Workforce Planning Lead - New QEH | The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust

At Queen Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, we are embarking on a once in a generation journey to transform healthcare. As the Workforce Planning Lead for our visionary new hospital development, you'll play a central role in an unparalleled opportunity to be part of a team that will be igniting a new era of healthcare excellence and improved outcomes.

Our unwavering commitment revolves around putting patients first. Every day, we dedicate ourselves to creating an environment that ensures your safety, comfort, and care. Our goal is to offer you a warm, respectful, and compassionate experience where our dedicated staff always find the time to listen and keep you informed, making your journey with us truly exceptional.

Join us in this remarkable journey where your role as the Lead People Manager is pivotal in reshaping the future of healthcare in QEH. Become a part of the Queen Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust team and be a part of something truly extraordinary.

The Workforce Planning Lead - New QEH will be responsible for the integration of workforce planning with the business planning and financial processes within the Trust. Ensuring that the Trust's arrangements for all aspects of workforce planning are robust, coordinated, well documented, routinely reviewed, and aligned to the requirements of the future organisation. Driving the effective use of workforce information in service development activity across aligned to the new hospital and related projects.

Ensure alignment with and exert influence on the Trust's corporate objectives, people plan and associated strategies so that they support the delivery of the new hospital project.

Liaising with key stakeholders to ensure engagement of staff, trade unions, system partners and HEI, FEI in the development of plans.

Support the meaningful engagement of staff and their representatives in the development of new services and ensure appropriate, compliant engagement and change management processes are followed throughout the project.

To lead, plan, manage and coordinate, specific workforce projects and initiatives as required using project management tools and methodology to ensure timely, quality outcomes., The Workforce Planning Lead - New QEH will work alongside the Project Director, Finance, Operational and Clinical leads providing expert input to the development of a workforce strategy to underpin the business cases that support the new hospital project. They will work closely with the Trust's People Directorate on developing and implementing organisational changes, development of new ways of working, systems and processes linked with the new hospital and associated transformational changes. The post holder will liaise with internal and external stakeholders to develop and implement appropriate change management processes to support the successful completion of the project and the delivery of the Trusts' strategic objectives., The Workforce Planning Lead - New QEH will be responsible for the integration of workforce planning with the business planning and financial processes within the Trust. Ensuring that the Trust's arrangements for all aspects of workforce planning are robust, coordinated, well documented, routinely reviewed, and aligned to the requirements of the future organisation. Driving the effective use of workforce information in service development activity across aligned to the new hospital and related projects.

Ensure alignment with and exert influence on the Trust's corporate objectives, people plan and associated strategies so that they support the delivery of the new hospital project.

Liaising with key stakeholders to ensure engagement of staff, trade unions, system partners and HEI, FEI in the development of plans.

Support the meaningful engagement of staff and their representatives in the development of new services and ensure appropriate, compliant engagement and change management processes are followed throughout the project.

To lead, plan, manage and coordinate, specific workforce projects and initiatives as required using project management tools and methodology to ensure timely, quality outcomes.

In addition to these deliverables, the role holder will:

• Actively seeks to ensure that all Integrated Care System workforce planning ambitions, targets, and plans are reflected in the new hospital workforce planning activities.


• On behalf of the Trust, act as the Lead for workforce planning at local/regional and national New Hospital Projects events


• In partnership with People Business Partners, ensures all Clinical Groups have a workforce plan which is actively implemented and against which progress is regularly reported.


• Work with the People Directorate to ensure the provision of timely, business centred support to Clinical divisions in the delivery of their workforce plans, workforce systems and processes as they relate to the new hospital and related projects.


• Utilising business intelligence provides expert advice and support to Clinical Groups and the People Business Partners in the design and implementation of all workforce business cases including investment, dis-investment, and transformation plans.


• Supports workforce transformation by supporting the design new roles or ways of working. Ensures that the impact effectiveness of those 'new ways of working' is captured and recycled in future rounds of innovative practice developments.


• Liaises with internal, system and regional people teams to attract resources and expertise to support the delivery of the project


• Provides expert training and support to People Business Partners and designated clinical leads on workforce planning and workforce transformation tools, templates, and methodologies.


• Looks to ensure that workforce data / analysis is provided to designated clinical leads as required for planning or bid development purposes.


• Develop the integration of workforce planning within the Trust. e.g., working with Programme Team, business Planning, Finance, Informatics teams.


• Support the development of refresh workforce plans that will enable the Trust to plan its workforce at both corporate and divisional level, to deliver business plans and strategies fit for the New Hospital Development.


• Demonstrate and embed a good understanding and knowledge of local and national workforce guidance that impact on the workforce related plans/projects in order to ensure the Trust is fully up to date with accurate and detailed workforce analytics.


Information and data management

• Takes responsibility to lead on the provision of a wide range of workforce data reports that comply with internal governance requirements of the new hospital team.


