Assistant Director-People Partnering

Assistant Director-People Partnering

The closing date is 05 March 2026

The Assistant Director of People (Partnering) provides senior leadership and strategic direction to the Trust's People Business Partnering function. The postholder ensures that people strategy, workforce planning, organisational change, culture, and leadership activities are effectively delivered across all divisions and corporate areas.

Working in close partnership with senior operational leaders, the role ensures the workforce is aligned to current and future service needs, drives improvement in people management capability, and supports the Trust to achieve its strategic objectives through excellence in workforce practice.

The postholder is a key member of the People Leadership Team (PLT), modelling Trust values and leading a high performing, collaborative and future focused Business Partnering service.

Main duties of the job

• Lead and develop the People Business Partnering function to deliver high quality, proactive and solution focused people support across divisions and corporate services.
• Act as the senior subject matter expert for strategic workforce advice, employment practice, organisational development considerations and change management.
• Ensure Business Partnering activity is aligned to Trust strategies, People Strategy, People Delivery Plan and operational performance priorities.
• Build strong, credible relationships with divisional triumvirates, senior clinicians and corporate leaders to influence workforce decisions and drive improvement.
• Strategically lead Job Evaluation
• Strategically lead contracts (for example Occupational Health)

About us

University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust is one of the largest and most modern in the country. Based across two sites, Royal Stoke in Stoke on Trent and County Hospital in Stafford, we are proud to serve around three million people and we're highly regarded for our facilities, teaching and research. We are the specialist centre for major trauma for the North Midlands and North Wales.

All of our employees make a valuable contribution regardless of role here at UHNM and we are proud of our wide range of development packages aimed at ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their true potential.

UHNM create and encourage a culture of inclusion, providing equal opportunities for career development that are fair and transparent. We are committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer and foster a culture in which all staff feel valued and respected. In return we ask all of our employees to make a commitment to the values, co created by or staff, patients and carers, and that unite us as a Trust.

At University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust we know that investing in, supporting and developing our staff has a direct impact on the quality of care that we deliver. Our employees are as important as our patients and the population that we serve.

Job responsibilities

Please see attached Job Description and Person Specification for a full description of the main responsibilities of this role.

Person Specification Qualifications and experience

• Appropriate CIPD Qualification
• Experience of working in complex environment in a relevant People Role

knowledge

• Expert understanding of employment law, NHS People policies, organisational change frameworks and workforce transformation.

skills / behaviours

• Highly developed management, leadership, coaching and influencing skills.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

University Hospital of North Midlands NHS Trust