Deputy Chief People Officer; People & Culture

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.

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.

We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds.

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

• Compassion
• Accountability
• Respect
• Integrity
• Courage

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.

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

• Posted: 11 February 2026
• Pay scheme:
  Agenda for change
• Band: 9
• Salary: £109,179 – £125,637 a year
• Contract:
  
  Permanent
• Working pattern:
  Full‑time, flexible working, home or remote working
• Reference number:
  
  -COR
• Job locations:
  University Hospitals of Northamptonshire, Cliftonville, Northampton, NN1 5BD

• Lead the development and delivery of the Trust People Plan and associated strategies and service developments, monitoring key people‑related metrics and performance measures.
• Measure the impact of People Plan pledge service functions with quantitative and qualitative information.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of workforce plans, ensuring consistency with corporate workforce priorities and alignment with finance and service strategies.
• Advise on workforce strategies and the impact of planned service developments and cost improvements during the annual planning process.
• Oversee improvements within functions to promote operational excellence through standardising, simplifying and streamlining processes, while keeping customer need and experience at the heart of the enhancements.
• Support the use of technology in developing a modern workforce service.
• Develop KPIs and performance dashboards to measure and report on the effectiveness and impact of services.
• Lead the implementation of the UHN People Plan to support operational and strategic business plans.
• Set up and maintain effective governance at system, trust, programme and project level, including risk management and benefits realisation.
• Ensure delivery of national priorities and targets, and demonstrate achievement through national and regional reporting (e.g., National NHS Staff Survey).
• Develop and maintain workforce communication processes in partnership with the Communications and Engagement team.
• Manage budgets to meet strategic and operational business plans.
• Act as a change agent, providing leadership and support particularly at senior management levels.
• Promote a positive image of UHN with appropriate external professional/NHS/ Government and other organisations.
• Represent the Chief People Officer at internal and external meetings, attending…