County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Deputy Director of People & Culture
Closing date: 05 May 2026
This is an exciting time to join the Trust and the team. The challenges are many and the opportunities to make a difference are vast. The Deputy Director of People & Culture will be a visible role model and help develop a class‑leading people function that includes services such as Human Resources, Occupational Health, Payroll & Pensions, Resourcing, Workforce Planning & Information, Workforce Systems, Training & Development, Organisation Development and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.
The Trust has recently appointed a new Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive and is about to embark on a major culture change programme, in addition to reviewing and strengthening good practice and governance across the Trust.
Main duties of the job
The Deputy Director of People & Culture will be responsible for providing leadership and direction to lead the transformation of the Workforce & OD Directorate at an operational level, ensuring resources are maximised and policies, processes, systems and working practices are translated into simple, effective and easy to follow practices and actions.
The role involves managing highly complex Employee Relations and Industrial Relations issues while identifying and operationalising employment law changes into everyday practices, advising the Director of Workforce & OD, Chief Executive and Board as required.
Working with the Director of Workforce & OD, you will lead the development and implementation of the Trust's People Strategy in line with regional and national priorities, whilst leading the operational activity to achieve the objectives set out in the strategy.
About us
We provide hospital services from two acute sites – Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester‑le‑Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community‑based settings and care in patients' homes.
We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under‑represented.
Job responsibilities
The Deputy Director of People and Culture is a senior post within the Workforce & OD Directorate, reporting to the Director of Workforce & OD and providing direct line management to senior members of the Directorate.
You will deputise, when necessary, for the Director of Workforce & OD at local, regional and national events and committees.
Working with the Director of Workforce & OD, you will lead the development and implementation of the Trust's People Strategy in line with regional and national priorities, whilst leading the operational activity to achieve the objectives set out in the strategy.
The role should actively seek opportunities for collaboration and different ways of working in line with the NHS Workforce Plan and the Target Operating Model for People Services and will ensure rigor in the areas of strategic delivery of People & Culture related projects as appropriate to support the provision of safe, high quality patient care.
The role involves managing highly complex Employee Relations and Industrial Relations issues whilst identifying and operationalising employment law changes into everyday practices, advising the Director of Workforce & OD, Chief Executive and Board as required.
Maintain systems to evaluate and review performance based on established workforce targets and performance indicators, taking corrective action as necessary, monitoring team operational performance, and identifying opportunities for continuous service improvement.
Contribute to the achievement of the Trust Financial Plan, ensuring that the workforce is deployed as productively and efficiently as possible within the overall pay budget.
The role will be varied and often with competing demands dealing with unpredictable situations, with an expectation that you participate in the Trust's on‑call duties.
Person Specification
Special Skills & Knowledge
* Advanced interpersonal skills with the ability to effectively communicate across all levels of the organisation
* Highly developed leadership, negotiation and influencing skills with the ability to motivate, challenge and engage individuals and teams
* Politically astute with evidence of successfully building effective working relationships and alliances
* Excellent organisational skills with the ability to respond effectively to competing priorities
* Advanced analytical and strategic visioning skills to support analysis of complex employment situations where no precedent exists
* Able to challenge and promote new ways of working, encouraging a culture of care for others
* Evidence of effectively managing conflict resolution
* Ability to relate to a wide spectrum of NHS professionals with competing agendas and achieve organisation‑focused solutions to problems
* Adaptable and flexible and able to deal with unpredictable situations and work patterns
* Able to demonstrate a compassionate and inclusive leadership style
* Able to formulate strategic plans
Experience
* Extensive knowledge of current and proposed employment law
* Specialist knowledge acquired over a significant period in several functions of HR
* Significant senior leadership experience within the people profession in a large, complex organisation
* Extensive experience of leading and managing successful partnership working with trade unions in a highly unionised environment
* Experience in building personal and professional credibility with the Board, management teams and staff
* Experience of leading, introducing and managing major workforce change programmes to successful conclusions
* Ability to set out a clear strategic direction, inspire others and assume command, together with an ability to translate strategic objectives into deliverable operational plans
* Proven experience of effective budget management
* Proven experience of effectively managing individual and team performance
* Experience of Project Management
* Proven Senior HR/Leadership experience in the NHS
* NHS Workforce and Business Planning Experience
* Agenda For Change Job Evaluation trained
* Broad understanding of the current NHS policy context, financial regime, terms and conditions, workforce and training issues and of NHS working practices
Qualifications
* MCIPD
* Educated to Masters level or equivalent experience, with additional in‑depth professional knowledge/training
* Evidence of ongoing personal and professional development
* Formal training or qualification in management and/or leadership
* Coaching Qualification
Special Requirements
* Resilience to operate in a challenged environment
* Ability to travel across Trust sites and regionally and nationally to meet the requirements of the post
* Able to meet the requirements to actively participate in the senior manager on‑call rota
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.
Employer name
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
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