Head of Workforce Optimisation

NHS; North East; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

The NHS is seeking a Head of Workforce Optimisation to lead transformation projects and enhance workforce efficiency. This pivotal role involves managing programmes, engaging with senior stakeholders, and promoting agile practices to improve NHS services. The ideal candidate will possess strong leadership skills and a proven track record in project management within the healthcare sector.

Benefits

Hybrid working flexibility

27 days leave plus bank holidays

Opportunities for development

Active wellbeing and inclusion networks

Excellent pension scheme

Various salary sacrifice schemes

Employee Assistance programme

Qualifications

• Extensive leadership and project delivery experience.
• Successful track record in managing complex projects at scale.
• Understanding of NHS HR working practices and workforce systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead workforce transformation projects and system enhancements.
• Manage multiple large-scale programmes, ensuring service improvements.
• Negotiate with senior stakeholders and oversee project planning.

Skills

Leadership

Project Management

Negotiation

Stakeholder Engagement

Agile Practice

PRINCE2 Methodology

Education

Degree level in relevant discipline

Masters' qualification or equivalent experience

Job description

As Head of Workforce Optimisation, you will lead critical workforce transformation projects and system enhancements, shaping the future of NHS workforce systems and services. Reporting to the Director of Operations, you will manage multiple large-scale programmes, ensuring service improvements that enhance workforce efficiency and experience.

You will work closely with national bodies, ICBs, and senior NHS stakeholders, negotiating delivery objectives, pricing models, and implementation strategies. Leading a team, you will oversee project planning, risk management, budget control, and impact evaluation, applying Agile and PRINCE2 methodologies to ensure successful delivery. Whilst actively pursuing opportunities to further our strategic goals by promoting value and efficiency across workforce services

Leading a high-performing team, you will bring strong people leadership to inspire and develop others.

This leadership role requires strategic thinking, stakeholder influence, and strong project expertise to drive optimisation at a national scale.

Main duties of the job

The role of Head of Workforce Optimisation reports directly to the Director of Operations and is responsible for leading the planning, successful delivery, and impact evaluation of multiple optimisation projects, programmes of work, and implementation of transformed NHSBSA-delivered workforce systems and services across the NHS focused on improving the experience of colleagues across the system, and the efficacy of NHSBSA workforce systems and services.

Leading a professional team, the post holder will negotiate with commissioners, including national bodies, regions, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), and user organisations to agree statements of work, delivery objectives, pricing, timelines, and ways of working, all within the context of a strong understanding of the changing environment and associated pressures on our delivery partners.

Effectively project planning and managing the successful delivery of significant, multiple, concurrent projects and programmes of work at different phases, with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to agreed standards, budget and timelines. Applying agile and Prince2 project management experience and expertise to project planning, delivery, and impact evaluation

Being a key delivery partner for significant NHS workforce transformation programmes establishing credibility with senior NHS HR Community stakeholders to enable successful collaboration.

About us

Here at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), what we do matters.We manage the NHS Pension scheme, process prescription payments and much more. Our services are used by NHS organisations, contractors and the public: we're proud to be part of something meaningful, that touches millions of lives.We design our services around customer needs and place people at the heart of our organisation. That's why when you join us, you'll be empowered and supported to help your career grow.As one of the UK's Best Big Companies to work for, we're connected to our values: Collaborative, Adventurous, Reliable and Energetic. We care about our people, our purpose, and your progress.We strive to offer a fantastic colleague experience, where every colleague is heard, supported and respected. Wellbeing, diversity and inclusion is at the centre of this, and you can join our Lived Experience Networks who help us bring our authentic selves to work.We're committed to being a flexible employer and we try to offer a working pattern that suits you where possible, through hybrid working, flexible hours and more.Alongside a competitive salary with pay progression, we offer a people-centric benefits package, connecting you to the rewards and benefits you value most!Ready to join us in delivering business service excellence to the NHS, helping people live longer, healthier lives? Apply today and see where the NHSBSA can take you.We are people connected to care.

Job responsibilities

What do we offer?

Hybrid working offering flexibility to work predominantly from home with the opportunity to be office based should you prefer, or if business needs require it 27 days leave (increasing with length of service) plus 8 bank holidays Opportunities for development Active wellbeing and inclusion networks Excellent pension Various salary sacrifice schemes Employee Assistance programme, offering free 24/7 support for you and your loved ones Access to a wide range of benefits and high street and online discounts

In this role, you are accountable for

Leadership1. As a member of the NHSBSA's Senior Leadership Community and the Workforce Directorate's Senior Management Team, the post holder will be a role model for compassionate, inclusive, inspirational leadership for their team, the organisation, and external stakeholders and delivery partners.

2. The post holder will lead the planning and delivery of the overall workforce services optimisation programme of work, negotiating priorities, allocating financial and people resources to achieve those priorities, and developing flexible and creative delivery methods to ensure the team delivers the maximum value for service commissioners for the health and care sector in England and Wales aligned to the goals and objectives of the NHSBSA Strategy and the wider system.

3. Through the management and delivery of a broad range of workforce digital projects and programme support across the system, the post holder will connect with senior leaders and specialists from multiple disciplines across health and care, championing a positive reputation for the NHSBSA through highly developed collaborative working, role modelling NHSBSA values, and demonstrable value-added delivery.

4. The post holder will lead their team, prioritising health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and personal and professional growth. As an externally-focused team working independently with user organisations on the delivery of projects, it is critical that the post holder develops their team to be leaders in their own right, as well as professional, subject matter and project delivery specialists.

Stakeholder Relationships

5. A key part of the delivery of projects and significant programmes of work across the health and care workforce beyond the immediate project objectives will be to work with senior stakeholders to influence a culture shift to overcome resistance to change, particularly in the digital space. This will be a key element of sustainable added value for any programme delivery, that will enable successful outcomes to be delivered for future business change projects in this area.

