People Services Lead Officer

Transformation Unit; Kettering; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

NHS Northamptonshire ICB and NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB are seeking a People Services Lead Officer (Band 7) to join our HR and OD Team. This role delivers expert HR advice, handles complex employee relations, and supports transformational change across the cluster.

The post requires significant HR experience, excellent communication, and a passion for people, teams and culture change. Interviews on 15 October at County Hall, Leicester.

Qualifications

• Post-graduate level education or equivalent experience in HR.
• Significant experience in a politically sensitive environment.
• Evidence of post qualifying continuing professional development.
• Experience coordinating projects in complex and challenging environments.
• Experience of managing risks and reporting.
• Understanding of the public sector and healthcare environment.
• Knowledge of project principles and tools such as Prince2 Foundation and Microsoft Project.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert HR advice on highly complex employee relations cases across the cluster.
• Deliver an operational and business-focused HR service to colleagues and managers.
• Support the Senior HR Manager with workforce solutions and organisational change.
• Work with the OD Team to support development and transformation to a strategic organisation.
• Lead on ensuring effective and compassionate delivery of People plans.

Skills

HR advisory

Employee relations

Change management

Communication skills

People management

Education

Post-graduate level education

Public sector experience

Tools

Prince2 Foundation

Microsoft Project

Job description

Employer NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board Employer type NHS Site Haylock House, Kettering or County Council, Leicester Town Kettering or Leicester Salary £49,387 - £56,515 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 05/10/2026 23:59

NHS AfC: Band 7

Our vision for the future of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland’s health and care services is for a positive lifetime of health, wellbeing and care in our community.

Our mission in working together, the reason we do what we do, is to empower positive futures. Wherever we work and whatever our role we all want people in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland to be able to choose well, stay well, live well.

Each day our values will help to guide our decisions and what is most important to us:

• Our patients and our local population come first
• We work together in an open and accountable way
• We trust, challenge and support each other
• We do what we say we will do.

Job overview

NHS Northamptonshire ICB and NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB are seeking a People Services Lead Officer (Band 7) to join our HR and OD Team.

This is an exciting opportunity to provide expert HR advice, lead on complex employee relations matters, support organisational transformation, and help managers deliver compassionate and effective people management.

As a member of the People Team, you will work closely with leaders across the Cluster to deliver high-quality people services, influence organisational change, promote wellbeing and inclusion, and support the development of a strategic commissioning organisation.

We are looking for someone with significant HR experience, excellent communication and relationship-building skills, strong employee relations expertise, and a passion for supporting people, teams and culture change.

Interviews will take place on 15th October at County Hall in Leicester

Main duties of the job

• The post holder works autonomously as a senior member of the HR team, to support and advise line managers in developing the capability to deliver their People plans with an effective and compassionate approach.
• The post holder will need to build and maintain constructive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Support delivery of the NHS Strategic Commissioning Framework and LNR Operating Model
• Provide visible leadership in line with values and behaviours.
• Support the Head of Service and their team to ensure that their workstream of programmes are planned and managed effectively and take the lead in assisting in their successful delivery

Working for our organisation

Working for our Integrated Care Boards will require you contributing to a shared purpose of improving outcomes for the communities we serve as part of a wider health and social care system. The organisation’s ethos is rooted in integrity, collaboration and accountability, with a strong focus on putting its patient population at the centre of everything it does and delivering services to improve patient outcomes, patient experience and added years of optimised health. As part of the newly formed cluster bringing together NHS Northamptonshire ICB and NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB, staff are expected to work flexibly and collaboratively across organisational boundaries to support a joined-up approach to strategic commissioning and service improvement. There is an expectation of 40% on patch working, with office bases at County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester and Haylock House, Kettering. Staff can choose which office is their primary base for contractual purposes and travel claims.

This role will require a minimum of 2 days ‘on patch’ working in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland in our 2 main offices or partner sites

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Provide expert HR advice on highly complex employee relations cases, wellbeing, transformational and other HR and employment related issues across the cluster.
• Deliver an operational, and business focused HR service to all colleagues and managers and is responsible for maintaining a high quality strategic and operational employee relations service.
• Support the Senior HR Manager to deliver effective and innovative workforce solutions, advising on how to maintain effective employee relations. This includes employee relations, equality, diversity & inclusion, health and wellbeing, leading and influencing organisational change, staff development, coaching and training.
• Work in partnership with the OD Team to support development and transformation to a strategic commissioning organisation

Person specification

Knowledge, Training and Experience

• Educated to post-graduate level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area
• Significant experience of successfully operating in a politically sensitive environment
• Evidence of post qualifying continuing professional development
• Demonstrated experience of coordinating projects in complex and challenging environments
• Experience of managing risks and reporting
• Experience of drafting briefing papers and correspondence
• Experience of monitoring budgets and business planning processes
• Understanding of the public sector
• Demonstrated experience in a Healthcare environment
• Comprehensive knowledge of project principles, techniques, and tools, such as Prince 2 Foundation and Microsoft Project

Communication Skills

• Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required
• Experience of creating and delivering presentations to a varied group of internal and external stakeholders

Analytical

• Ability to analyse very complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources
• Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making
• Numerate and able to understand complex financial issues combined with deep analytical skills
• Experience of setting up and implementing internal processes and procedures
• Knowledge of Systems e.g. monitoring budget management, processing invoices and procurement

Planning Skills

• Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium, and long -term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly
• Experience of setting up and implementing internal processes and procedures

Autonomy

• Demonstrated capabilities to manage own workload and make informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales

Management Skills

• Must be able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others
• Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals. Skills for managing relationships with a range of different stakeholders

Physical Skills

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office with intermediate keyboard skills

Equality and Diversity

• Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of dayto-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems in the area.

Please note, there is an requirement for all positions at Bands 8b and above to be part of a On Call rota.

All new entrants to the ICB for a permanent position will be subject to a 6 month probationary period. For new entrants appointed on a fixed-term basis, the probationary period is between 1 and 6 months.

We are an equal opportunities employer and all applications will be welcomed and considered regardless of a person’s age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

We welcome applications from disabled candidates and those applicants need only meet the essential criteria to be invited to interview. We will also make any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, including the Job Description and Person Specification, to enable you to pursue your application, providing that you inform us of any special requirements.

L N R ICBs recognise that applicants may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support the preparation of their application, for example to help with structure, grammar, or presentation. Applicants must ensure that all information submitted is accurate, authentic, and reflects their own skills, experience, and suitability for the role. Any use of AI in preparing an application must be clearly declared and may be explored or challenged as part of the interview and selection process.

Arden & GEM CSU administer this account on behalf of the ICB, you may receive communications from both the CSU and the ICB during your recruitment.

If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system and other secure, internal NHS workforce systems in order to support and manage your recruitment and employment within the organisation.