Chief People Officer in Vauxhall

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provides mental healthcare for around 1.3 million people across South London, alongside specialist services nationally and internationally. Its more than 240 services span inpatient, community and specialist settings, with close partnerships with King's College London, King's Health Partners and local communities connecting care with research and education. The quality of that care depends on its people: colleagues working across different professions and settings, supporting people with complex and often profound needs. SLaM is committed to delivering consistently excellent, equitable and person-centred care, and to becoming an anti-racist organisation in both its services and its workplaces.

The Trust is seeking a Chief People Officer to join its Executive Team and Trust Board. Reporting to the Chief Executive, the appointee will strengthen the reliability and responsiveness of People & Organisational Development (OD) services, build confidence in the function and support the organisation to deliver change. This means developing a capable, trusted People & OD team, with clear priorities and the authority to deliver, while translating the Trust's strategy into practical workforce plans.

Working with clinical, operational and academic colleagues, the Chief People Officer will help develop new roles and ways of working, strengthen leadership and organisational effectiveness, and ensure sound employment practice and Board assurance. They will bring a clear focus on what staff need to provide safe, effective and compassionate care.

The successful candidate will bring substantial experience of leading a broad People & OD function in a large complex organisation, with evidence of improving services and delivering sustained change. They will combine professional HR expertise with organisational development capability and the confidence to advise and challenge Boards and executive colleagues. Credible with the different professional groups that make up SLaM's diverse and skilled workforce, they will build constructive relationships with trade unions and staff networks, and show how their leadership has addressed inequality. SLaM needs an approachable, consistent leader who listens, delegates well and supports colleagues through difficult decisions. They must be able to maintain trust through disagreement, work effectively across shared responsibilities and turn plans into delivery. Above all, they will be motivated by the contribution they can make to staff, patients and the communities SLaM serves.

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is world renowned for its pioneering work in mental health. We serve a local population of 1.3 million people in South London and specialist services for children and adults across the UK and beyond. We employ over 6,500 staff. We are part of King's Health Partners, and are the only mental health trust in the UK to have our own biomedical research centre - hosted jointly with Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London.

We are focused on promoting mental health and wellbeing. We provide treatment that helps people get well and stay well, so they can achieve their full potential.

Our refreshed Trust Strategy emphasises the central mission of the Trust, which is to deliver the best care and outcomes for every person we serve, every single day, and connects improvements in care with changes in how we work, learn and lead. It focuses on four key workstreams:

• Work with service users, their carers and families to deliver three shifts to care
• Translate research and innovation into practice
• Be genuine partners in care
• Put our values into action

Our Values and Behaviours Framework was created using the inputs of over 1,200 staff, service users and carers. Together, we treat each other and our patients with kindness and respect.

Essential Experience and Professional Knowledge:

• A substantial record of leading a broad People & OD function in a large, complex organisation, with responsibility for both service delivery and strategic development
• Significant experience of working at Board level, advising and influencing executive and non-executive directors, providing assurance and constructive challenge as part of an executive team involved with sensitive or consequential decisions
• Evidence of improving the reliability and responsiveness of People & OD services and building confidence among staff, managers and senior leaders
• Experience of developing and supporting leadership teams through sustained pressure and change, with clear delegation and accountability
• Strong professional HR knowledge across employee relations, employment practice, workforce governance, recruitment, reward and organisational risk
• Experience of developing workforce plans with operational and finance colleagues and delivering changes to roles, skills or deployment in response to service needs
• Evidence of using organisational development approaches to improve leadership, organisational effectiveness and the delivery of change
• Experience of building effective relationships with trade unions and leading consultation, negotiation and the resolution of difficult employment issues
• Evidence of personally leading action to address racism or other inequalities, with demonstrable changes in practice or outcomes
• Experience of managing budgets, commissioned services and supplier performance, with a clear understanding of financial control and value for money
• Experience of using workforce information and digital improvement to support decisions and improve services
• An understanding of the accountability, professional relationships and workforce challenges involved in publicly funded healthcare, including the needs of a multidisciplinary clinical workforce
• Chartered membership of the CIPD, or equivalent professional standing supported by substantial relevant experience and continuing professional development

Essential Skills, Abilities and Approach:

• A clear commitment to improving care for people using mental health services and an appreciation of the communities SLaM serves
• The ability to set a practical direction, prioritise competing demands and turn strategy into sustained delivery
• Sound judgement in complex or sensitive situations, including the ability to distinguish between matters requiring executive intervention and those best managed through delegated responsibility
• An approachable and visible leadership style, with the ability to listen carefully, assess situations fairly and develop the capability of existing colleagues
• The confidence to support colleagues when their professional advice is challenged, while remaining open to scrutiny and alternative views
• The ability to establish credibility across different professions and work effectively through shared responsibilities and relationships outside direct management
• The ability to maintain constructive relationships through disagreement, challenge established practice and hold others to account respectfully
• A calm, consistent approach under pressure, with discretion, self-awareness and a willingness to reflect and learn
• The ability to combine fair and robust employment practice with compassion, proportionate decision-making and a restorative approach
• Clear communication and influencing skills, including the ability to explain difficult decisions and respond thoughtfully to staff concerns
• The ability to interpret evidence critically and show whether interventions have improved services, staff experience or workforce outcomes
• Digital understanding to enable the assessment of opportunities for automation and artificial intelligence