6. The post holder will be responsible for engaging and negotiating support from all of the NHSBSA's enabling services to ensure delivery of their team's programme of work.

7. The post holder will develop and deploy their personal credibility to create and maintain productive working relationships with a wide range of senior stakeholders across the system both to understand the broader operating context and pressures facing the users and commissioners of our projects, and workforce products and services, and to promote and educate people within the system about the role of the NHSBSA and the value it can bring.

Delivery accountability

8. The post holder will have primary responsibility for successful delivery of the agreed outcomes for its commissioned projects and significant programmes of work, including negotiating project scope, pricing, timelines, quality, and allocating all required resources to ensure successful delivery.

9. The post holder will lead and manage the overarching programme of work plan which will include all concurrent and planned projects, they will be the decision-maker for flexible allocation of people, instigating and enacting reprofiling of resources, and delivery to meet complex and fast-paced changing circumstances.

10. Maintaining flexible, targeted delivery across multiple workstreams will require the post holder to maintain a strong focus on risks and issues and taking decisive action to ensure effective mitigations are in place to reduce risk.

People

11. Leading and managing a hybrid team across multiple sites, ensuring all team members have what the need to excel in their role and deliver at their best, bringing their whole self to work.

12. Setting the standards for recruitment, performance, and development within the team, ensuring it is appropriately resourced in terms of numbers, roles, and capabilities to meet the needs of the multiple programmes of high-profile delivery. Balancing skills across the team to allow for the application of existing capabilities and the development of new skills and knowledge to increase the opportunities for upskilling and more flexible delivery options.

13. The post holder is responsible for establishing the team culture that values and deploys coaching and feedback, and readily supports each other to deliver to high standards of work across all programmes and projects. Encourages and coaches people to improve and ensures that any under-performance is addressed in a supportive way aimed at developing the individual to meet the required standards as the preferred first step approach, with the confidence in judgment to take additional action if attempts to meet the standards are unsuccessful.

Governance

14. Lead delivery member of relevant project boards, responsible for communicating plans and progress, performance reporting and MI, providing analysis and insight of data, financial and budget reporting and management, secure management of data and appropriate information governance, developing and agreeing with all relevant stakeholders business cases for proposed new projects and programmes of work within the context of the NHSBSA's strategic plan and the wider system's long-term planning and direction.

Ways of Working

15. Leading on streamlining ways of working with service commissioners to continually improve efficacy of delivery within a good understanding of the long- and short-term implications and consequences of actions taken, and decisions made and ensure they remain aligned to the NHSBSA strategy and the workforce programmes' and projects' goals and objectives.

16. Sharing expert knowledge, collateral, and skills with delivery partners to build their project, programme and digital capabilities for ongoing sustainable growth, best use of products of services implemented, and enhanced performance.

17. Using the professional project management, process improvement, and digitisation optimisation levers to ensure effective governance and delivery via an integrated and targeted delivery model.

18. Working in partnership with programme and project leads and colleagues to ensure the full engagement of all colleagues in their area in the delivery of the NHSBSAs strategy and wider workforce priorities.

Person Specification

Personal Qualities Knowledge and Skills

• Ability to think tactically and respond quickly to complex changing circumstances and high-pressure situations, maintaining a clear view of overall project priorities and delivery timescales
• Flexible and comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and can refocus as details emerge
• Can and does apply project delivery expertise and techniques to set projects up for success, reduce ambiguity, and ensure successful delivery
• Credible and persuasive, commanding the confidence of senior stakeholders based on a strong record of delivery
• Displays professional courage with the confidence and authority to articulate, challenge, explain and justify decisions to senior stakeholders
• Remaining resilient in the face of pressure resulting from managing multiple projects, priorities, and stakeholders concurrently
• The ability to manage change in a constructive and sensitive way
• Ability to influence, persuade and motivate others
• An inclusive, compassionate leadership style to inspire and motivate the best outcomes for your programme of work through a highly engaged, professional high-performing team
• An enthusiastic and effective ambassador for NHSBSA, who can command the respect and confidence of NHSBSA staff and external partners and other stakeholders
• Highly developed people management and development skills
• Highly developed analytical and problem-solving skills, capable of interpreting and evaluating complex, mufti-faceted information, ability to summarise complex information
• The ability to create and manage multi-faceted project plans
• Managing complexity and changing priorities through creative problem-solving
• Innovation and creativity
• Ability to manage varied and complex relationships to facilitate change and improvement, and remove barriers
• Building and maintaining constructive working relationships with key stakeholders

Specialist Knowledge

• Knowledge and understanding of NHS HR working practices, workforce operational management challenges and workforce systems
• Understanding of the legal/contractual framework under which the service is being delivered and the NHSBSA's obligations
• Proven budget management expertise, with the ability to successfully manage budgets and price projects appropriately
• An awareness of the NHSBSA's strategy, business plans and major programmes of work

Experience

• Extensive breadth and depth of project delivery experience, having led multiple projects across all phases a number of times, and performed a variety of project leadership roles
• Proven evidence of successful delivery in terms of complexity of what has been delivered and the scale of challenge
• Experience of performing at high level over a sustained period of time, in a large organisation which has a complex operating environment, where there is uncertainty and continual change
• Proven experience in leadership roles which have included motivating, enabling, and empowering professional and inclusive teams to deliver high quality work
• Experience of leading organisational change and creating a legacy beyond a particular programme or project
• Experience of building productive and collaborative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders in order to arrive at mutually acceptable solutions to business issues

Qualifications

• Degree level in relevant discipline or equivalent experience
• Masters' qualification or equivalent experience