Job summary
Are you passionate about creating a positive workplace culture and driving strategic HR initiatives?
As our People Services Strategic Lead, you'll be delivering a professional, people-focused HR service that adds value across the organisation. You'll lead the People Services Team both operationally and strategically; working closely with the Head of HR & OD to coach and develop others, foster a culture of positive employee relations, and deliver performance improvements.
What we're looking for:
* Proven experience in leading HR teams and managing complex employee relations.
* Strong knowledge of employment law and HR best practice.
* Strategic thinker with excellent leadership and coaching skills.
* Passionate about driving change and fostering inclusive workplaces.
* Confident communicator and trusted partner to senior colleagues.
If you're ready to make a meaningful impact on organisational effectiveness and support the implementation of our People Strategy, we'd love to hear from you!
Main duties of the job
The People Services Strategic Lead is responsible for delivering a professional, people-focused, value adding People service with a strong emphasis on fostering a positive Employee Relations culture. This includes managing complex casework and Employment Tribunals, while ensuring compliance with employment legislation and Trust policies.
Key responsibilities
* A proactive and future-focused approach to Employee Relations.
* Manage complex casework and Employment Tribunals.
* Ensure compliance with employment legislation and Trust policies.
* Lead on organisational change, policy development, and continuous service improvement.
* Promote and embed equality, diversity, and inclusion across all areas.
* Act as a trusted advisor to managers and senior leaders, influencing strategic HR decisions.
* Align initiatives with the People Strategy and broader local and national contexts within the NHS.
The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.
About us
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.
Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:
* 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
* 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
* 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust's priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.
This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.
Details
Date posted: 11 November 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8a
Salary: £55,690 to £62,682 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Job share
Reference number: 327-25-942
Job locations:
Edward Jenner Court
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Gloucester Business Park, Brockworth, Gloucester
GL3 4AW
Job responsibilities
The postholder is a senior member of the People directorate and will lead a team of HR professionals to deliver an effective and proactive HR service across the Trust. Reporting to the Head of HR & OD, they will utilise their leadership skills to influence, coach and develop the HR team and managers across the organisation to identify and manage risk, advise on best practice through change management, lead on policy development and lead on Job Evaluation. The post holder will also have responsibilities for the Trusts Medical Staffing team.
The postholder will be able to initiate/lead projects and interventions that address defined organisational priorities. These reflect complex challenges where the postholders facilitation and influence at individual, team, service and organisational level is critical to secure improvements in performance and in patient care. The role is dependent on the ability to build collaborative and performance focused relationships that benefit the organisation and can impact behavioural change through an evidence-based approach to employee relations. By its nature, this role has a Trust wide remit which extends across region and system.
The postholder is required to interpret and identify developments from national and local policies, strategies and legislation to establish the requirements and options for the Trust. In conducting specific projects and programmes of work the postholder will work independently drawing upon their own knowledge base and experience as well as evidence-based practice.
Please refer to the additional information attachment before submitting your application.
The Trust is required to work in line with the Governments UK Visa and Immigration Rules and Regulations. For more information about sponsorship for certain roles, visit UK Visas and Immigration website.
Person Specification
Qualifications (Essential)
* Full professional qualification Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (FCIPD) or equivalent.
* Educated to Masters level in relevant area, equivalent professional qualification or equivalent experience in Human Resources.
* Evidence of continuing professional development.
Qualifications (Desirable)
* Successfully completed an approved leadership qualification or Coaching qualification at postgraduate level.
Knowledge (Essential)
* Possesses an up-to-date knowledge of employment law and appreciates the significance of developments for personnel policy and practice.
* Demonstrates experience of workforce policy development based on Restorative, just and learning culture and a joint working / partnership model.
* Knowledge of current workforce framework, People strategies (local and national) and the NHS 10 year plan.
Experience (Essential)
* Experience at a senior leadership level, including the effective management and development of a team.
* Significant, demonstrable post qualification experience in Human Resources, of which a substantial proportion will have been at senior managerial level with a broad-based knowledge of employment policy and practice.
* Demonstrable experience of successfully communicating complex and often contentious workforce issues to non-HR managers and other staff.
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.
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 Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
Employer details
Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Edward Jenner Court
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Gloucester Business Park, Brockworth, Gloucester
GL3 4AW
Website: https://www.ghc.nhs.uk/who-we-are/jobs/
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