Job overview
The Chief People Officer provides professional advise to the board both strategically and in relation to the Board’s responsibilities as an employer.
The successful candidate will be an active member of the Trust Board and must have the ability to cultivate positive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, combined with the practical delivery skills to translate our Trust ambition into reality for the benefit of our workforce and our patients.
As an Executive Director, the postholder will share all the corporate responsibilities of the Board. As a member of the Executive Team, the Chief People Officer will make an important contribution in supporting the Chief Executive in leading and managing the organisation. This includes working with the Chief Executive in setting the Trust’s strategic direction, ensuring effective stewardship and highest standards of corporate governance.
Main duties of the job
The post-holder will ensure that the Trust has an appropriate, well-motivated, highly skilled and high-performing workforce. The new NHS Plan sets out a bold ambition for the future. I am looking for a candidate who can lead the workforce response to meet and exceed the new workforce standards, further improve productivity, support the development of more digitally enabled service models – particularly in corporate services – and support the transition into neighbourhood-based services.
The successful candidate will be a strategic, credible and visible workforce leader who is working at Board or sub-Board level with a proven track record of achievement within the NHS. I am looking for a candidate who has experience of developing and successfully implementing workforce strategies, is politically astute, can evidence improvements in equality and inclusion standards and has the drive and energy to make a real difference.
Working for our organisation
West London is one of the most diverse providers of NHS mental and physical care in the UK. We are a Trust with genuine ambition and a clear vision – to be the best organisation of our kind in the country – an outstanding healthcare provider, committed to improving quality and caring with compassion.
We are proud of our journey of improvement and growth over the last four years, which has included the expansion of our service portfolio to encompass the leadership of community services in the Boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow and beyond. Navigation of this journey and realisation of change has only been made possible through the dedication, commitment and engagement of our 6,000 staff, more of whom than ever would recommend us as a place of work. Our values underpin all that we do and shape our approach to driving transformation through greater co-production and a commitment to working in an increasingly collaborative manner with North West London partners and wider system partners.
We are part of a Collaborative with Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH) and Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust (CNWL) and share a single Chair. This provides an exciting opportunity to develop a more consistent employee experience across partner organisations and enhance our employee offer.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Experience
Essential criteria
1. Experience of operating at Board or Sub-Board level within a large or complex NHS provider
2. Experience of developing and delivering a workforce strategy and a record of success in achieving key workforce performance indicators
3. Track record of achievement through building effective relationships with key stakeholders
4. Evidence of developing and implementing interventions that have improved WRES and WDES scores
5. Experience of leading or contributing to the annual planning processes
6. Evidence of a collaborative style at a strategic level
7. Experience of advising Boards on senior employee relations issues
Qualifications
Essential criteria
8. Educated to Masters level or equivalent level experience
9. Evidence of continued learning/development
10. Full membership of CIPD or equivalent.
Desirable criteria
11. FCIPD
Knowledge
Essential criteria
12. Extensive knowledge and understanding of the NHS policy agenda
13. Up to date knowledge of current employment legislation and good employment practice
14. Knowledge of mediation and evidence of applying in practice
Skills
Essential criteria
15. Excellent communication, influencing and negotiating skills
16. A proactive energetic leader with the proven ability to drive a workforce agenda and embed within the business with a solid background in HR generalist activities who can operate on a strategic and operational level
17. Visible leadership, connecting with staff across all levels with the ability to engage well at all levels
18. Ability to operate confidently within complex and ambiguous environments
19. Outcome focused
20. Ability to think strategically and develop innovative and practical responses
21. Able to develop successful relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, internally and externally
22. Inner resolve, integrity and capability to navigate across complex employment issues with the desire to make a genuine difference to the employee experience
23. Political astuteness
24. Ability to establish rapport/credibility at all levels
25. Ability to make timely judgements and decisions involving complex and contentious options
26. High levels of emotional resilience to be able to deal with contentious issues with self-belief and positivity
27. Ability to manage financial and other resources and encourage the utilisation of data and evidence-based decision-making.