Head of Organisational Development

University-of-Oxford; Oxford; On-site; GBP 57,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

38 days holiday

Oxford staff pension scheme

Discounted bus travel

Subsidised onsite catering

University benefits

Job summary

University of Oxford's Saïd Business School seeks an experienced organisational development professional to lead the Organisational Development Strategy and foster an inclusive, high-performing culture across faculty and professional services.

Reporting to the Director of People and Organisational Development, this is a senior role shaping capability, leadership, talent and employee development across a globally recognised business school.

Qualifications

• Degree in Business Management or Education plus CIPD or equivalent qualification.
• Senior HR/OD experience with leadership and development.
• Experience with LMS, performance development processes and HRIS.
• Strong training-needs analysis and design of learning solutions.
• Credibility to advise and influence senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Strong analytical capability using data for reporting and decision-making.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Experience managing budgets and resources.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Organisational Development Strategy, Plan and Framework.
• Embed capability-building within workforce planning and organisational design.
• Oversee learning and development, performance and development review processes, and LMS.
• Develop talent management, career pathways, onboarding and EVP.
• Build coaching culture and develop high-quality development solutions.
• Use data, benchmarking to measure impact and drive improvement.
• Oversee OD budget and governance of expenditure.
• Build relationships with senior leaders and external providers.
• Line manage and develop the Development Coordinator.

Skills

Leadership & management

Learning management systems

HRIS

Needs analysis

Data-driven decision making

Communication skills

Budget management

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Degree in Business Management

CIPD qualification

Tools

LMS

HRIS

Data analytics tools

Job description

Grade 9: £56,623–£65,336 per annum, including Oxford University Weighting of £1,730 per annum

Permanent | Full time | 37.5 hours per week

We are seeking an experienced organisational development professional to lead the development and delivery of Saïd Business School’s Organisational Development Strategy and help build an inclusive, high-performing culture across our faculty and professional services community.

Reporting into the School’s Director of People and Organisational Development, This is a senior and influential role within the School’s HR function, with the opportunity to shape organisational capability, leadership and management development, talent, culture and employee development across a globally recognised business school.

The role

You will:

• Lead the development and delivery of the School’s Organisational Development Strategy, Plan and Framework, aligned to strategic priorities.
• Embed strategic capability-building within workforce planning and contribute to organisational design, culture and behavioural change.
• Provide strategic oversight of learning and development, performance and development review processes, and learning management systems.
• Develop approaches to talent management, career pathways, skills development, onboarding, employee recognition and the employee value proposition.
• Build a strong coaching culture and develop high-quality, commercially focused development solutions for leaders, managers and employees.
• Use data, evaluation and external benchmarking to measure impact, identify priorities and drive continuous improvement.
• Oversee the OD budget and training and development expenditure, ensuring effective governance, value for money and equity of provision.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders, people managers, HR colleagues, University partners and external providers.
• Line manage and develop the Development Coordinator.

About you

You will bring:

• A degree in Business Management, Education or equivalent recognised training, together with CIPD or an equivalent professional qualification, or significant senior HR/OD experience.
• A strong track record in organisational development, leadership and management, including experience motivating and developing others.
• Experience of learning management systems, performance development processes and HR information systems.
• Strong capability in training-needs analysis and the design and implementation of innovative learning and development solutions.
• Credibility and confidence when advising, coaching and influencing senior leaders and a wide range of stakeholders.
• Strong analytical capability, including using data to report to senior leadership, evaluate impact and inform decision-making.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience of managing budgets and ensuring effective use of resources.

Saïd Business School is a globally recognised institution combining academic excellence, innovation and real-world impact. You will work alongside talented professional colleagues, faculty, coaches and programme participants from around the world, with the opportunity to make a visible contribution to how our people and organisation develop.

We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive working environment in which everyone can thrive. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and communities and value the different perspectives and experiences people bring to our School.

We offer a generous benefits package including:

• 38 days' holiday, including bank holidays
• Membership of the Oxford staff pension scheme
• Discounted bus travel
• Subsidised onsite catering
• A wide range of additional University benefits

For full details of the role, responsibilities and selection criteria, please refer to the full Job Description.

The closing date for applications is Monday 26 October 2026 at 12.00 noon. 1st Interview stage will be Thursday 5 November.

Salary (£) : £56,623-£65,336 per annum including the Oxford University Weighting of £1,730