NDAO - Workforce Coordination Manager

Police Digital Service (PDS) is recruiting on behalf of the NPCC National Data's workforce, people strategy and organisational development during a critical phase of national delivery and growth. Operating at senior level, the postholder will lead the coordination of workforce planning, recruitment, organisational design and HR activity across the NDAO, ensuring alignment between strategic priorities, delivery demands and people capability.

The role will act as the primary senior interface between the NDAO and the PDS HR team, ensuring robust governance, compliance and effective delivery of personnel, recruitment and core HR processes. The Workforce Coordination Manager will represent the NDAO at senior internal and external meetings on workforce and people matters, providing credible, authoritative leadership across NPCC, PDS and partner forums. The role combines strategic workforce leadership with hands-on coordination and assurance, ensuring the NDAO has the right people, capability and structures to operate as a mature national function.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the coordination and delivery of the NDAO's workforce strategy, ensuring alignment with organisational priorities, funding profiles and national delivery commitments.
• Provide senior workforce advice and insight to the NDAO Senior Leadership Team, supporting strategic decision making on capacity, capability, structure and people risk.
• Oversee workforce planning activities, ensuring the organisation is resourced appropriately to meet current and future demand.
• Coordinate and oversee large scale and complex recruitment campaigns, ensuring effective attraction, selection and onboarding across specialist, technical and leadership roles.
• Work in close partnership with the PDS HR and Resourcing teams on recruitment activity, ensuring roles, timetables, governance and approvals are clearly aligned.
• Provide assurance to senior leaders on recruitment progress, risks and workforce affordability.
• Act as the senior NDAO lead for personnel and HR matters, working collaboratively with the PDS HR team on employee lifecycle processes, policies and systems.
• Ensure clear ownership, escalation routes and decision making between NDAO leadership and PDS HR on recruitment, personnel administration, HR policy and workforce governance.
• Support the consistent application of HR policies and processes while reflecting the NDAO's national mission and operating context.
• Provide senior oversight and coordination of employee relations activity, acting as an escalation point for complex or sensitive workforce matters (noting minimal ER issues).
• Coordinate workforce elements of organisational change, including consultations, role design and transition activity, ensuring compliance and good employee experience.
• Represent the NDAO at senior meetings, boards and cross-organisational forums on workforce, people strategy and organisational risk.
• Contribute to NPCC, PDS and multi-agency discussions where workforce capability, professionalisation and capacity are key considerations.
• Act as a credible senior ambassador for the NDAO's approach to people, workforce governance and professional standards.
• Oversee workforce reporting and insight, providing senior leaders with clear, accurate data on recruitment, workforce composition, trends and risks.
• Provide assurance on workforce compliance, capability and readiness as the NDAO scales and matures as a national function.
• Promote inclusive, values-led ways of working, supporting wellbeing, equality, diversity and professional development.
• Provide calm, confident leadership through complexity, ambiguity and organisational change.

Key Criteria

• Extensive senior-level experience in workforce, HR or people leadership roles.
• Proven experience coordinating complex workforce and recruitment activity at organisational or national level.
• Strong understanding of workforce planning, organisational design and employment frameworks.
• Experience working in partnership with a central or host HR function.
• Ability to operate credibly at senior leadership level, influencing and advising executives.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management and coordination skills.
• Strong command of workforce governance, risk and assurance.
• Minimum Level 3 CIPD, ideally Level 5 or willingness to obtain this level.

Key Criteria

• Experience within public sector, policing or nationally directed programmes.
• Experience supporting professionalisation or capability building agendas.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

We are committed to equal opportunities for all and will not discriminate on any grounds. We encourage applications from people from the widest possible span of experience. All applicants will be considered without attention to age, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, parental status, nationality, neurodiversity or disability status.

Working Arrangements

This is a remote role with some national travel required to attend meetings. All applicants must be eligible to undergo NPPV3 (Non Police Personnel Vetting Level 3) and SC vetting clearances. Successful applicants will require NPPV3 clearance to have been cleared before starting with PDS.