Director of People Services

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Director of People Services within University Hospitals of Derby and Burton. The Director of People Services is one of the most senior People leadership roles below Board level with the responsibility for developing and driving a high-performance People Services Team, to put into place a range of large-scale initiatives that give our people the best experience in the NHS.

They will have responsibility for the oversight and operational delivery of People Services (HR and Workforce) activities and will work closely with the Assistant Directors to deliver a comprehensive and complementary HR and Workforce offer ensuring we service the needs of clinical and non-clinical departments across the organisation and work in partnership with our staff and staff representatives.

The post holder will work in partnership with the Chief People Officer and the Director of Culture to build a high performing People Services Team that facilitates and enables UHDB to be a great place to work and for care.

The postholder will be required to operate effectively and with credibility at Board level and across two Integrated Care Systems (ICS's) and when required regionally and nationally.

Main duties of the job

To create a first-class Employee Relations service and climate that enables colleagues to perform at their best, supports the organisation to realise its full potential, and ensures people-centred, harm-free approaches to people management.

Lead the development of short, medium and long-term workforce plans, redesigning strategies and policies that introduce new ways of working so the Trust has the right people, with the right skills, in the right place, within financial parameters, to deliver the services required by our patients and population.

Support the Trust in managing workforce costs by tracking spend and developing the reward and recognition framework to incentivise positive behaviours and high performance. Work with staff and staff representatives to secure value for money and best practice through optimising staff terms and conditions.

Lead the Trust's people resourcing approach, ensuring best-in-class recruitment practices are in place.

Oversee the workforce systems optimisation programme to maximise interoperability and deliver exemplary data quality and reporting.

Oversee delivery of the Staff Health and Wellbeing Strategy, ensuring evidence-based and efficient approaches to staff health, safety and wellbeing, and ensuring colleagues are supported to attend work.

Ensure inclusive behaviours are embedded across People Services so the team drives a compassionate and inclusive culture across UHDB.

Closing date: 15 February 2026

Interview date: TBC

About us

As a trusted organisation at the heart of our communities, we recognise the important role we can play in supporting the public, patients, our own people and local partners in achieving the best of health for the local population and the communities in which they live by providing Exceptional Care Together

Our fundamental Values of Compassion, Openness and Excellence underpin how we intend to work as a Trust and the associated behaviours are becoming embedded in all aspects of how we work.

In return we will offer:

• Development opportunities, both professional and leadership development
• On-going support from recruitment to when you join our team and beyond.
• Staff benefits including employee assistance programme, discounted gym membership, onsite fitness classes, car schemes

Key Facts:

• We see on average 4810 OP appointments a day.
• We are the 4th busiest Trauma & Orthopaedic outpatients department in England - an average of 2077 per week.
• An average of 1115 patients are seen in A&Es across our network every day - 3rd largest in the country.
• Our hospitals admit an average of 195 emergency patients daily.
• Last year we undertook almost 33,700 planned surgical operations in our 57 operating theatres.
• We are one of only 7 Trusts nationally with more than 50 operating theatres.
• We carry out more than 140 elective procedures each working day.
• UHDB is a research active University Hospital with a large and varied portfolio of clinical trials and research opportunities for all staff.

Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Royal Derby Hospital

Derby

DE22 3NE

Employer's website

https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

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Employer details

Employer name

University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Royal Derby Hospital

Derby

DE22 3NE

Employer's website

https://www.uhdb.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)

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