Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust

Head of Inclusion

The closing date is 15 September 2025

Job summary

Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust is a fast improving trust. We are dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion, delivering many of the NHS services that are provided outside of hospital and in the community. We have clinical teams providing services in inpatient, community, and primary care settings. We support a population of just over 1.6 million people and have dedicated workforce of over 5,000 staff. Our biggest bases are at Hellesdon Hospital, Norwich, Wedgwood House, Bury St Edmunds and Woodlands Unit, Ipswich and our staff are based in more than 50 locations.

We believe in working together for better mental health. We're working closely with health and care partners and voluntary sector organisations to transform mental health care to ensure the people of Norfolk and Suffolk get help and support in the right place for them, when they need it, to stay mentally and emotionally well.

Main duties of the job

We are now looking to appoint into the role of interim Head of Inclusion to drive a more compassionate approach and organisational culture in the way we care for staff and the people they serve.

The Head of Inclusion will provide strategic leadership and direction for the Trust's equality and inclusion strategies. The role is pivotal in driving cultural change, enhancing employee engagement, and transforming the experience of staff from minority communities with a view to improving health inequalities. This position will oversee a team of equality and inclusion professionals and work closely with senior leaders to ensure initiatives align with the Trust's strategic objectives. A core element of the role will be to design and deliver a transformational inclusion strategy aligned to our new values and behaviours.

This is a great opportunity in the Trust at a time when it is developing a highly innovative and clinically led model of care delivery, with a true commitment to inclusion, coproduction and quality improvement. You can be at the forefront of systemwide changes in the way we support staff to deliver a model that addresses health inequalities.

This is a role that would allow the successful candidate to experience cross sector leadership working and to gain greater insight into the whole health system and wider context.

About us

We welcome applications from a diverse range of people, both in terms of background but also experience. A key factor in delivering transformational change in this space will be the ability to deliver large scale improvement programmes.

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.

Why work for us? We have challenges as a Trust, but we have ambitious aspirations, are pushing ahead with exciting transformation work and we need dedicated individuals to support us on our journey. We have strong, established professional networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.

Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you'll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We're an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.

Details

Date posted

20 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8b

Salary

£64,455 to £74,896 a year gross per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

6 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

246-COR6549876

Job locations

County Hall Norwich or Endeavour House Ipswich

Norwich

NR1 2DH


Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description for full details on the role.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the attached job description for full details on the role.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Master's degree in human resources, Equalities, Business Administration, or a related field or equivalent relevant experience.
  • Relevant professional qualification (e.g., CIPD, ILM)

Experience

Essential

  • Significant experience in a senior inclusion or equality role within a complex organisation.
  • Experience of developing and delivering inclusion programmes and interventions, working in close partnership with HR colleagues and wider stakeholders

Skills

Essential

  • Effective and adaptable interpersonal and influencing strategies including the ability to persuade others with personal conviction and facts.
  • Ability to establish credibility, negotiate and influence colleagues at a senior level.
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Master's degree in human resources, Equalities, Business Administration, or a related field or equivalent relevant experience.
  • Relevant professional qualification (e.g., CIPD, ILM)

Experience

Essential

  • Significant experience in a senior inclusion or equality role within a complex organisation.
  • Experience of developing and delivering inclusion programmes and interventions, working in close partnership with HR colleagues and wider stakeholders

Skills

Essential

  • Effective and adaptable interpersonal and influencing strategies including the ability to persuade others with personal conviction and facts.
  • Ability to establish credibility, negotiate and influence colleagues at a senior level.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust

Address

County Hall Norwich or Endeavour House Ipswich

Norwich

NR1 2DH


Employer's website

https://www.nsft.nhs.uk/Pages/Home.aspx (Opens in a new tab)


Employer details

Employer name

Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust

Address

County Hall Norwich or Endeavour House Ipswich

Norwich

NR1 2DH


Employer's website

https://www.nsft.nhs.uk/Pages/Home.aspx (Opens in a new tab)


Employer contact details

For questions about the job, contact:

Director of Culture

Harprit Hockley

harprit.hockley@nsft.nhs.uk

Details

Date posted

20 August 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8b

Salary

£64,455 to £74,896 a year gross per annum (pro rata)

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

6 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Flexible working

Reference number

246-COR6549876

Job locations

County Hall Norwich or Endeavour House Ipswich

Norwich

NR1 2DH


Supporting documents

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