Head of Cultural and Organisational Development - ref. z5283003

Join us at an exciting time for Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust! We have an ambitious plan for our journey to Outstanding and are looking for aspirational, committed individuals to join us, making a real difference to both staff and patients.

As a former winner of England for excellence award: Tourism destination of the year, the beautiful city of Gloucester and the scenic regency spa town of Cheltenham are fantastic places to work and live.

As a hospital Trust we are currently involved in over 100 clinical trials and studies, whilst also providing acute elective and specialist services to a population of over 620,000.

By joining Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust new colleagues can look forward to a warm welcome and a future full of opportunities and support.

Job overview

Head of Cultural and Organisational Development

Additionally, the role includes advancing EDI initiatives across the organisation and overseeing the Health and Wellbeing Strategy, including line management of Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU).

A key aspect of this position is driving the achievement of the Trust’s strategic goals and priorities by leading the development of innovative OD and staff engagement strategies. Collaborating closely with the Director of Communications and Staff Engagement, the postholder will provide expert guidance to facilitate the cultural transformation necessary for the Trust to fulfil its mission of delivering ‘The Best Care for Everyone’ and maintaining its status as a ‘Well-Led’ organisation.

Expected interview date: 2nd April 2025

Main duties of the job

Develop and implement a long-term cultural transformation strategy that aligns with the Trust’s vision and values.

Sustain a psychologically safe and inclusive work environment that encourages open communication and continuous improvement.

Data-Driven Decision Making and Performance Monitoring

Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of OD, EDI, and wellbeing initiatives.

Benchmark Trust performance against national standards and best practices in OD, EDI, and staff wellbeing.

Strategic Collaboration and Partnership Working

Work cross-functionally with HR, communications, and operational leaders to ensure cultural initiatives are embedded across the organisation.

Compliance and Risk Management

Ensure that OD, EDI, and wellbeing strategies align with national NHS policies, CQC expectations, and employment legislation.

Support risk management by addressing cultural and wellbeing-related concerns that may impact workforce retention and performance.

Develop robust action plans to address disparities and inequalities within the workforce.

Innovation and Continuous Improvement

Identify and implement emerging best practices in OD, EDI, and workplace wellbeing.

Working for our organisation

This post would be working within a service line of enthusiastic and compassionate leaders, managers and colleagues. We are on a Cultural Journey whereby we place importance on ensuring that all colleagues are trained, supported and listened to, ensuring excellent patient care.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

They will lead, coordinate, and champion the advancement of EDI initiatives, ensuring alignment with the Trust’s People and OD Strategy, the national People Plan, organisational culture, service delivery, and workforce agenda.

Responsibilities:

Enhance leadership effectiveness across the Trust, ensuring cultural and behavioural alignment with the Trust’s Vision and Strategy.

Collaborate with the Head of Education and People Development on Leadership and OD interdependencies.

Lead and manage a team of OD, EDI, and Wellbeing specialists, including budget oversight.

Partner with leaders across One Gloucestershire Integrated Care System to design, deliver, and evaluate system-wide OD initiatives.

Align leadership and managerial development with organisational cultural transformation and talent development.

Design, implement, and evaluate strategic OD priorities, including:

Staff Engagement

Colleague Health and Wellbeing

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

Teamwork and Leadership as part of the Staff Experience Improvement Programme

Workforce Retention

Oversee the analysis, design, and execution of staff experience data evaluations and related engagement activities.

Ensure all programmes are outcome-driven and provide an evidence-based return on investment.

Maintain the Trust’s approved centre status with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) for accredited development awards.

Drive continuous improvement in equality of access and outcomes for patients and the workforce by ensuring strategic alignment with Trust priorities.

Key Leadership Functions:

Support the Associate Director for Education, Learning, and Culture and the Director for People and OD in developing an OD and Staff Engagement Strategy.

Lead the design, development, and implementation of OD interventions that support strategic objectives.

Collaborate with the Strategy and Transformation team to lead OD workstreams in major organisational change programmes.

Provide an OD perspective to support the Head of Education and People Development in launching leadership and management development frameworks.

Oversee pastoral and developmental support for NHS Graduate Management Trainee placements within the Trust.

Partner with Communications and Engagement teams to develop impactful internal communication and staff engagement strategies.

Lead the implementation of innovative staff engagement initiatives, including digital tools and facilitated events.

Contribute to the development of the People & OD strategy, covering future workforce planning, talent attraction and retention, and strategic workforce modelling.

Foster a culture of staff involvement through transparent leadership and regular organisational feedback mechanisms.

Oversee the commissioning, design, and analysis of staff surveys, including the NHS Staff Survey and National Quarterly Pulse Survey.

Collaborate with the Workforce Information team to shape and present staff survey results for strategic decision-making and performance improvement.

Use staff survey insights to drive engagement improvements, ensuring effective monitoring through the Staff Experience Improvement Group.

Strategic EDI Leadership:

Ensure EDI initiatives are embedded in Trust leadership, OD, and cultural development plans.

