Job summary
Are you a dynamic workforce professional with PMO expertise seeking to make a meaningful impact in healthcare? Join us and help shape workforce strategies that support sustainable, high-quality health and care services across Devon.
This role offers the opportunity to lead system-wide workforce initiatives, designing solutions to attract, retain, and develop talent for future healthcare demands. You'll collaborate with stakeholders, drive transformational workforce programs, and embed innovative practices to enhance patient services and improve staff environments. Initially, your focus will support financial recovery programs, optimizing workforce productivity and managing costs while ensuring high-quality care.
Key Requirements
- Extensive experience in Workforce/HR, ideally within healthcare or complex environments.
- Proven program and project management expertise.
- Strong PMO skills to develop and oversee structured delivery frameworks.
- Excellent analytical, communication, and leadership abilities for managing sensitive, high-impact initiatives.
- Demonstrated success in influencing stakeholders, driving change, and delivering results in politically complex settings.
- Commitment to equality, diversity, and fostering an inclusive workplace.
Be part of a transformative System Workforce team working across diverse organizations and disciplines. Enjoy flexible working arrangements whilst having the chance to shape a workforce that delivers exceptional care.
Main duties of the job
What You'll Be Doing:
Program Leadership: Drive critical workforce initiatives, ensuring alignment with strategic goals and supporting Devon to reduce the financial challenges.
Stakeholder Engagement: Build trusted relationships across clinical and non-clinical teams to deliver impactful change.
PMO Expertise: Apply your knowledge of project and program management to structure, track, and deliver complex workforce programs efficiently.
Strategic Planning: Translate national workforce policies into practical, financially sustainable plans tailored to local needs.
Innovative Solutions: Research, design, and implement best practices in workforce transformation to address skills shortages and future demands.
About us
NHS Devon Integrated Care System
As an Integrated Care System (ICS), we recognise now more than ever that we can only provide the care that people really need by working together. Together for Devon therefore represents a partnership where health and care services work together with local communities to improve peoples health, wellbeing and care. It aims to transform health and care services so they are clinically, socially and financially sustainable.
Our vision is simple: equal chances for everyone in Devon to lead long, happy and healthy lives. To achieve this, we have set out six ambitions for the next five years that will help us transform services including: Effective and efficient care, embedding the Integrated Care Model, the Devon deal (a citizen-led approach to health and care), Children and young people, Digital Devon and ensuring Equality.
About NHS Devon
As part of the Devon ICS, NHS Devon Integrated Care Board is responsible for the majority of county's NHS budget, and develops a plan to improve peoples health, deliver high-quality care and better value for money. The organisation is led by a diverse board, with an aim to improve peoples lives in Devon wherever they live, to reduce health inequalities and make sure we can deliver these services for the long term.
For more information, visit our website www.onedevon.org.uk
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached Job description and person specification for full details of the role and responsibilities
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached Job description and person specification for full details of the role and responsibilities
Person Specification
Experience, Knowledge & Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to masters' level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
- Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through a post graduate qualification or equivalent experience or training.
- An understanding of the relationship between NHS organisations and wider system, regional and national organisations.
- Ability to oversee and be responsible for a budget for a department and/or service.
- Significant experience of successfully operating in a politically sensitive environment.
- Experience of managing risks and reporting.
- Experience of developing briefing papers and correspondence at SLT or chief officer level.
- Evidence of continued professional development.
- Member of relevant professional body, e.g. CIPD
Desirable
- Demonstrated experience in a Healthcare environment.
- Understanding of the public sector.
Communication Skills
Essential
- Must be able to provide and receive complex, sensitive or contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
- Negotiate on difficult and controversial issues including performance and change.
- Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required, to aid decision making.
- Skilled communicator with excellent writing, report writing and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear ideas and concepts concisely and accurately for diverse audiences.
- Evidence of success in efficient and effective project and programme management.
- Skills for communication on complex matters and difficult situations, requiring persuasion and influence where there may be barriers to understanding.
- Skills for nurturing key relationships and maintaining networks.