• Responsible for ensuring appropriate baseline and ongoing evaluation metrics and monitoring systems are in place for programmes/individual projects in order to produce a clear evidence base when measuring impacts.


• Actively researches examples of best practice related to service transformation from other organisations and shares that learning.


• Responsible for the analysis and interpretation of complex data sets extracted from workforce information systems, identifying errors and sense checking information.


• Responsible for the production of workforce information, statistics and analytical reports as required.


• To provide, present and analyse workforce data to the appropriate Board and others on progress and status of the plans/projects.


• To work closely with colleagues across the Trust to ensure that workforce information systems and processes are aligned with those for finance, activity and contracting information.


• To provide advice and guidance to managers throughout the Trust on the format, content, presentation, analysis, and interpretation of workforce information.


• To support strategies to improve management capability in relation to the collection, management, analysis, and use of workforce information to support decision-making processes.


• To be responsible for the provision of designated national and regional workforce returns, ensuring deadlines are met.


• Contribute to the development of business cases, taking a lead role in identifying outcome measurements and mechanisms for gathering necessary information.


• Challenge, in a positive manner, current working practices and promoting a culture of continuous improvement and 'learning organisation'.


• To manage and coordinate specific workforce planning projects.


• To act at all times in a professional manner that promotes a positive image of the


• To provide leadership to all staff that promotes a culture of positive and effective teamwork.


• To take responsibility for own continuous professional development and mandatory and statutory training, and disseminate learning and information gained to others in order to share good practice.


Key Challenges

• Achieving cooperation, compliance, and engagement in an environment of potentially conflicting interests and opinions


• Managing highly complex projects within the unique environment of the NHS.


• Balancing the need for compliance with the drive for pace.


• Establishing and maintaining momentum, compliance, and project management discipline across a broad set of internal and external stakeholders (most of whom will be outside the direct line management hierarchy).


• Maintaining an effective balance between the need for pace and a desire to include, listen and co-produce.


Key Relationships

Project Director strategic developments / new hospital

• Provide expert advice, counsel, and recommendations on workforce matters, to influence organisational decisions and initiatives.


Executive

• Develop strategic relationships and provide expert workforce and human resources advice to impact decisions, support initiatives, clarify accountability and communicate progress.


Financial Stakeholders

• Develop working relationships and provide expert provide expert workforce and human resources advice / leadership to ensure Trust remains fully compliant and that financial inputs/outputs are produced within the time cost and quality parameters of the programme.


Workstream and Project Leads

• Develop strong working relationships and provide expert provide expert workforce and human resources advice to impact decisions, support initiatives, clarify accountability and communicate progress.


• Act as conduit for the effective collation and escalation of provide expert workforce and human resources advice risks and issues.


External - Clinical Commissioning Group, NHSI, Governors, Trade Unions, Staff Associations, Non-Executive Directors, Patient Groups, Planning Agencies, third-party consultants, vendors, and service providers

• In all of the above cases, the workforce lead will advice and facilitate accurate and timely information on progress, achievements, risks, and issues.


• This information will come in the form of written and oral, formal, and informal reports.


• Establish professional networks and relationships to maintain currency, share ideas and learnings, and collaborate on common responses to project issues


Corporate/General Responsibilities

• To contribute towards the development of the Trust's approach to continuously improving the maturity of its capability to deliver change and support the delivery of world class services


• To assist in identifying opportunities which add value to the Trust's activities


• Provide leadership, vision, and direction within the project team, managing the delivery of a quality service


• Work with other Directors to ensure that service and facility planning meets national and international innovations and good practice


• Provide Programme Board with expert advice, guidance, and support on the operations workstream


• Work with local partners on the alignment and development of services across the Local Health Economy


• Membership of the New Hospital Programme Board


• Develop and maintain a highly motivated team, ensuring the organisation meets its statutory, service, and financial obligations


• Manage the Workstream budget (revenue and capital) with agreed resource limits.
  
  There's never been a more exciting time to join TeamQEH. We're working on a once in a generation opportunity to build a new state-of-the-art hospital to open in 2030 and we are also carrying out on one of the biggest pieces of digital transformation work we've ever undertaken.


Our new electronic patient record (EPR) will replace paper-based patient records from 2026 and will lead to better, safer, joined-up care at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and beyond.

At The QEH we provide a comprehensive range of specialist, acute, obstetrics and community-based services to around 331,000 people across west and north Norfolk, North Cambs and South Lincs.

We are an ambitious organisation that upholds our values of kindness, wellness and fairness. We strive for continuous quality improvement, recently demonstrated in our 2024 CQC maternity inspection rating our services as 'Good', and we are proud to be a place to learn and grow through recognised learning and apprenticeships.

We recognise and reward our 4,000 staff and volunteers, priding ourselves on a community atmosphere and positive team spirit. We have approx. 530 beds across 33 wards and have newly built education and training facilities, a range of modern award-winning centres alongside a talented team of people ready to give you a warm welcome. We love working here and think you will too.