Chief People Officer

This role will be based on site, primarily in the named location with the opportunity to work remotely available in line with our Adaptive Working Framework.

We have one simple promise – to make a positive impact. Through our ground-breaking research, teaching excellence and commitment to sustainable living, we are changing lives for the better. The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region.

We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 – making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.

Financially strong and seriously ambitious we offer our employees an inclusive culture that centres itself around staff wellbeing, where you can be confident you will receive all the help and encouragement you need to build a rewarding career with lots of opportunities to enhance your skills.

As Chief People Officer you will be joining an institution that understands and values the life-changing power of education. As a key member of our Executive team, the CPO provides strategic leadership for the University’s people agenda and is accountable to the Vice‑Chancellor for attracting, developing and retaining a high‑performing, inclusive workforce, while ensuring strong governance and compliance. Operating at the heart of our leadership and decision‑making structures, the CPO plays a critical role in translating our strategic ambition into sustainable organisational performance.

As CPO managing a team of high-quality professional staff, you will lead and deliver strategies for talent, reward, performance, engagement, well-being and inclusion and embedding a culture that fosters innovation, collaboration and organisational growth. With a deep understanding of the factors affecting employee relations, you will also oversee legislative frameworks governing employment, equality and workplace practices and in ensuring that university policies and decisions are legally sound, ethically robust and aligned with sector best-practice mitigating risk and safeguarding the University’s reputation.

The successful candidate will be a clear thinker and be able to work at a strategic level but have the ability to switch to operations as necessary to ensure procedures and policies are implemented effectively to achieve the key strategic objectives of the University of Derby. A graduate (or equivalent) with chartered membership of the CIPD you will have proven experience of successful strategic management of equivalent services in large and complex organizations. Understanding of the issues facing higher education would be advantageous but more important will be your experience of delivering transformative change, high-performance cultures and innovative service delivery. A technical expert, you will also possess excellent interpersonal skills and have the ability to work effectively with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

Shape and deliver the University’s people strategy as a core enabler of institutional success, supporting the Vice-Chancellor and collaborating with the Executive team to develop and execute strategic plans that secure the University’s future.

Provide leadership and oversight of People Experience and Culture functions, including all aspects of Human Resources and the Talent, Culture and Inclusion team, ensuring these areas achieve their strategic objectives and deliver measurable impact for the University.

As a member of the Executive Team, provide constructive challenge to ensure decisions place people at the heart of the University’s strategy while balancing institutional priorities, sustainability, and long-term impact.

Ensure effective communication and implementation of Board of Governors’ decisions, particularly those impacting people, culture, and workforce strategies, enabling alignment and accountability across the University.

Maintain robust people governance frameworks that are fit for purpose, compliant, and aligned with sector best practice, ensuring clarity of roles, responsibilities, and decision-making.

Provide assurance to the Board and Executive that the University complies with all legislative and regulatory requirements relating to people, employment and equality, diversity and inclusion.

Ensure the University’s policy framework for people and culture is current, comprehensive, and aligned with government policy and sector guidance.

Ensure the development and delivery of strategies for reward, resourcing, performance management, talent development, and employee engagement, which supports the University’s ambitions to attract, retain, and motivate a high-performing workforce.

Provide strategic leadership and oversight to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are embedded across the University’s culture, policies, and practices, driving initiatives that deliver belonging, representation, and equitable outcomes institution-wide.

Provides strategic oversight of employee health, safety, and wellbeing, ensuring alignment with organisational people priorities and strong collaboration across Equity & Inclusion, Wellbeing, Occupational Health, EAP, and Health & Safety functions.

Ensure the provision and strategic application of people analytics and workforce insights to enable evidence-based decision-making and long-term workforce planning at an institutional level.

Drive people-related strategies that underpin financial sustainability, ensuring workforce planning and capability development align with long-term goals.

Represent and influence the people agenda externally, building strong relationships with national HE bodies (e.g., Office for Students, Universities HR, University Alliance) and key stakeholders to shape sector-wide policy and practice.

Ensure high performance and accountability across all people-related operations, fostering collaboration and alignment with the University’s strategic framework and corporate objectives.

Advise the Governing Council on people-related matters, providing reports and assurance on performance against Institutional Success Measures and workforce indicators.

Monitor and respond to developments in people policy and practice, ensuring the University remains agile and compliant in a changing HE landscape.

Contribute flexibly to strategic change programmes and reviews, leading initiatives that strengthen the University’s people capability and culture.

Represent the Vice-Chancellor at events as appropriate.

Degree-level education or equivalent experience. Postgraduate qualification in HR, Business, or a related field.

Proven track record of shaping and delivering people strategies at a senior leadership level within a complex organisation. Significant experience leading HR and People functions. Experience of working with Boards and Executive teams to influence strategic decision-making. Experience of embedding equity, diversity and inclusion within organisational culture and policy. Strong background in governance and compliance, including employment law and regulatory frameworks. Experience of representing an organisation externally and influencing sector-wide policy. Proven ability to build constructive relationships with trade unions and staff representatives, leading negotiations and fostering collaborative solutions in a unionised environment.

Skills, knowledge & abilities:

• Deep understanding of HR best practice, employment legislation, and equality, diversity, and inclusion principles.
• Deep expertise in employee relations, with a proven ability to navigate complex workforce issues in a highly regulated environment.
• Awareness of current and emerging trends in higher education and their impact on people strategy.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate vision into actionable plans.
• Exceptional leadership and people management skills, fostering collaboration and accountability.
• Strong influencing and relationship-building skills at all levels, internally and externally.
• Excellent communication skills, able to convey complex information clearly to diverse audiences.
• Analytical capability to interpret people data and provide actionable insights.
• Resilient and adaptable, able to lead through change and ambiguity.

Generous annual leave entitlement of 42 days inclusive of bank holidays and concessionary days (pro rata). Suite of holistic wellbeing benefits and support including family-friendly policies, generous sick pay provision and comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme. Access to a variety of staff discounts at high street retailers. Discounted onsite gym. Access to employer-funded Private Health Insurance. Holiday purchase. Cycle to Work scheme. A flexible working environment. A commitment to personal and professional development.

The University of Derby is committed to promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, regardless of age, disability, trans status, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief (or none), sex and sexual orientation. We are Disability Confident Employers, demonstrating our commitment to disability inclusion, and invite applicants to highlight adjustments they may require to ensure equitable participation in our recruitment processes. Further, we are committed to ensuring an environment which is trans and non-binary-inclusive for all our staff, students, partners, and visitors, and continuously review our policies, guidance and training.

When applying to join the University, you can choose your preferred title, including the gender-neutral title 'Mx'. We also ask our candidates if they would like to share their preferred pronouns. This is voluntary but demonstrates our commitment to inclusivity for trans and non-binary candidates. Once employed, you can add pronouns and preferred names onto our system. The University of Derby undertakes anonymised shortlisting during the staff recruitment process. This means that, when shortlisting, panel members will not be able to see an applicant’s name and will see an applicant number instead. This demonstrates the practical steps we are taking to remove barriers to recruitment by minimising the possible impact of our unconscious bias.

However you identify, we actively celebrate the knowledge, experience and talents each person brings. Our students come from a wide range of backgrounds; therefore we are particularly interested to hear from applicants who will help our leaders and teams be more reflective of our student population. At the University of Derby, we are passionate about embedding sustainability into everything that we do. We aim to bring environmental sustainability into all aspects of the University, including teaching, research and operational activities. In line with the University's strategic framework, we expect all our staff to embed sustainability into their working practices and support the University's objective to reach net zero carbon by 2050.