Skills & Attributes - Analytical
Essential
- Experience of identifying and interpreting National policy.
- Experience of researching best practice (globally, private and public sector), interpreting its relevance and processes/ practices which could be implemented successfully to achieve improved performance (advising on policy implementation, where applicable).
- Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
- Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action.
- Strategic thinking - ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
- Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making.
Skills & Attributes - Planning
Essential
- Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
- Comprehensive experience of project principles techniques and managing successful projects.
Skills & Attributes - Management
Essential
- Must be able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others.
Desirable
- Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals
Skills & Attributes - Equality & Diversity
Essential
- Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.
Autonomy
Essential
- Must be able to use initiative to decide relevant actions and make recommendations to relevant manager, with the aim of improving deliverables and/or compliance to policies.
- Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues, working to tight and often changing timescales.
Other
Essential
- Operate effectively in a demanding environment.
- Strong adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change.
- Willing to engage with and learn from peers, other professionals and colleagues in the desire to provide or support the most appropriate interventions.
- An ability to develop and maintain confidentiality and trust.
- Professional calm and efficient manner.
- Effective organiser, influencer and networker.
- Demonstrates a strong desire to improve performance and make a difference by focusing on goals.
Person Specification
Experience, Knowledge & Qualifications
Essential
- Educated to masters' level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
- Extensive knowledge of specialist areas, acquired through a post graduate qualification or equivalent experience or training.
- An understanding of the relationship between NHS organisations and wider system, regional and national organisations.
- Ability to oversee and be responsible for a budget for a department and/or service.
- Significant experience of successfully operating in a politically sensitive environment.
- Experience of managing risks and reporting.
- Experience of developing briefing papers and correspondence at SLT or chief officer level.
- Evidence of continued professional development.
- Member of relevant professional body, e.g. CIPD
Desirable
- Demonstrated experience in a Healthcare environment.
- Understanding of the public sector.
Communication Skills
Essential
- Must be able to provide and receive complex, sensitive or contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
- Negotiate on difficult and controversial issues including performance and change.
- Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required, to aid decision making.
- Skilled communicator with excellent writing, report writing and presentation skills; capable of constructing and delivering clear ideas and concepts concisely and accurately for diverse audiences.
- Evidence of success in efficient and effective project and programme management.
- Skills for communication on complex matters and difficult situations, requiring persuasion and influence where there may be barriers to understanding.
- Skills for nurturing key relationships and maintaining networks.
Skills & Attributes - Analytical
Essential
- Experience of identifying and interpreting National policy.
- Experience of researching best practice (globally, private and public sector), interpreting its relevance and processes/ practices which could be implemented successfully to achieve improved performance (advising on policy implementation, where applicable).
- Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
- Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where there may be a number of courses of action.
- Strategic thinking - ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.
- Demonstrated capability to act upon incomplete information, using experience to make inferences and decision making.
Skills & Attributes - Planning
Essential
- Demonstrated capability to plan over short, medium and long-term timeframes and adjust plans and resource requirements accordingly.
- Comprehensive experience of project principles techniques and managing successful projects.
Skills & Attributes - Management
Essential
- Must be able to prioritise own work effectively and be able to direct activities of others.
Desirable
- Experience of managing and motivating a team and reviewing performance of the individuals
Skills & Attributes - Equality & Diversity
Essential
- Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.
Autonomy
Essential
- Must be able to use initiative to decide relevant actions and make recommendations to relevant manager, with the aim of improving deliverables and/or compliance to policies.
- Ability to make decisions autonomously, when required, on difficult issues, working to tight and often changing timescales.
Other
Essential
- Operate effectively in a demanding environment.
- Strong adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change.
- Willing to engage with and learn from peers, other professionals and colleagues in the desire to provide or support the most appropriate interventions.
- An ability to develop and maintain confidentiality and trust.
- Professional calm and efficient manner.
- Effective organiser, influencer and networker.
- Demonstrates a strong desire to improve performance and make a difference by focusing on goals.
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.
