Head of People (Oxford Street Development Corporation)
Apply for the Head of People (Oxford Street Development Corporation) role at Guardian Jobs.
About the Role
The Head of People will provide strategic leadership for all aspects of the OSDC’s people agenda, ensuring the organisation attracts, develops, and retains exceptional talent. This role will shape and deliver the OSDC’s People Strategy, embedding a high‑performance, inclusive culture that makes OSDC a destination employer. You will build influential relationships across the GLA family and with key public and private sector stakeholders to ensure best practice informs our policies and approaches. As the senior lead for people matters, you will maximise workforce capability and agility to enable delivery of corporate objectives. A critical part of the role is overseeing the shared HR service arrangement with TfL, ensuring it delivers consistently high‑quality outcomes for OSDC. You will also be accountable for embedding strategic business partnering across the organisation, ensuring HR adds measurable value to organisational priorities.
What Your Day Will Look Like
People Strategy
* Provide strategic leadership in designing and delivering the OSDC People Strategy, ensuring clear alignment with organisational objectives and embedding best practice across all people policies and plans.
* Partner with the Corporate Management Team and managers to deliver expert, forward‑thinking HR advice, coaching, and solutions that shape OSDC’s culture and enable high performance.
* Lead the development and management of reward and benefits frameworks, working collaboratively with the wider GLA Group to ensure competitiveness and consistency.
* Develop and drive the workforce element of OSDC’s Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy, overseeing action plans that foster an inclusive culture and improve representation at all levels.
* Build strong relationships with GLA Group HR teams (e.g., GLA and OPDC) to ensure policy alignment, collaboration, and sharing of best practice.
People Management
* Establish and embed the new People Function, ensuring its operating model delivers long‑term success and resilience.
* Oversee implementation and governance of the shared HR service with TfL, maintaining clear communication and accountability to ensure high‑quality, responsive service delivery.
* Lead senior and executive recruitment, ensuring innovative, timely, and user‑focused approaches, including effective use of external partners where required.
* Manage OSDC board appointments, ensuring compliance with Mayoral protocols and legislative requirements.
* Provide leadership on complex employee relations matters, ensuring adherence to policy and promoting a culture of strong people management.
* Represent OSDC on HR matters with senior HR leaders across the GLA Group and external bodies, ensuring OSDC benefits from collaboration and shared expertise.
People Development
* Lead the design and delivery of Learning & Development and talent management strategies, embedding a coaching culture and supporting organisational capability.
* Sponsor and project manage key HR initiatives and organisational development programmes, ensuring effective implementation, consultation, and staff engagement.
Health And Safety
* Act as Senior Sponsor for Health and Safety, providing strategic direction and support to the Health and Safety Lead.
General
* Manage allocated staff and budgets in line with OSDC policies and ethical standards, ensuring procurement and contract management deliver best value.
* Champion flexible, collaborative working across teams and organisations, contributing to cross‑functional projects and task groups.
* Ensure HR systems and data are accurate, secure, and used effectively to support decision‑making.
Essential Criteria
* Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development or ability to demonstrate equivalent level of professional competence through learning and experience.
* Substantial experience gained in senior strategic human resources roles in a complex and high‑profile organisation.
* Experience across a broad range of HR functions, including organisational and learning development, recruitment, and generalist HR.
* Ability to work autonomously and resiliently in a dynamic and changing work environment.
* Comfortable with taking on a variety of tasks from strategic to administrative over the course of any one day.
Competencies
Building and managing relationships – Level 3 Indicators of Effective Performance
* Actively engages partners and encourages others to build relationships that support OSDC’s objectives.
* Understands and recognises the contributions that staff at all levels make to delivering priorities.
* Proactively manages partner relationships, preventing or resolving any conflict.
* Adapts style to work effectively with partners, building consensus, trust and respect.
* Delivers objectives by bringing together diverse stakeholders to work effectively in partnership.
Managing and developing performance – Level 3 Indicators
* Motivates and inspires others to perform to their best, recognising and valuing their work and encouraging them to learn and reflect.
* Sets clear direction and expectations and enables others to interpret competing priorities.
* Agrees and monitors challenging, achievable performance objectives in line with OSDC priorities.
* Manages performance issues effectively to avoid adverse impact on team morale and performance.
* Promotes a positive team culture that respects diversity and deals with barriers to inclusion.
Problem solving – Level 3 Indicators
* Clarifies ambiguous problems, questioning assumptions to reach a fuller understanding.
* Actively challenges the status quo to find new ways of doing things, looking for good practice.
* Seeks and incorporates diverse perspectives to help produce workable strategies to address complex issues.
* Initiates consultation on opportunities to improve work processes.
* Supports the organisation to implement innovative suggestions.
Organisational awareness – Level 3 Indicators
* Uses understanding of differences between the OSDC and its partners to improve working relationships.
* Helps others understand the OSDC and the complex environment in which it operates.
* Translates changing political agendas into tangible actions.
* Considers the diverse needs of Londoners in formulating OSDC objectives.
* Helps others understand how the media and external perceptions of OSDC influence work.
How To Apply
* Up‑to‑date CV
* Personal statement (max 1500 words) addressing how you demonstrate the essential criteria outlined above.
Uploads should be Word or PDF, no photographs or images, file size 1.5 MB each. Use the job reference number in the file name (e.g., “CV – applicant name – 012345”).
We may close this advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.
Eligibility for Sponsorship
This role does not meet the criteria for sponsorship for external candidates. May meet criteria for some internal candidates.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
London’s diversity is its biggest asset, and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects London’s diversity at all levels. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.
We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are currently under‑represented in our workforce.
We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. The role is open to job share.
If you have a disability making the application difficult, contact resourcingteam@london.gov.uk.
Benefits
Hybrid working up to 3 days a week; split between home working and office. Salary paid every four weeks. Benefits include 30 days annual leave, interest‑free season ticket loan, interest‑free bicycle loan and a career‑average pension scheme.
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