Head of Medical Workforce

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Northampton; Remote; GBP 67,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Head of Medical Workforce & Business (Band 8b) in Northampton. The role leads medical workforce strategy, recruitment, and workforce transformation to support safe, person-centred care across the Trust.

Working with the Chief Medical Officer, you will oversee education, transformation initiatives, and partnerships with clinicians, universities, and unions. A senior NHS leadership background and robust data skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree or equivalent in a relevant area.
• Experience at senior managerial level with Medical & Dental colleagues, ideally in NHS.
• Significant NHS medical workforce experience and knowledge of NHS workforce issues.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and implementation of the Trust’s medical workforce and recruitment strategies.
• Provide professional and operational leadership to the Medical Workforce Team.
• Support Medical Officers with workforce planning, job planning, appraisal and revalidation.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Data analysis & reporting

Stakeholder management

Board presentation

Project management

Education

Master’s degree

PRINCE2/MSP/NHS Leadership qualification

Job description

Main area Medical Workforce Grade Band 8b Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Permanent) Job ref 270-TH455-CORP

Site Berrywood Hospital Town Northampton Salary £66,582 - £77,368 pa pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 05/11/2026 23:59

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated leader to join Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as our Head of Medical Workforce & Business (Band 8b).

Working directly with the Chief Medical Officer, you will play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the Trust's medical workforce strategy, ensuring the effective recruitment, retention, development and management of our medical workforce. You will provide strategic leadership across workforce planning, medical education, business management, workforce transformation and organisational development initiatives.

This is a high-profile role requiring exceptional leadership, analytical and stakeholder management skills, with responsibility for leading the Medical Workforce Team, influencing senior leaders across the organisation, and supporting the delivery of high-quality, safe and person-centred care.

We are seeking an individual with substantial experience working at a senior level within healthcare, a strong understanding of NHS workforce challenges, and a proven track record of delivering strategic workforce initiatives and service improvement

Main duties of the job

• Lead the development and implementation of the Trust's medical workforce and recruitment strategies.
• Provide professional and operational leadership to the Medical Workforce Team, ensuring delivery of high-quality workforce services.
• Support the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Medical Directors with medical workforce planning, job planning, appraisal and revalidation processes.
• Lead on medical workforce business cases, workforce transformation projects and organisational change initiatives.
• Develop workforce solutions that improve recruitment, retention, productivity and staff wellbeing whilst reducing reliance on temporary staffing.
• Monitor and analyse workforce performance metrics, identifying opportunities for improvement and supporting delivery of key organisational objectives.
• Prepare and present reports, business cases and board-level papers for senior leadership and governance forums.
• Lead the review and implementation of medical workforce policies, ensuring compliance with NHS standards, legislation and best practice.
• Build effective partnerships with clinical leaders, operational teams, universities, professional bodies and trade unions.
• Support the development of medical education, research and innovation initiatives to strengthen the Trust's reputation as a leading employer and training organisation.

Working for our organisation

NHFT is an NHS Community and Mental Health Foundation Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in hospital settings and in the community. We provide over 200 services across the county - as well as some specialist services in bordering and nearby counties. We work together with our partners to ensure that everyone who comes through our doors receives compassionate, person-centred care, regardless of their background or circumstances.

NHFT promotes a culture of learning, to improve the care and safety of our patients and colleagues. We have achieved our ‘outstanding’ rating by encouraging opportunity, innovation, development and growth across our workforce.

At NHFT we believe that work should be rewarded in every sense which is why we are proud to an accredited living wage employer.

We aim to support financial wellbeing and create an environment where are people feel valued and able to thrive.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the ‘About You’ Section of the document.

Person specification

Knowledge and Experience

• Educated to Master's degree level or equivalent experience in a relevant area.
• Experience of working at senior managerial level with Medical & Dental colleagues, ideally in an operational and highly unionised environment.
• Significant experience working with Medical & Dental workforce issues within the NHS.
• Thorough understanding of current strategic and operational medical workforce issues within the NHS.
• Qualification in project management or leadership (e.g., PRINCE2, MSP, NHS Leadership).
• Experience of conflict resolution and complex employee relations matters.
• Knowledge of medical education, training pathways and workforce transformation initiatives

Skills & Abilities

• Ability to manage competing priorities.
• Experience of successful leadership and organisational change.
• Experience preparing and presenting Board papers.
• Advanced data analysis and workforce reporting skills.
• Advanced negotiation and stakeholder management skills

We are an equal opportunities employer, which aims to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons from all backgrounds.

All roles are subject to the home office immigration rules and therefore eligibility must meet certain requirements for any sponsorship to be considered. Please visit the government website for more information regarding eligibility,

At NHFT we support many of our colleagues to work flexibly and we will consider requests for flexible working from day one. For this role, we are open to discussing a range of options including flexible hours, agile/home working, compressed hours and part time hours. Please have a conversation with the recruiting manager about the flexibility you need and we will promise to explore what is possible with you.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme. If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible.

All posts that are engaged in a regulated activity will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and a DBS re-check on a three yearly basis whilst employed in such a role. Staff employed in these posts will therefore be asked to register with the DBS Automatic Update Service upon receipt of their DBS certificate and must update yearly , the annual fee will be reimbursed subject to Trust policy. For further information please visit: DBS Update Service: applicant guide - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please note if a DBS is applicable for the position then a charge will be deducted from your first salary.

Please note that all new starters to the trustare subject to a probationary period.