Job overview

We are seeking a senior, credible workforce leader with a track record of operational delivery within a large, complex healthcare or public sector organisation. You will be committed to delivering high quality health care through world class people management practices and finance sustainability.

Our expectations are that you are/have:
•    Chartered CIPD membership (MCIPD) with degree-level education or equivalent experience
•    Deep expertise in operational HR, employment law, medical workforce governance, and NHS people policy 
•    Proven experience in leading organisational transformation, managing complex employee relations, and maintaining strong union partnerships
•    Strong business finance knowledge and experience, with a track record of driving workforce cost improvement programs and controlling temporary staffing usage
•    An authentic, compassionate, and inclusive leadership style that aligns with our Trust values

Why Join Us?
This is an opportunity to make a tangible impact in one of London’s most vibrant and diverse communities. You will join a supportive leadership and executive team committed to innovation, flexible working, continuous development, and delivering care we are proud of.  

Main duties of the job

The Director of Workforce is the Trust's senior operational workforce leader, responsible for the delivery, performance and continuous improvement of workforce operations.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, the postholder will lead the Trust's workforce operational services, ensuring they are efficient, responsive, financially sustainable and aligned to the Trust's strategic and operational priorities.

The Director is accountable for translating the Trust's People Strategy into operational workforce delivery through high-performing workforce services, workforce management excellence and continuous improvement.

Working in partnership with the Chief People Officer, Executive Directors, Clinical Group Directors, Trade Union representatives, the Director will strengthen workforce management across the organisation by improving workforce performance, reducing workforce risk, modernising workforce services and supporting leaders and managers to lead their teams effectively and fairly. 

The Director of Workforce will provide senior oversight of workforce governance and assurance, ensuring workforce risks are identified, managed and Chief People Officer, the Executive Team and Trust Board. 

Working for our organisation

We’re an organisation that is getting better and better and our improvements are driven by a determination to deliver care we’re proud of and our patients are happy with. 

They are benefitting from a new electronic patient record (we were the last acute trust in London to introduce one) and our maternity services have been rated good by the Care Quality Commission. 

We operate from two main sites – KGH in Goodmayes and Queen’s Hospital in Romford. We have two busy emergency departments with more than 346,000 people visiting them last year. We’re campaigning to secure the £35m we need to transform the A&E at Queen’s and get rid of corridor care. 

We’re proud of our regional Neurosciences Centre, Radiotherapy Centre and Hyper Acute Stroke Unit. We’re also part of the North East London Cancer Alliance. 

We run a Women’s Health Hub in Ilford; an Ageing Well Centre in Hornchurch; and Community Diagnostic Centres (CDC) at Barking Community Hospital and at St George’s Health and Wellbeing Hub. These CDCs are open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.  

The majority of our 8,400 staff – who come from 146 different countries - live in the three diverse London boroughs we serve and are from black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. Many can work flexibly and more than 400 of them are on our Ofsted accredited apprenticeship programmes. We’re proud to be a London Living Wage employer.