Job summary
- Main area
- Administration
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8d
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week (Two days per week to be based on site)
- Job ref
- 354-CO-21936-1
- Employer
- Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Portland House
- Town
- Worthing
- Salary
- £94,356 - £108,814 pa
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 28/07/2026 12:00
Employer heading
Deputy Director of Culture, Leadership & Organisational Development
NHS AfC: Band 8d
Come and join us
We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.
At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.
We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.
We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.
Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page.
We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.
Job overview
The Deputy Director of Culture, Leadership and Organisational Development (OD) is a pivotal member of the People Directorate and plays a key role in developing and supporting the delivery of the Trust's People ambition, enabling the Trust to recruit, retain and develop the best workforce to deliver its goals and objectives.
The post-holder will play a vital role in developing and implementing Organisational Development (OD) and leadership strategies, alongside cultural change initiatives. OD interventions will support and enable continuous cultural transformation, build leadership capability and support successful and sustainable large-scale complex change, internally and system-wide where appropriate.
The role holder will proactively work closely and in partnership with Chief Officers, leaders and managers across the organisation, designing and delivering fit for purpose and evidence led interventions, which will have a significant impact on individual and organisational performance and to the patient and staff experience.
The post‑holder will provide strategic leadership for staff engagement and experience across the organisation, acting as the responsible lead for all matters that influence employee satisfaction, belonging and retention. They will ensure that insights from staff voice, EDI, health & wellbeing, culture initiatives and leadership practice are translated into meaningful improvements that strengthen our ability to attract, retain and develop our people.
Main duties of the job
This role leads the development and delivery of the Trust’s culture change and organisational development (OD) strategy, ensuring alignment with strategic aims, values and financial constraints. Working with senior leaders, national bodies and partners, the post‑holder drives an integrated approach to leadership, service improvement, innovation and continuous quality improvement (CQI), embedding evidence‑based practice and measurable outcomes across the organisation.
The role is central to shaping a compassionate, high‑performing and patient‑centred culture. It involves designing and delivering OD programmes, supporting transformation, and enabling leaders and teams to adopt sustainable improvement practices. Close collaboration with divisions, People Directorate colleagues and improvement partners ensures cultural and behavioural change is effectively embedded.
A key responsibility is leading staff engagement, including the national staff survey, translating complex data into actionable insights and driving improvements in experience, wellbeing, retention and inclusion. The post‑holder champions initiatives that strengthen belonging and address workforce challenges in a sensitive organisational context.
The role also oversees leadership development, appraisal systems and capability building, ensuring leaders are equipped to deliver change. It includes responsibility for health and wellbeing services and EDI strategy.
Working for our organisation
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT) provides mental health, learning disabilities and neurodevelopmental services to people living in the South East of England. We are proud to provide care and services for children, young people, adults of working age and older at our Trust.
Thank you for showing an interest in joining us at SPFT. You will be part of a diverse, exciting directorate which spans many specialities offering you the opportunity to develop new skills, experience and understanding of the corporate services we deliver to drive innovation, improve patient outcomes and support the people we serve in our communities. Our Trust Values are integral in driving quality improvement for our patients.
We foster a supportive, warm and friendly atmosphere where staff wellbeing is paramount. We support staff development and offer opportunities to work flexibly, with 2 on-site days per week being mandatory.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please refer to the full job description and person specification attached.
Please note that there will be an opportunity for informal calls with the Chief People Officer for shortlisted candidates on Thursday 06 August 2026
.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Educated to Masters level or equivalent
- Learning and Development and/or Organisational Development qualification
- Evidence of further education in relation to L&D and/or OD
- MCIPD
- Coaching or mentoring qualification
- NLP qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of designing and delivering large-scale change programmes (with a number of interdependent components) with measurable outcomes
- Successful experience of supporting and changing organisational culture linked to continuous improvement
- Significant experience of managing an OD and/or Learning and Development function and service
- Designing and delivering programmes of training across staff groups
- Leadership and management experience
- Experience of developing and implementing strategic and business plans
- Experience of effectively managing projects/initiatives
- Experience of performance managing and improving services
- Experience of developing advanced communication and engagement strategies
- Experience of providing advice and development at/near Board level
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Funmi Onamusi
- Job title
- Chief People Officer
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
Please note that the interview process will be held in two parts:
- Thursday 13 August 2026 - Virtual Stakeholder Panel
- Friday 14 August 2026 - Panel Interview (Portland House)
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