Head of People Development and Experience

University of Brighton; Brighton; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Part time

Job summary

University of Brighton is seeking an experienced and strategic leader to serve as Head of People Development & Experience, a pivotal role within the People Department that will help deliver our Distinctively Brighton 2035 strategy. This senior position will shape how we nurture talent, leadership capability, and a positive staff experience across the university.

You will lead the people development and colleague experience agenda, manage a small team, and partner with colleagues across the

Job description

Head of People Development and Experience

People Department

Location: Brighton - City Campus, Moulsecoomb and Falmer

30 hours per week

ClosingDate: Sunday 20 September 2026

InterviewDate: Wednesday 23 September 2026

Reference: PD5032-26-200

We are seeking an experienced and strategic people leader to join us as Head of People Development & Experience, a pivotal leadership role within the People Department that will play a key part in delivering our ambitious Distinctively Brighton 2035 strategy . Our vision is to become the first-choice university for enterprise and equity, creating an environment where our people, students and communities can thrive.

This is a high-impact role where you will lead the University's people development and colleague experience agenda. Leading a small team and partnering with colleagues across the institution, you will drive initiatives that strengthen leadership and people management effectiveness, enhance staff engagement and wellbeing, develop talent and support a culture of accountability, achievement and continuous improvement.

We are looking for a collaborative and engaging leader with significant experience in organisational development, learning and development, culture change and employee experience within a complex organisation. You will have a strong track record of delivering strategic people initiatives, developing people managers and using data insights to drive measurable improvement. Experience of implementing or overseeing learning management systems, digital learning platforms, AI-enabled learning tools and initiatives that build workforce digital capability would be advantageous.

A degree, relevant professional qualification, or equivalent experience in organisational development, learning and development, or a related discipline is essential.

This is a 30 hours per week permanent position.

In-person interviews will take place at the University of Brighton's Moulsecoomb campus on Wednesday 23 September 2026.

The University is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive environment for all staff regardless of age, disability, family or caring responsibilities, gender identity, marital status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief (including non-belief), sex and sexual orientation. We embrace equality and diversity in our working, learning, research and teaching environment and are committed to maintaining a supportive and inclusive community. We particularly encourage applicants from Minority Ethnic backgrounds because the University is under-represented by Minority Ethnic staff.

For the vast majority of our roles we operate an agile working system, with time split between working on campus and at the employee's home. It is the University's expectation that home working will take place within the UK.

Further information about working for us, as well as the wide range of benefits we offer, can be found in the working with us section of our vacancies page.