Associate Director & Organisational Development - Band 8d; AFC

Associate Director People & Organisational Development - Band 8d (FC)

The closing date is 01 March 2026

Are you an inspiring People & OD leader passionate about transforming workforce culture, driving organisational development, and shaping the future of health and care across Essex? This is your opportunity to play a pivotal role in a new ambitious Integrated Care Board committed to prevention, innovation and meaningful change.

The proposed Essex ICB is bringing together three health systems into one cohesive, future focused organisation. As part of our Corporate Services Directorate, you’ll join a collaborative, high performing team dedicated to delivering exceptional corporate support.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to shape the future of a brand new ICB as we move towards a more connected, digital, prevention focused health and care system. You’ll be at the forefront of innovation, collaboration and cultural transformation with the freedom to create meaningful, lasting impact. We’re committed to: inclusive, compassionate leadership, strong partnership working across the health and care system, continuous learning and improvement, sustainability and social responsibility and creating a great place to work for all our people.

Staff are expected to be on site at least two days per week (pro rata), with flexible working in line with ICB policy.

Ready to Make a Difference? If you're a visionary People & OD leader eager to play a defining role in shaping the future of the Essex health and care system, we’d love to hear from you.

Provisional Interview date: 06 March 2026

You will be the strategic lead for our People & OD function shaping culture, driving workforce transformation, and enabling our people to thrive. You will:

• Lead and build a confident, skilled and motivated People & OD team to deliver an inclusive, high-performing service
• Drive the development and delivery of our People Strategy
• Champion organisational development, leadership capability and cultural change
• Oversee strategic workforce planning and use analytics to guide decision making
• Lead change programmes that support system-wide transformation
• Drive engagement, wellbeing and inclusion across the organisation
• Provide expert leadership on HR policy, employee relations and governance
• Develop our future leadership pipeline and build organisational capability

You should have:

• Substantial senior leadership experience in healthcare or a similar complex system
• A track record of delivering strategic change and transformation
• Strong analytical skills and the ability to turn insight into action
• Expertise in workforce planning, OD, employee engagement and culture change
• Experience managing sensitive and confidential issues with integrity
• Highly developed communication, influencing and partnership building skills
• A commitment to inclusion, equality and the NHS People Promise
• CIPD and masters level study (or equivalent)

This is a role for a compassionate, strategic and influential leader who sees the bigger picture and can turn it into action.

Mid and South Essex ICB is a statutory organisation responsible for planning and delivering local health and care services across Mid and South Essex. As part of changes to the NHS commissioning landscape, the ICB will transition to the new Essex ICB on 1 April 2026. This role will be appointed within the Essex ICB structure, working across the county to improve the health of local people.

The organisation’s headquarters is Seax House, Chelmsford, and we operate a hybrid working model that includes working across Essex and from home. Essex ICB currently has offices in Brentwood, Harlow and Colchester, in addition to the Chelmsford HQ.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that values diversity. We know that different experiences, ideas and perspectives help create a stronger and more innovative organisation that delivers better outcomes for patients. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, including people of all ages, disabilities, sex, gender identity or expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or personal circumstances.

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