Deputy Chief People Officer; People & Culture

Job summary

Deputy Chief People Officer - Culture & Safety (Band
9)

Are you a senior people leader ready to lead a Trust-wide culture improvement strategy -- shaping a workplace where everyone feels they belong, can speak up, and can deliver outstanding care?

Working closely with the Chief People Officer, you will provide visible, values-led leadership across organisation development, inclusion, people development and health and wellbeing. You will lead strategic programmes that strengthen engagement, embed just and compassionate leadership, and place safety, equality and belonging at the heart of how we work.

This is a high-impact senior leadership role for someone who:

• Has a strong track record of leading culture change and improvement in complex organisations
• Is credible at Board and system level, and confident influencing senior leaders
• Can translate values into practical, measurable improvements for colleagues and patients
• Leads with authenticity, courage and compassion

If you are motivated by building a culture where people thrive – and where safety, inclusion and continuous improvement are everyone's business – we'd love to hear from you.

Informal conversation about the role is welcome, please contact:

The Deputy Chief People Officer is a key member of the senior People team and plays a key role in leading the delivery of the UHN People strategy.

The Deputy Chief People Officer will act as a role model in terms of organisational values and behaviours and support the Chief People Officer in their responsibilities covering all aspects of leadership and people management across UHN. The post holder will support the Chief People Officer in providing a comprehensive workforce service, providing leadership for the People Plan, annual business plan, Care Quality Commission standards and other workforce related governance and compliance requirements.

The post holder will lead initiatives to develop high levels of workforce engagement and performance to support delivery of the organisation's strategic and performance goals and improvement priorities.

The Deputy Chief People Officer has a wide-ranging and extensive portfolio including strategy and policy and major change programmes. With the Chief People Officer, the post holder will ensure that the people directorate's structure and functions – and the capacity and capability of people that work in the directorate – are fit for purpose and designed to support business needs, whilst maintaining the highest professional standards.

Please submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close adverts once we have received sufficient applications.

Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is on an exciting journey with all of our divisions committed to doing things better, with more efficiency as we update, modernise, and advance. We have also entered a Group Model with neighbouring Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust and become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire (UHN). As part of this collaborative approach, there may be a requirement for you to work across both the Kettering and Northampton hospital sites, depending on the needs of the service.

Our Excellence Values

• Compassion
• Accountability
• Respect
• Integrity
• Courage

We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across UHN and help to unleash everyone's full potential.

UHN encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups. We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.

We recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community make to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Silver Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme.

We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds. This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for UHN.

Posted: 11 February 2026

Pay scheme:
Agenda for Change

Band:
Band 9

Salary: £109,179 to £125,637 a year

Contract:

Permanent

Working pattern:
Full-time, Flexible working,…