Job summary
Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) is seeking an exceptional, values‑led Chief People Officer (CPO) to join our Board and Executive Team at a crucial moment in our organisation's evolution. This is an outstanding opportunity for a strategic, system‑minded people leader to shape the future of a major acute and community teaching trust serving more than 329,000 residents across the Wigan Borough.
A pivotal moment for our organisation
WWL is delivering a £4.8m transformation programme – the only one of its kind in Greater Manchester – in partnership with our local authority and ICB, reshaping urgent and emergency care, improving patient flow and accelerating our acute‑to‑community shift. Alongside this, our three‑year financial recovery plan is progressing successfully, supported by a refreshed Executive Team and a new Chair passionate about integrated care. With two new divisions, Start Well and Live Well, we have reshaped our operating model to meet the borough's health needs across the life course and deliver care closer to home.
We are an organisation defined by our culture: low turnover, high engagement, a strong ethos of continuous improvement, and deep partnership with our local system. As an anchor institution – with 70% of colleagues living in or near the borough – WWL plays a vital role in improving population well‑being, tackling inequality, and supporting the local workforce pipeline.
Main duties of the job
About you: We are seeking an accomplished senior People & OD leader with experience gained in a complex environment, ideally within the NHS or wider public sector. You will bring:
* Track record of developing and delivering impactful People & OD strategies
* Significant experience of organisational development, workforce transformation and culture change
* Deep expertise in equality, diversity and inclusion with demonstrable commitment to anti‑racism
* Strong partnership skills, including working with multi‑agency stakeholders and Trade Unions
* Visible, compassionate leadership and the ability to inspire followership
* The confidence, credibility and strategic insight to influence at Board level
* A personal style that reflects our values – compassionate, collaborative, authentic and ambitious
About us
Wrightington Wigan & Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are the proud providers of acute hospital and community services to the people of the Wigan Borough and surrounding areas. At WWL, we value our staff believing that ‘happy staff, makes for happy patients’. We have a recognised track record in staff engagement, and living our values ‘the WWL Way’.
WWL are committed to placing the patient at the heart of everything we do, and in the provision of safe, effective care that acknowledges and ensures dignity. With this in mind we are seeking to recruit people who share our values and beliefs.
At WWL we value the benefits a rich and diverse workforce brings to our community and therefore welcome applications from all sections of society.
Job responsibilities
About the role: As CPO, you will be a strategic equal at the Board table, responsible for the design, implementation and evaluation of our People & Culture Strategy, aligned with the NHS People Plan, NHS People Promise and long‑term workforce ambitions. You will lead the full portfolio of workforce, organisational development, culture, leadership, digital people services, education, recruitment, wellbeing and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) including leading our journey to become a fully anti‑racist organisation.
You will provide visible, inclusive and compassionate executive leadership, strengthening people management capability across the Trust and driving service improvement, modernisation and high performance. You will also play a key system leadership role through the Greater Manchester HR Directors Network, the Healthier Wigan Partnership and wider locality programmes.
Will be required to travel to all Trust sites.
Key priorities include:
* Leading and embedding our People & Culture Strategy
* Overseeing workforce planning, modernisation and future workforce design
* Driving the acute‑to‑community shift and redesigning workforce models to meet growing demand
* Strengthening leadership capability, succession planning and talent development
* Improving colleague experience, wellbeing, psychological safety and engagement
* Leading EDI strategy and reporting, with explicit responsibility for anti‑racism
* Ensuring robust employee relations, partnership working and Trade Union collaboration
* Supporting organisational transformation through high‑impact OD and cultural change programmes
* Delivering People Services excellence with grip, control and service improvement focus
Key dates
* Closing date: Midnight, Monday 15 December 2025
* First‑stage assessment: Week commencing 15 December 2025
* Final interviews: Week commencing 12 January 2026
Person Specification
Essential qualifications
* MA in HR Management / associated subject (or equivalent experience)
* MCIPD
* Recognised Leadership Development
* Evidence of continuing professional and leadership development
Desirable qualifications
* FCIPD
Essential experience
* Senior People & OD leadership experience in a highly complex organisation
* Evidence of successful development, implementation and delivery of People & OD strategy
* Evidence of effective partnership working with multi‑agency stakeholders & trade unions
* Record of successful delivery against HR / OD improvement targets
* Leadership of equality and diversity function (or significant elements of them)
Desirable experience
* Previous HR Director / CPO experience in an Acute and/or Community Trust
Essential knowledge
* Detailed knowledge and understanding of NHS People Plan, NHS People Promise, Transforming People Services and local workforce imperatives
* Expert understanding of principles of inclusion and diversity (with strong commitment to delivery)
* Detailed knowledge of regulatory frameworks (i.e. CQC, GMC, NMC, HCPC, MHPS, etc)
Desirable knowledge
* Understanding of the GM IC & associated workforce priorities
Essential skills and abilities
* Highly visible and inclusive leadership style - able to quickly build credibility and followship
* Passionate about people, partnership and inclusion, including demonstrable commitment to anti‑racism, with ability to inspire others
* Demonstrates that people are at the heart of everything they do
* Ability to lead strategic and tactical transformational programmes, deploying proven quality and service improvement methodology
* Ability to build effective relationship and allyships with stakeholders and regulators
* Able to demonstrate strong personal values of integrity and compassion
* Proven ability to convert vision into reality, with outcomes embedded long‑term
Desirable skills and abilities
* Demonstrate ability to build, lead, develop and motivate effective team(s)
* Quality & Service Improvement abilities
* Proven influencing and negotiation skills, particularly across organisational boundaries and at regional/national levels
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website: https://www.gov.uk/visas-immigration. From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/criminal-record-checks-for-overseas-applicants.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website: https://www.nhs.uk/careers.
How to apply
Applications are via CV and Cover Letter.
Please email: jp@seymourjohn.com using the subject line WWL CPO Application.
For an informal and confidential conversation, please contact: Jonathan Phillips 07817 988490.
Employer details
Wrightington Wigan & Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Trust Headquarters
Royal Albert Edward Infirmary
Wigan
WN1 2NN
Website: http://www.wwl.nhs.uk/
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