Chief People Officer | Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh NHS Foundation Trust; Wigan; On-site; GBP 200,000 +; Full time

Job summary

A major NHS teaching trust in Wigan is seeking a Chief People Officer to lead the People & Culture Strategy, oversee workforce planning and modernisation, and drive a fully anti-racist organization. The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong partnership and leadership skills, with experience in workforce transformation. The position requires a strategic mindset to shape the future of health services for the community.

Qualifications

• Experience in a complex environment, ideally within the NHS or public sector.
• Proven track record of workforce transformation and culture change.
• Demonstrable commitment to anti-racism.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and implementation of People & Culture Strategy.
• Strengthen people management capability across the Trust.
• Drive service improvement and high performance.

Skills

People & OD strategy development

Organisational development

Equality, diversity and inclusion expertise

Visible leadership

Partnership skills

Job description

Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) is seeking an exceptional, values‑led Chief People Officer (CPO) to join our Board and Executive Team at a crucial moment in our organisation’s evolution. This is an outstanding opportunity for a strategic, system‑minded people leader to shape the future of a major acute and community teaching trust serving more than 329,000 residents across the Wigan Borough.

A pivotal moment for our organisation

WWL is delivering a £4.8‑million transformation programme – the only one of its kind in Greater Manchester – in partnership with our local authority and ICB, reshaping urgent and emergency care, improving patient flow and accelerating our acute‑to‑community shift. Alongside this, our three‑year financial recovery plan is progressing successfully, supported by a refreshed Executive Team and a new Chair passionate about integrated care. With two new divisions, Start Well and Live Well, we have reshaped our operating model to meet the borough’s health needs across the life cycle and deliver care closer to home.

We are an organisation defined by our culture: low turnover, high engagement, a strong ethos of continuous improvement, and deep partnership with our local system. As an anchor institution – with 70% of colleagues living in or near the borough – WWL plays a vital role in improving population wellbeing, tackling inequality, and supporting the local workforce pipeline.

About you

We are seeking an accomplished senior People & OD leader with experience gained in a complex environment, ideally within the NHS or wider public sector. You will bring:

• A track record of developing and delivering impactful People & OD strategies
• Significant experience of organisational development, workforce transformation and culture change
• Deep expertise in equality, diversity and inclusion with demonstrable commitment to anti‑racism
• Strong partnership skills, including working with multi‑agency stakeholders and Trade Unions
• Visible, compassionate leadership and the ability to inspire followership
• The confidence, credibility and strategic insight to influence at Board level
• A personal style that reflects our values – compassionate, collaborative, authentic and ambitious

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are the proud providers of acute hospital and community services to the people of the Wigan Borough and surrounding areas. At WWL, we value our staff believing that “happy staff makes for happy patients”. We have a recognised track record in staff engagement, and living our values “the WWL Way”.

WWL is committed to placing the patient at the heart of everything we do, and in the provision of safe, effective care that acknowledges and ensures dignity. With this in mind we are seeking to recruit people who share our values and beliefs.

At WWL we value the benefits a rich and diverse workforce brings to our community and therefore welcome applications from all sections of society.

About the role

As CPO, you will be a strategic equal at the Board table, responsible for the design, implementation and evaluation of our People & Culture Strategy, aligned with the NHS People Plan, NHS People Promise and long‑term workforce ambitions. You will lead the full portfolio of workforce, organisational development, culture, leadership, digital people services, education, recruitment, wellbeing and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) – including leading our journey to become a fully anti‑racist organisation.

You will provide visible, inclusive and compassionate executive leadership, strengthening people management capability across the Trust and driving service improvement, modernisation and high performance. You will also play a key system leadership role through the Greater Manchester HR Directors’ Network, the Healthier Wigan Partnership and wider locality programmes.

Will be required to travel to all Trust sites.

Key priorities

• Leading and embedding our People & Culture Strategy
• Overseeing workforce planning, modernisation and future workforce design
• Driving the acute‑to‑community shift and redesigning workforce models to meet growing demand
• Strengthening leadership capability, succession planning and talent development
• Improving colleague experience, wellbeing, psychological safety and engagement
• Leading EDI strategy and reporting, with explicit responsibility for anti‑racism
• Ensuring robust employee relations, partnership working and Trade Union collaboration
• Supporting organisational transformation through high‑impact OD and cultural change programmes
• Delivering People Services excellence with grip, control and service improvement focus

A full Job Description and Person Specification is available in the attached candidate pack.

Applications are via CV and Cover Letter. Please email: [e-mail] using the subject line “WWL CPO Application”.

For an informal and confidential conversation, please contact: Jonathan Phillips – 07817 988490

Key dates

• Closing date: Midnight, Monday 15 December 2025
• First‑stage assessment: Week commencing 15 December 2025
• Final interviews: Week commencing 12 January 2026

This advert closes on Monday 15 Dec 2025