Job vacancy: Deputy Head of Employee Relations, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham

Job summary

Main area: Human Resources
Grade: Band 8b
Contract: Fixed term: 12 months (None)
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week (N/A)
Job ref: 164-7829111

Employer: Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Nottingham City Hospital
Town: Nottingham
Salary: £64,455 - £74,896 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 26/03/2026 23:59

Deputy Head of Employee Relations

Band 8b

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Deputy Head of Employee Relations will work proactively with Directors, Medical and Clinical Leaders, General Managers, Staff Side representatives, People Services colleagues and other senior stakeholders both internal and external to support the delivery of strategic and operational projects and initiatives through a proactive, positive and customer-focused approach to employee relations and case management work.

They will deliver the Trust’s Employee Relations service as a critical element of the overall People Strategy, and will support the achievement of the Trust’s EDI objectives and the development and maintenance of a fair, consistent and ‘Just Culture’ approach. They will lead on the implementation of Trust wide ER initiatives throughout the Trust and support the People Services Leadership Team to achieve strategic People and Business objectives, professional standards and Board assurance requirements.

The Senior ER Managers will provide professional and strategic ER leadership, advice and support and act as the link for all ER matters and programmes of work, including contributing to the development of the Trust’s corporate strategy, the implementation of national initiatives and the achievement of national ER performance targets within the Trust. The Senior ER Manager will adopt a values based approach and act as a role model in support of the Trust’s values and behaviours. They will deliver exceptional service, developing, coaching and advising managers in accordance with best practice, employment law and NUH Policies and Procedures.

Person specification

Training & Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Masters level / Level 7 Advanced CIPD HR qualification (or equivalent) plus significant post qualification experience (as below) • Active Chartered membership of CIPD (or equivalent) • Excellent level of English, written and verbal • Evidence of ongoing professional development

Experience

Essential criteria

• Good knowledge of a range of complex HR topics including Learning & OD, Resourcing, Organisational Change, EDI, Metric analysis and use, development of workforce strategy and Employment Relations and policy development • Experience of working at a senior level, presenting proposals, developing strategy, representing the organisation externally, presenting and articulating data and writing and presenting quality reports/ presentations • Significant experience of working in a large, complex unionised environment. • Excellent knowledge of Employment Law (current and proposed).

Communication & Relationships

Essential criteria

• High level communication with written and verbal skills that can be adapted in accordance with the environment and needs of the audience. • Ability to coach staff and managers. • Demonstrable leadership skills. • Stakeholder management experience • Proven line management and supervision experience • Ability to develop and maintain relationships across a wide range of managers/ clinicians and staff at all levels • Ability to lead and maintain the momentum of working parties and steering groups • Developed negotiation skills with the ability to use persuasion where there is resistance. • Confident and able to establish credibility quickly • Able to communicate clearly and effectively with all levels of staff internal and external to the Trust. This may include highly sensitive or complex information attracting an element of resistance or challenge • Able to influence and persuade • Able to prepare complex but clear written reports and letters

Analytical & Judgement

Essential criteria

Proven demonstrable ability to: • Analyse and interpret highly complex information in a variety of formats • Collate, interpret and present data to inform decision making • Analyse situations and use own initiative and judgement in dealing with complex problems to provide and facilitate workable solutions • Assess the strategic impact of the implementation of different options on the effectiveness of the organisation as a whole • Gather business intelligence and translate this into effective plans • Demonstrate an understanding of the business and ability to translate business needs into creative workforce solutions.

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Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at the NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career!

We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH.

Applicants are kindly requested to refrain from using AI at any stage during the recruitment process.

Closing Dates: Please submit your application form as soon as possible to avoid disappointment; we reserve the right to close vacancies prior to the published closing date if we receive a sufficient number of completed application forms.

Communication: All communication related to your application will be via the email address you have provided. Please ensure you check your email account including your junk email regularly.

Easy read application: If you have a disability and find online job applications difficult, you can use an easy read application form instead.

To get this form, please email [email protected] and ask for an easy read application.

NUH are now able to offer application completion support and interview preparation support. Please follow the link to book onto our sessions: Support for NUH Job Applications

If you are aged 16 or 17 and applying for a role that is more than 20 hours a week, please be aware that you will be asked to commence an Apprenticeship within the Trust alongside your role, as long as there is a suitable apprenticeship standard available. This is in line with the current guidance in England that whilst young people under the age of 18 can leave school (on the last Friday in June) they must then do one of the following:

Stay in full-time education, for example at a college
Start an Apprenticeship
Spend 20 hours of more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training

For more details visit; School leaving age - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Salary: The quoted salary will be on a pro rata basis for part time workers.

Disability Confidence: All applicants who have declared a disability and who meet the essential criteria for the post will be shortlisted.

At Risk of redundancy: NHS employees within the East Midlands who are ‘at risk’ of redundancy will be given a preferential interview where they meet the essential criteria of the person specification.

International Recruitment: If you are applying for a role with us from outside of the UK then please read the guidance on applying for a health or social care job in the UK from abroad.

ID and Right to work checks: NUH authenticate ID and right to work documentation including passports and driving licenses through a system called Trust ID. NUH will scan your ID and right to work documentation in to the Trust ID system at your face to face ID appointment. The system will run a check against the key security features within your documentation. The system will provide us with an outcome of your check which will be stored securely on your personal file along with all other pre-employment check documentation.

Consent:

Transfer of information: If I have previous NHS service - I consent to the transfer of my Electronic Staff Record (ESR) data between this and other NHS Trusts. I also consent to the Occupational Health Department confidentially accessing my occupational health records from my current or previous employer in order to check the status of my vaccinations, immunisations s and screening tests as relevant to the post. I understand this is an automated process and the information will only be used for these purposes prior to me taking up the position at NUH.
Disclosure and Barring Service: Your post maybe subject to a DBS check which incur a cost dependent on the level of check required (£49.50 for enhanced and £21.50 for standard). I agree to reimburse Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust the cost of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if it is required (by deduction from first month’s pay). Should I decide to withdraw from my job offer, I agree to reimburse Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust the cost of the DBS check undertaken by cheque or other agreed method.
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