Director of People

Are you an exceptional people leader with the vision, credibility and ambition to shape the future workforce of a major teaching hospital? Do you thrive in complex environments, lead with purpose, and inspire cultural transformation at scale? If so, we would love to hear from you. At Aintree University Hospital, part of the University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, we are committed to delivering outstanding care for our patients and communities. We are now seeking a dynamic and strategic Director of People to join our Hospital Leadership Team, playing a critical role in shaping our people agenda and supporting the delivery of high-quality, compassionate and sustainable healthcare. This is a pivotal senior leadership role at the heart of the organisation. You will provide visible, credible and inclusive leadership across the full people portfolio, ensuring our workforce strategy supports our operational priorities, cultural ambitions and long-term transformation goals., As Director of People, you will work as a key member of the Hospital Leadership Team, partnering closely with executive and senior colleagues across the Group. You will lead the development and delivery of a progressive hospital people strategy aligned to the NHS People Plan, the People Promise, and the wider ambitions of the University Hospitals of Liverpool Group. You will be responsible for leading high-quality people services and driving workforce priorities that enable the hospital to attract, retain, develop and support exceptional staff. You will help foster a culture where colleagues feel valued, included, empowered and able to thrive.,

• Provide strategic leadership across the people agenda within Aintree University Hospital.
• Lead and inspire a high-performing People team with a broad and complex portfolio.
• Drive workforce initiatives to improve recruitment, retention, staff wellbeing, engagement, performance and productivity.
• Shape leadership and organisational development, including talent management and succession planning.
• Champion equality, diversity and inclusion, ensuring these principles are embedded in culture, policy and practice.
• Support the development of a strong, compassionate and inclusive leadership culture across the hospital.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the Group to align local delivery with wider organisational priorities.
• Build strong partnerships internally and externally, contributing to system-wide people and workforce agendas.
• Provide expert, visible and credible leadership through ongoing transformation and change., The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
  
  Masters Degree or equivalent postgraduate level experience and ability
• Member of Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
• Evidence of continuing professional development
Desirable criteria
• Fellow of the CIPD
• Additional specialist qualifications, e.g. Coaching or psychometric testing
• Management qualification/evidence of study in strategic business planning, project management, information or related discipline, Extensive experience of working at a very senior level across a broad range of HR functions
• Demonstrable experience of developing and delivering People and OD Strategic Plan
• Experience of budgetary and resource management
• Experience of managing multiple HR teams to deliver excellent results
• Experience of change management
• Experience of developing integrated workforce plans as part of wider business planning activities
• Evidence of managing complex employee relations issues (including Maintaining High Professional Standards and tribunal cases)
• Motivating and developing multiple teams
• Detailed knowledge and understanding of the Interim NHS People Plan and NHS Long Term Plan
• HR/Operational experience within a large complex organisation
Desirable criteria
• Managing an equality / inclusion function, In depth knowledge of current HR and workforce legislation and best practice
• Understanding of workforce planning tools and techniques
• Understanding of the benefits and challenges of working within a Group model
• Understanding of the national, regional and local context in which NHS HR services are provided
• Expert knowledge of HR issues and employment law including their impact
• Knowledge of emerging system responsibilities/ structures for the Health and Social Care workforce
Desirable criteria
• Knowledge and understanding of the concepts and practices of integrated service planning
• Knowledge of the NHS financial regime
  
  NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHL Group) was formed on 1 November 2024, born from a shared aim to improve the care we provide our communities.
We are one of the largest employers in region, with over 18,900 colleagues who are dedicated to caring for our communities - from birth and beyond. For the 630,000 people across Merseyside, we are their local NHS. We provide general and emergency hospital care, alongside highly specialised regional services that extend to more than two million people in the North West. We operate from five hospital sites: Aintree University Hospital is the single receiving site for adult major trauma patients in Cheshire and Merseyside, and hosts a number of regional services including an award-winning stroke facility. Broadgreen Hospital is home to several elective surgical, diagnostic and treatment services, together with specialist patient rehabilitation. Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital provide specialist services in cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology and respiratory medicine, both in the hospital and out in the community. Liverpool Women's Hospital specialises in the health of women and babies, delivering over 7,200 babies in the UK's largest single site maternity hospital each year. The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is the largest hospital in the country to provide inpatients with 100% single en-suite bedrooms and mainly focuses on complex planned care and specialist services.

Note: Under current Home Office Immigration Rules we are currently unable to offer right to work visa sponsorship for Band 2 and 3 roles with a salary of less than £25,000 pa as they do not meet the UK Visas & Immigration criteria. Only those applicants who demonstrate clearly how they meet our person specification will be shortlisted for interview. We reserve the right to close any vacancies from further applications when we have received a minimum number of applications from which to make a shortlist. Please ensure you apply without delay if you wish to be considered for this role. Candidates applying for the role of Healthcare Assistant on the staff bank should note that due to the nature of the role, workers must be aged 18 or above when commencing in post. Applicants are therefore welcome from those aged over 18 or within 3 months' of their 18^th birthday. The Trust is committed to promoting a healthy work-life balance and achieve fair, equitable and consistent practice. We welcome flexible working requests and will consider a variety of flexible working arrangements from day one of your employment. Not all roles are suitable for every flexible working opportunity all of the time. Flexible working options may include reduced hours, compressed hours, fixed shifts, time back in lieu and home working. The Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity; we value the contribution of individual talent, skills, knowledge and experience and aim for a workforce demography representative of the local community. We encourage applicants from the following groups that are currently under-represented in our workforce black, Asian and minority ethnic, lesbian, gay, bisexual and Transgender (LGBTQ+), disabled, male and age 16-24. Trust policy requires that the cost of submitting & processing the successful applicant/s DBS application be recovered via salary deduction following start in post. The amount of £26.50 (standard disclosure) or £54.50 (enhanced disclosure) will be deducted from salary, in manageable monthly instalments for up to 3 months following commencement of employment. Bank posts require upfront payment. From April 2017, Skilled visa applicants and their adult dependant(s) will be required to provide a criminal record certificate from each country they have lived in consecutively for 12 months or more in the past ten years. Applicants requiring sponsorship may wish to determine the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship for this position by assessing themselves against the criteria on the gov.uk website - https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa. This organisation has a zero-tolerance approach to the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff must ensure they adhere to the organisations safeguarding children and adults' policy and comply with the Local Safeguarding Children and Adult Board procedures. Staff should be mindful of their responsibility to safeguard children and adults in any activity performed on behalf of the organisation in line with the requirements of statutory guidance and legislation. All employees (and volunteers)are expected maintain their safeguarding knowledge and skills by completing mandatory safeguarding training which includes understanding and recognising the signs of abuse and neglect and taking appropriate action. As an organisation, we have adopted the Merseyside Domestic abuse workplace scheme which supports our staff who are experiencing Domestic Abuse /any forms of sexual violence. If you have any personal requirements that will enable you to participate in our recruitment process please contact a member of the Recruitment Services by phone on at the earliest opportunity to ensure that measures can be put in place to enable your application for this post. Please note: new entrants to the NHS will commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.