Deputy Head - Civil Service Recruitment Policy in Newcastle upon Tyne

Government People Group (GPG) is the strategic and functional centre for the Government People Function and human resources (HR) in the Civil Service. Led by the Joint Interim Government Chief People Officers, Caitlin Kinsella and Janette Durbin, we enable and improve the delivery of recruitment, training, workplace policy, HR strategy and management excellence to over half a million civil servants.

What we do

• Leading on cross-government HR strategy, organisation design and workforce planning.
• Procuring and delivering training and development schemes for the Civil Service.
• Delivering recruitment services, guidance and expertise to departments.
• Coordinating and advising departments on pay, pensions and employee policy.
• Setting standards and guidance for line managers and senior civil servants.
• Coordinating the implementation of the Shared Services Strategy for Government.
• Enhancing employee experience to promote an engaged workforce and culture of performance excellence.

People Plan

A shared aim of all civil servants working in the Government People Function is to support the delivery of the Civil Service People Plan. The People Plan outlines five People Priorities for the Civil Service, alongside 45 commitments to address our most pressing and immediate people challenges. Departmental plans and strategies also align with and contribute towards the People Plan.

Centre of Recruitment Expertise (CoRE)

CoRE is a small team of 7 recruitment policy and strategy experts (3 team leaders and 4 senior policy consultants) who look after some of the biggest strategic recruitment issues in the Civil Service, working with colleagues across the system and wider industry to deliver the highest quality advice and solutions for Ministers and Senior Leaders in the Civil Service. We are a high performing team with Civil Service and private sector experience where everyone feels welcome and has the opportunity to demonstrate their full potential, celebrating successes and supporting one another as a team.

Job description

We have some big challenges that we need your help to solve:

• Develop a new SCS Attraction Strategy and EVP to recruit leaders with innovation, frontline, and private‑sector skills and experience.
• Simplify and improve recruitment, delivering Ministerial ambitions to improve job applications, remove systemic barriers, and create a new candidate‑focused standard for job adverts.
• Drive improvements to recruitment across the Civil Service, leveraging our Test and Learn initiatives to capture and develop innovation and improvement activity.
• Provide high‑quality advice, solutions and expertise, owning cross‑government recruitment policies, delivering briefings for Ministerial speeches, and responding to parliamentary correspondence.
• Provide consistent, high‑quality line management for 1 or 2 reports, role‑modeling excellent leadership in the team and across Government People Group.

Person specification

Essential

• Chartered Membership of CIPD (or be working towards it).
• Proven experience developing complex HR policy solutions and navigating established controls to meet shifting political and operational needs.
• Experience identifying barriers and blockers in HR, recruitment or professional processes and delivering simplified, user‑focused solutions.
• Excellent verbal and written skills with a demonstrated ability to draft clear, concise, and impactful policies and briefings for Senior Ministers and Functional Boards.
• A track record of building trusting relationships with senior stakeholders and peers alike, working effectively within a high‑performing team to achieve shared goals.
• Ability to interpret and produce insights from data that they can communicate clearly to guide strategic decision‑making.

Desirable

• HR professional with significant recruitment, recruitment marketing or attraction experience.
• A proactive approach to challenging how activity is currently conducted, with the resilience to drive innovation in a complex, multi‑departmental environment.
• A commitment to fostering a culture where bullying, harassment, and discrimination have no place, role‑modeling inclusive leadership at all times.