Head of Organisation Effectiveness and Employee Experience

Government Recruitment Service; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 54,000 - 66,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer pension contribution 28.97%

25 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays

Flexible working options

Job summary

Government Recruitment Service seeks a Head of Organisation Effectiveness and Employee Experience to lead transformational people change and improve organisational effectiveness through a systems-thinking approach.

You will partner with employees, representatives and trade unions to build engagement and resolve complex people issues, while shaping reward, employee experience and people policies to drive performance, retention and fairness.

Qualifications

• Experience in leading transformational people change and improving organisational effectiveness.
• Ability to partner with employees, representatives and trade unions to build engagement and resolve complex people issues.
• Experience shaping reward, employee experience and people policies to drive performance, retention and fairness.

Responsibilities

• Lead a specialist portfolio connecting organisational effectiveness, employee relations, engagement, reward and colleague voice to improve colleague and manager experience.
• Use workforce evidence, colleague feedback, employee relations intelligence and systems thinking to identify patterns, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop approaches that strengthen engagement, colleague voice and visible action from feedback.
• Support constructive employee and industrial relations, including effective engagement with trade unions, representatives and Civil Service HR colleagues.
• Develop clear guidance, tools and improvement activity to help managers address people issues early, fairly and consistently.
• Lead work on reward, benefits and the employee value proposition to support attraction, retention and organisational performance.
• Work with senior leaders and colleagues to translate insight into priorities, advice and evidence-led action.
• Lead and develop a team of subject matter experts, setting direction and prioritising delivery.

Job description

Head of Organisation Effectiveness and Employee Experience

Can you lead transformational people change and improve organisational effectiveness through a systems-thinking approach?

Have you successfully partnered with employees, representatives and trade unions to build engagement and resolve complex people issues?

Are you experienced in shaping reward, employee experience and people policies that drive performance, retention and fairness?

If so, we'd love to hear from you!

This role sits within the People and Places Directorate and plays a key role in shaping DVSA's culture, employee engagement and overall colleague experience. Working closely with senior leaders, HR Business Partners, trade union representatives and wider Civil Service colleagues, the team uses workforce insight and employee feedback to drive organisational effectiveness, support strategic change and improve business performance.

The team leads on employee engagement, culture and capability, employee relations, reward and benefits, and the employee value proposition, ensuring colleagues feel valued, supported and able to perform at their best. Through a systems-thinking approach, the team develops people strategies, policies and services that enable effective decision-making, strengthen organisational performance and help attract, retain and develop talented people across DVSA.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King's birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at DVSA:

DVSA roles: Working for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency | Civil Service Careers

In this role, you will translate insight into clear priorities, lead a team of subject matter experts and work across organisational boundaries to deliver practical, evidence-led improvements. Your work will help senior leaders and managers respond confidently to people issues, strengthen consultation and engagement routes, and make decisions that are fair, consistent and aligned to DVSA's priorities.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Lead a specialist portfolio that connects organisational effectiveness, employee relations, engagement, reward and colleague voice to improve colleague and manager experience.
• Use workforce evidence, colleague feedback, employee relations intelligence, organisational diagnosis and systems thinking to identify patterns, risks and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop approaches that strengthen engagement, colleague voice and visible action from feedback.
• Support constructive employee and industrial relations, including effective engagement with trade unions, representatives and wider Civil Service HR colleagues.
• Develop clear guidance, tools and improvement activity that help managers identify and address people issues early, fairly and consistently.
• Lead work on reward, benefits and the employee value proposition so the employee offer supports attraction, retention, fairness and organisational performance.
• Work with senior leaders, HR Business Partners, trade union representatives and People & Places colleagues to translate insight into clear priorities, advice and evidence-led action.
• Lead and develop a team of subject matter experts, setting clear direction, prioritising work and supporting high-quality delivery.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills set out in theCivil Service Line Management Standards.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

About Disability Confident Disability Confident is a government scheme. It encourages employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term health conditions.

Company: Government Recruitment Service Salary: £59,816 to £59,816 a year Hours: Full-time Location: Newcastle-upon-Tyne Job type: Permanent Posting date: 14 Oct 2026 Closing date: 1 Nov 2026