Deputy Chief People Officer

NHS; Manchester; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Foundation Trust seeks a Deputy Chief People Officer to spearhead the People Plan and lead innovative strategies in a complex environment. This pivotal role requires a seasoned leader with a deep commitment to staff development and values-driven leadership, ensuring a culture of inclusion and excellence within the workforce.

Qualifications

• Significant leadership experience within NHS.
• Proven track record in people strategy development.
• Experience in leading teams across disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Deputise for the Chief People Officer.
• Drive development and implementation of People Plan.
• Lead and motivate teams towards strategic goals.

Skills

Leadership

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Influencing skills

Strategic thinking

Education

Master's degree or equivalent

Fellow/Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

Tools

Employment law knowledge

Talent management strategies

Job description

Go back Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Deputy Chief People Officer

The closing date is 26 June 2025

MFT is one of the largest NHS Foundation Trusts in England with over 30,000 staff, 5-7000 trainees and a turnover of £2.8bn. We are by definition a big and complex organisation on a different scale to most other NHS Trusts and we have an exciting and high-profile opportunity for an experienced People Leader to join our Trust and play a pivotal role in our journey to deliver excellent care for our communities. Reporting directly to our new Chief People Officer, this is a rare and exciting opportunity for a talented individual to achieve amazing people focused developments in one of the most vibrant and ambitious Trusts' in England.

You would be joining us at a time of enormous challenge and a future full of opportunity. The ideal candidate will be a recognised leader with influence and personal credibility who brings senior experience within the people profession, gained in a complex NHS organisation. You will bring strong values that align with ours and you will role model an unwavering drive to deliver the strategic ambition of the Trust, as an anchor organisation for the city of Manchester and borough of Trafford.

Join us and you will have the opportunity to work with some of the best people in the NHS, and thrive in an organisation united in its values, purpose and commitment to patients and our colleagues.

Main duties of the job

As an established people leader with influence and personal credibility, you will deputise for the Chief People Officer across the full range of their duties and help drive the development, implementation and evaluation of the People Plan and related strategies. You will work with key stakeholders to develop approaches to recruitment, people transformation planning and role design in support of the strategy.

You will lead and motivate others with your strong influencing skills as you drive the delivery of innovative people transformation strategies across the organisation and contribute to the work of the GM Trust Provider Collaborative. With a compassionate and caring leadership style, you will deliver visible leadership within the people function, creating an inclusive working environment, ensuring all people activities actively promote inclusion, diversity, and equality. You will maintain high standards of personal integrity, and you will be passionate about improving staff experience and getting things right for our people

MFT has a culture of inclusion and belonging, providing equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open and transparent. If our Trust and this role is of interest , we would be delighted to hear from you.

About us

Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you'll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.

We've also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research, and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system.

We're proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What's more, we're excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.

At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.

Job responsibilities

On this page you will find a Role Profile which provides information about MFT and full details of the role. We recommend that you review this and refer to it as you complete your application. For more information or to apply, please visitwww.odgers.com/93987.

Person Specification

Personal Attributes

• Demonstrable team player.
• Self-motivated, energetic, flexible.
• Passionate about improving staff experience and getting things right for our people.
• Presence, commands respect.
• Personal resilience, self-awareness, determination to succeed.
• High standards of personal integrity.
• Confident and dynamic.

Skills, Knowledge Requirements & Experience

• Significant leadership experience ideally as a Director or experienced Deputy within the people profession in a complex NHS organisation.
• Recognised leader with influence and personal credibility.
• Track record of developing, shaping and delivering people strategies.
• Significant experience of leading teams across a variety of disciplines within the people profession.
• Demonstrable experience of impacting organisational effectiveness through quantifiable performance improvement.
• Experience of leading and delivering change.
• Advanced detailed knowledge of employment law.
• Detailed understanding of different ways to measure the implementation and impact of initiatives.
• Advanced practical knowledge of staff engagement, talent management and employee relations.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Able to lead and motivate others, strong influencing skills.
• Able to assess priorities and make decisions, give leadership and direction.
• Able to lift above the operational day to day and think strategically.
• Able to cope under pressure and work to ambitious deadlines.
• Able to work collaboratively and build relationships with a variety of stakeholders.
• Able to demonstrate a compassionate, inclusive and kind leadership style.
• Able to challenge and promote new ways of working, encouraging a culture of care for others.
• Able to build high performing, cohesive teams, inspiring and motivating others, takes people with them.

Qualifications - academic / professional

• Educated to Master's degree level or equivalent.
• Fellow/Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
• Evidence of continuous professional development.

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.

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Depending on experienceAttractive Remuneration Package