Deputy Chief People Officer

Deputy Chief People Officer, UKRI

Contract Term:
This is a permanent, open-ended position.

Remuneration: £94,931 per annum. Salary for internal candidates will be subject to UKRI pay and reward policy.

Location:

Swindon or Oxford (Didcot) based. Regular travel to London and occasional travel to UK wide UKRI locations will be required.

Hours:

Full Time (37 hours). Hybrid working with two-three days a week on average at a UKRI site is available.

Closing date:
Monday 10th August 2026 at 23:55

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is an independent, non-departmental public body, which invests £8bn per annum in research and innovation. We bring together nine executive council partners (the seven Research Councils, plus Innovate UK, and Research England) with a shared mission: to advance knowledge, improve lives and drive growth.

We employ over 8,500 staff who support some of the world’s most exciting and challenging research projects. We develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world and work collaboratively with industry, academia and government in exciting partnerships. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through blue skies research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research and business-led innovation.

We are seeking an exceptional senior HR leader to join UKRI as Deputy Chief People Officer. Reporting to the Chief People Officer, this role will play a pivotal part in leading the HR function, delivering our new People Strategy and supporting the organisation through an ambitious programme of organisational transformation.

Operating with a high degree of autonomy, the Deputy Chief People Officer will provide strategic leadership across the full people agenda, acting as a trusted adviser to senior leaders and leading on complex organisational and workforce matters. The postholder will deputise for the Chief People Officer as required, representing the function at Executive Committee and other senior governance forums, leading UKRI's engagement with our recognised trade unions and playing a key role in shaping organisational strategy and major transformation programmes.

The role has strategic accountability for the HR Business Partnering function across UKRI, ensuring it enables organisational performance and delivers high-quality, commercially focused people solutions. A key priority will be to strengthen partnership working between the HR Business Partnering function and our specialist Centres of Expertise, creating an integrated, collaborative and customer-focused HR operating model that delivers seamless support to leaders across UKRI.

UKRI HR Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership across the full people agenda and act as Deputy Chief People Officer, exercising delegated authority and deputising for the Chief People Officer as required.
• Support the Chief People Officer in setting the strategic direction, priorities, performance and reputation of the HR function, acting as a visible executive leader across UKRI.
• Be an active member of the HR Senior Leadership Team, shaping and delivering UKRI's People Strategy and Delivery Plan and wider workforce priorities.
• Lead the continued transformation of the HR function, embedding a modern, integrated and customer-focused operating model that strengthens collaboration across the HR Business Partnering function and Centres of Expertise and delivers high-quality, strategically aligned people services.
• Serve as a full member of the People and Workforce Planning Committee and the Joint Negotiating and Consultative Committee. Deputise for the Chief People Officer at Executive Committee and other executive-level governance forums and committees, including the above, as required, representing the organisation on strategic people, workforce and organisational matters.

Strategic HR Business Partnering

• Provide strategic leadership for the HR Business Partnering function, ensuring it delivers high-quality, commercially focused support that enables organisational performance and successful delivery of UKRI's strategic priorities.
• Lead, develop and…