Deputy Chief People Officer | East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust; Colchester, Ipswich; Hybrid; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS trust in Colchester is seeking a Deputy Chief People Officer to join their senior leadership team. The role involves delivering the People Strategy, championing an inclusive culture, and providing HR leadership in a complex organisation. The ideal candidate will have significant HR experience and a track record of driving change in leadership. Benefits include a generous pension scheme and opportunities for hybrid working.

Benefits

Generous pension scheme

27 days annual leave

NHS discounts

Staff Health and Wellbeing programme

Flexible working options

Extensive training opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven track record of driving cultural and organisational change at scale.
• Commitment to NHS People Promise.
• Ability to create a diverse and inclusive environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across the People Directorate.
• Lead development and implementation of the Trust’s People Strategy.
• Champion a compassionate and inclusive culture.
• Oversee transactional HR services and improve workforce planning.

Skills

Significant senior HR leadership experience

Strong relationship-building skills

Experience in workforce strategy

Expertise in talent management

Influencing skills

Education

Experience in a complex organisation, ideally NHS

Job description

Overview

We are seeking an exceptional Deputy Chief People Officer (Deputy CPO) to join our senior leadership team within the People Directorate. You will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the Trust’s People Strategy, supporting the Chief People Officer in leading a high-performing, innovative, and inclusive People function that underpins everything we do at ESNEFT.

Experience and qualifications

You will be an accomplished and inspirational people leader with significant senior HR or workforce leadership experience in a complex organisation, ideally within the NHS or wider public sector. You will have a proven track record of driving cultural and organisational change at scale. You should have expertise in workforce strategy, talent management, organisational development, and staff engagement. You will have strong relationship-building and influencing skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across systems and professional boundaries. A clear commitment to the NHS People Promise and to creating a diverse, inclusive, and supportive environment where staff can thrive. For the right candidate we would consider an 8D developmental role.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership across the People Directorate, ensuring the effective delivery of high-quality HR, OD, and workforce services.
• Lead the development and implementation of the Trust’s People Strategy, ensuring it supports our vision of providing the best possible care and experience for patients and staff alike.
• Champion a compassionate, inclusive, and values-led culture where colleagues feel engaged, empowered, and supported to achieve their potential.
• Oversee the delivery of high-quality transactional HR services and drive improvements in workforce planning, recruitment, retention, and talent development to ensure the right people in the right roles.

About ESNEFT

We are ESNEFT and we provide hospital and community health services to almost one million people across east Suffolk and north Essex. Our dedicated staff deliver care from acute hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, community hospitals, surgeries, community clinics and in patients’ own homes. We are one of the largest NHS organisations in England, employing more than 12,000 staff. We pride ourselves on supporting our staff and offer a wide range of training and development opportunities, as well as flexible working options. Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offers a variety of services. Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which cause time delays for our staff and patients. We are investing in our commitment to Time Matters with a partnership with leading electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic, a digital transformation intended to bring what’s widely regarded as the world’s best EPR system to ESNEFT, transforming life in hospital for staff and patients.

Location and work pattern

Based at ESNEFT with opportunities for hybrid working as appropriate to the role.

Benefits and support

We offer a generous pension scheme, potential unsocial hours payments (where applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata), access to NHS discounts, and our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme with a variety of services. We provide extensive training and development opportunities and flexible working options.

Application information

This advert closes on Sunday 9 November 2025. For full details on the duties and responsibilities, please see the Deputy Chief People Officer information pack.