Oversee the Trust’s compliance with key EDI legislation and standards, including the Equality Act 2010, Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES), and Workforce Disability Equality Standard (WDES).

Lead the development and execution of the EDI Development Plan, ensuring clear objectives, implementation strategies, and measurable outcomes.

Develop and maintain high-level relationships with senior leaders and external partners to integrate EDI priorities within the Trust and the wider health system.

Provide specialist EDI advice to Trust leadership and governance structures.

Ensure high-quality EDI training is available and delivered effectively across the workforce.

Represent the Trust in regional and national EDI initiatives to ensure its needs are addressed in broader policy and strategy discussions.

Lead the development of the Trust’s EDI strategy, driving forward strategic goals and ensuring ongoing adaptation to national and local priorities.

Establish and oversee governance frameworks to monitor and evaluate EDI performance.

Lead on the development of a high-quality, inclusive onboarding process aligned with the Long-Term Workforce Plan.

Ensure the Trust effectively utilises Equality Impact Assessments to inform decision-making.

Health and Wellbeing Leadership:

Provide strategic oversight for the Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

Ensure the Trust operates within the NHSE Health and Wellbeing Framework.

Oversee the delivery of impactful health and wellbeing initiatives, ensuring integration with the broader People and OD agenda.

This role demands a high level of leadership, collaboration, and expertise in OD, EDI, and workforce development, ensuring the Trust remains at the forefront of inclusive, effective, and strategically aligned people management practices.

Communication and Working Relationships:

The Head of Cultural and Organisational Development is responsible for:

Effectively communicating complex messages across all levels of the Trust, including Board members and Non-Executive Directors. This includes utilizing diverse communication methods such as business cases, Board reports, management reports, formal presentations to large audiences, and one-on-one interactions.

Collaborating closely with the Communications and Engagement team to drive and enhance staff engagement initiatives.

Establishing and maintaining positive, productive relationships to achieve strategic objectives, serving as a leadership/executive coach to Divisional Directors, Clinical Directors, Senior Clinicians, and leaders at all levels within the Trust.

Developing and sustaining strong working relationships with accreditation award bodies and education/training providers to ensure alignment with professional standards and development goals.

Creating a culture of partnership and collaboration by building effective relationships with colleagues across other healthcare agencies.

Strengthening professional networks with Leadership and Organisational Development experts within One Gloucestershire to share best practices and drive continuous improvement.

Internal

Associate Director for Education, Learning and Culture

Director for People and OD

Deputy Director for People and OD

Associate Director for Workforce and Resourcing

Director of Engagement, Involvement and Communications

EDI Manager

OD Manager

Head of Education and People Development

Lead for Colleague Health and Wellbeing

Lead Freedom to Speak up Guardian

Library and Knowledge Services

Chief Nurse

Chief Midwife

Chief AHP

P&OD Senior team

HRBP’s

People Advisory Team

Divisional Directors

Head of Patient Experience

Heads of Department, Leaders, Managers at every level

Communications Team

People Promise Partner

External

ICS Colleagues across Gloucestershire and the SW Region

EDI South West Leads

NHS England

Other Workforce & Education professionals

Person specification

Essential and Desirable

• Masters level degree/Level 7 qualification or equivalent experience in a relevant filed
• Postgraduate education, teaching or coaching qualification, or equivalent experience
• Management/Leadership qualification and extensive senior management experience in education, training, human resources or a related function.
• Evidence of recent continuing professional development in relevant topics e.g. project management; coaching, Organisational Development etc.
• Extensive knowledge and proven experience of leadership/management development and OD at a senior level in a large, complex, service-focused organisation – gained ideally in an NHS organisation.
• A specialist knowledge and in-depth understanding of equality, diversity and inclusivity issues, both within large organisations but also culturally across the local community, nationally and/or internationally.
• Senior management experience, including working directly with Executive-level leaders.
• A record of successfully leading on organisation wide EDI matters. Experience of having successfully implemented and held responsibility for the delivery of EDI projects showing clear and tangible delivery of equality objectives and link to strategic plans

• Personally resilient and able to manage complexity and work in an ambiguous or changing environment
• Demonstrated success in group / team facilitation, training and development.

The health and wellbeing of our staff and patients remains the priority of the Trust. Vaccination remains the best chance we have of conquering COVID and the Trust encourages everyone to take up this offer.

Please note, this vacancy may close as soon as sufficient applications have been received, so please apply as soon as possible if you are interested. The Recruitment Team are unable to accept any applications after the position has closed on NHS Jobs.

Committed to safeguarding our community

Please contact [email protected] for further information.

As part of the organisation's commitment to Safer Recruitment, candidates may request copies of relevant policies and procedures by contacting the Recruitment Team at [email protected]

Committed to supporting service personnel

To qualify for a guaranteed interview, candidates must meet the essential criteria for the post and be either a current member of the Armed Forces, or be within the two year period of resettlement. If this applies to you please email the job reference number and your AR number to the Recruitment Team at [email protected]

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