Head of Talent, Inclusion & Leadership in PEOPLE STRATEGY AND INSIGHTS
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About The Role
This is an exciting new senior leadership role within the newly established People Strategy & Insights (PS&I) function, part of the Bank’s People Directorate.
Location: Leeds
Key Responsibilities
* Strategic Thought Leadership: As this is a newly established role, you will be responsible for developing and implementing a unified and cohesive Talent, Inclusion, and Leadership approach that drives meaningful outcomes and aligns with the Bank’s mission and strategic priorities. In doing so, you will provide visible leadership and subject matter expertise in DEI, ensuring it is embedded across all talent acquisition, development and leadership strategies. You will act as a senior advisor to the Executive team on matters of inclusion, equity, and organisational culture, ensuring these efforts are strategically aligned and impactful across the Bank.
* Talent Strategy: Lead the development and delivery of a future-focused talent strategy that attracts, develops, and retains a diverse workforce with the skills we need. This includes oversight of experienced and early career hiring, workforce planning, learning and development, performance management, and induction. You will drive growth and retention initiatives aligned to long-term workforce needs, using data and people analytics to inform strategy, forecast gaps, and guide succession planning. A strong grasp of digital innovation and AI will be key to enabling smarter, more inclusive talent practices.
* Team Management: Lead, guide and inspire teams of experienced teams. You will have 3 Senior Manager direct reports across the Culture, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (CDEI), Talent Acquisition, and Organisational Effectiveness & Capabilities functions. You will be responsible for ensuring effective collaboration and driving innovation across these disciplines, combining the strengths of “one team” to deliver strategic outcomes. This includes fostering a high-performing, inclusive culture of continuous learning, promoting best practices, and leading cultural change initiatives.
* Inclusion Strategy: Provide strategic thought leadership to shape and advance the Bank’s inclusion strategy, embedding principles of DEI into the organisation’s culture, policies, and practices. Champion initiatives that foster an inclusive environment where colleagues from all backgrounds feel respected, empowered, and supported to thrive. Collaborate with senior leadership and cross-functional teams to ensure DEI objectives are integrated into talent management, recruitment, career progression and leadership development. Monitor progress against measurable DEI targets, promote transparency through regular reporting and cultivate a workplace where every individual feels valued, heard, and able to contribute meaningfully to the Bank’s mission.
* Organisational Capabilities: Establish and continuously optimise the Organisational Capabilities & Effectiveness team as a strategic centre of excellence. Lead the design and delivery of integrated frameworks across learning and development, performance management, coaching, and talent management—ensuring alignment with the Bank’s strategic priorities and cultural values. Develop scalable learning pathways and leadership development programmes that foster future-ready capabilities, while embedding a performance culture that is inclusive, feedback-driven, and outcomes-focused. Champion coaching as a core enabler of growth and wellbeing, and implement talent strategies that identify, nurture, and retain high-potential individuals across all levels of the organisation. Collaborate cross-functionally to ensure that capability-building initiatives are data-informed, measurable and responsive to evolving business needs.
* Stakeholder Engagement & Change Management: Collaborate with senior leadership and key stakeholders across the Bank to drive forward the Talent, Inclusion, and Leadership agendas, ensuring alignment with the Bank’s mission and strategic priorities. Champion best practice and support teams through change, with a particular focus on fostering strong connections across the People Directorate – including the People Strategy Partners (PSPs) – to enable joined-up delivery, shared insight, and cohesive transformation.
* Data-Driven Insights: Leverage people analytics and workforce data to inform and shape strategies, drive strategic decisions, measure impact, and continuously improve outcomes across talent, inclusion, and leadership. Ensure data is used not only for evaluation but also to proactively identify gaps, forecast future needs, and guide meaningful organisational change.
Minimum Criteria
* Significant experience in leading, developing, and mentoring large and varied teams who are subject matter experts, particularly through organisational, transformational cultural change.
* Experience across the core disciplines of talent acquisition, talent development, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), with deeper expertise in at least two. These capabilities will have been developed in a senior HR leadership role or a people-focused leadership position – either specialist or generalist – and applied to drive organisational change.
* Strong strategic thinking and the ability to develop and implement cohesive strategies across multiple areas & experience in managing and influencing multiple stakeholders, including senior leadership, with credibility and impact.
Essential Criteria
* Demonstrable experience in driving and embedding strategic and cultural change within an organisation with the customer and colleague front of mind to enhance the experience.
* Ability to work effectively across a complex organisation with hybrid working, multiple locations as part of our growth strategy for our Leeds office expansion plans.
* Strong knowledge and operational understanding of multiple HR disciplines, including learning and development, talent acquisition, DEI principles, leadership initiatives and performance management.
* Ability to use data insights to inform strategies and make evidence-based decisions across complex and multi-faceted issues.
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, in a variety of contexts from governance committees, to engaging with stakeholders and colleagues with the ability to engage through hearts & minds whilst building productive relationships both internally and externally.
Desirable
* Experience working in both public and private sectors.
Our Approach to Inclusion
The Bank values diversity and inclusion – we want to reflect the society we serve; we are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all qualified persons.
This role is open to job shares, flexible and part-time working patterns. For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.
Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.
How To Apply
We are partnering with Middlemore Executive Search for this appointment. If you are interested in applying for this role, please provide a copy of your CV and provide a covering letter explaining your suitability to Adam Oliver and Beth Miller at Middlemore directly, rather than submitting an application via our careers page.
* Adam Oliver – adam.oliver@middlemore.co.uk
* Beth Miller – beth.miller@middlemore.co.uk
Closes to applications on 28th October 2025
Salary And Benefits Information
The position offers a competitive salary.
* A non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked.
* A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
* An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
* 26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
* Private medical insurance and income protection.
* Level 1 detail cover
National Security Vetting Process
Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy Notice.
Seniority level
* Director
Employment type
* Full-time
Job function
* Human Resources
Industries
* Banking, Financial Services, and Government Relations Services
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