The Role
This is a rare opportunity to help create a new national institution. The CPO will be bringing two existing organisations together to create a new one, borne out of the experiences and lessons learnt from the pandemic. The transition of these 2 organisations needs to be delivered by 1st October, involving bringing together 2 organisations consisting of approx. 11,500 people with a current operating budget of c£15Bn to create one organisation that will be a global exemplar of health protection and security, which will provide future preparedness against all diseases and health hazards. This is a role for someone who really wants to shape the creation of this new organisation, including its culture, values and skills.
The UKHSA will be a blend of cutting-edge science, with high end data analytics and scalability of operational delivery. Blending these very different skills and cultures is both the challenge and the opportunity for UKHSA. The UKHSA will consist of a range of specialist skills including data scientists, technologists, consumer marketeers, epidemiologists, supply chain and logistics and many more, sourcing these skills through a range of channels from Civil Servants through to partnerships with key organisations.
Therefore, talent will be at the fore of the agenda. Helping lead the UKHSA through an executive committee shaped for decision-making needs and scaling high-quality talent and its development will be top of mind for the CPO. S/he will ensure the People operational backbone meets the demands of an agile organisation, leading the UKHSA’s efforts to create a diverse, inclusive workforce. We need to create a culture where top class scientists and operators can all thrive, respect each other and combine forces in a unique way.
The CPO will lead on helping the UKHSA to achieve its aspiration of being recognised as a great place to work, enabling everyone to have the opportunity to build and grow their careers within an organisation that has a national footprint and global reach.
Reporting directly to the CEO, the CPO will be a member of the UKSHA’s Executive Team. They will support and guide the CEO, acting as a ‘trusted advisor’ on people topics. They will work closely with the board around people governance areas such as reward, succession planning and people risk.
Key responsibilities will include:
Work effectively with the CEO, Executive team and wider stakeholders
- Act as a trusted advisor to the executive committee and the CEO
- Be a thought partner to the CEO on people topics, willing to test and challenge her thinking
- Contribute to an executive team environment that facilitates rich debate, constructive challenge, and effective decision-making
- Build strong, productive relationships with key external partners, including colleagues in DHSC, the wider healthcare system, Civil Service HR and HM Treasury
- Operate with transparency and a no-surprises mindset. Communicate regularly, challenge when required, and raise issues quickly
- Excellent facilitation and negotiating skills applicable across a wide range of situations
Create a high accountability, collaborative, high performance culture.
- Build and model candid, respectful, tolerant, trusting relationships across the leadership team
- Ensure that core values run through the people team, its processes, policies and practices, including recruitment and reward
Lead talent attraction, retention and development efforts across the organisation.
- Ensure a talent management and succession planning system is created and implemented
- Ensure the organisation consistently hires top talent and prioritises seamless induction and onboarding
- Establish and manage a data-driven, disciplined talent attraction process.
- Ensure there is best practice succession planning in place, encompassing recruitment and development that ensures there are no gaps in key roles that would hinder execution of the organisation.
- Ensure that all managers are trained and capable of conducting effective performance appraisals.
- Run a well-functioning performance management system that leads to clear goal setting, constructive feedback and forward-looking individual development plans
Deliver on a competitive reward and benefits programme for all employees.
- Through strong and professional thought leadership, provide strategic oversight to the development of a reward strategy that enables UKHSA to attract and retain top talent, including managing relationships with DHSC and HM Treasury colleagues to ensure the strategy is delivered successfully and in line with public sector requirements
- Provide reward consultation to business leaders, understanding that reward at UKHSA is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach
- Ensure competitiveness of the reward offering (compensation and benefits) via research & benchmarking for best practice, recognising the purpose of the organisation and its public service routes
- Ensure equality and diversity considerations are embedded throughout reward strategies and policies
Flawlessly execute People operations.
- Design and deliver top class people operations, recognising the opportunities of a new organisation
- Understand and value key metrics in running the People organisation and correlate such metrics with the rest of the business. Track key People metrics (e.g. retention, hiring, morale, engagement – with organisation, office, and executive team, external surveys/feedback)
- Focus resources on highest ROI People activities
Lead, grow and develop a People team of high performing professionals who are true partners to the business.
- Bring together people technology, people data and world class tools and frameworks to deliver on the UKHSA strategic objectives
- Develop and implement team structure that is in-line with the long-term strategy and the new operating model, putting the right people in the right roles
- Ensure at team development plan is in place that creates a high performing, business focused people team, committed to supporting UKHSA and its leaders in delivering the business objectives
Lead a high-impact Diversity & Inclusion programme.
- Work collaboratively with leaders to enhance programmes and processes to identify, recruit, integrate, and retain diverse talent across the organisation
- Deliver on the D&I recruitment and retention targets
- Enrol CEO and the leadership team to be the face of critical initiatives
- Effectively communicate our D&I goals and progress
- Be a trusted coach and mentor to colleagues on all issues concerning D&I
Change & Transformation:
- Develop and deliver a strategic change strategy for UKHSA
- Deliver system wide transformation strategies, tools and frameworks
- Develop a comprehensive cultural change programme
Civil Service Code
The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of you and other civil servants. These are based on the core values which are set out in legislation.
As a civil servant, you are expected to carry out your role with dedication and a commitment to the Civil Service and its core values of:
- ‘integrity’ – putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests.
- ‘honesty’ – being truthful and open.
- ‘objectivity’ – basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence.
- ‘impartiality’ – acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well governments of different political persuasions.
These core values support good government and ensure the achievement of the highest possible standards in all that the Civil Service does. This in turn helps the Civil Service to gain and retain the respect of ministers, Parliament, the public and its customers.