demonstrable experience of leading and implementing large-scale organisational or cultural change across complex working environments.
• Highly developed communication skills with the ability to communicate on highly complex matters and difficult situations.
• Considerable and recent experience working in a senior OD role in a complex environment.
• Knowledge of OD theory and Change management models.
• Experience of leading projects to a successful conclusion.
• Experience of designing strategic programmes of engagement and plans.
• Strong track record of promoting and delivering organisational and transformational change.

Values Essential

• Shows evidence of alignment with Oxleas Values as an approach to delivery

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

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Pinewood House

Pinewood Place

Dartford

DA2 7WG

Employer's website

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details Employer name

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Pinewood House

Pinewood Place

Dartford

DA2 7WG

Employer's website

http://oxleas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)