Job vacancy: Head of HR Services, Systems and Automation, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Milton Keynes

Job summary

Main area: Human Resources
Grade: Band 8b
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 430-CORP26-506A

Employer: Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: HR Services (Dept)
Town: Milton Keynes
Salary: £66,582 - £77,368 Per annum, pro rata if part-time
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 18/06/2026 23:59
Interview date: 01/07/2026

Head of HR Services, Systems and Automation

Band 8b

At Milton Keynes University Hospital, you will be welcomed into a friendly and supportive environment where teamwork and respect are at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to live our Trust values and behaviours every day, creating a culture where everyone feels heard and valued.

MKUH staff's Motivation and Involvement scores are among the highest in our peer group, showing that our people feel inspired and included in decision-making (Staff Survey, 2024).

Our benefits

We believe in recognising and rewarding the amazing contribution of our staff and that is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, work-life balance, and professional growth, including:

Free on-site parking including EV charging
Complimentary refreshments
Flexible working arrangements
Discounted gym membership
Salary sacrifice car scheme
Generous annual leave, with the option to bank holiday entitlement
Membership of the NHS Pension Scheme
On-site nursery (charges apply)
A wide-ranging staff health and wellbeing programme including EAP
VIVUP products to support your mental, physical, and financial Wellbeing

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

They will lead on HR transformation projects/programmes, ensuring the successful delivery of benefits and efficiencies within the specified constraints of time and cost, with a focus on digitalisation and enhanced accessible first-line HR support to the Trust. They will work on the continual development of HR Systems and Services and manage our payroll and pensions contract, responsible for dealing with escalated concerns around pay for our workforce.

Managing HR Systems

Lead the implementation and development of HR Systems to ensure maximum benefits are derived from systems and robust service provision is provided Trust wide. This will include improvements to systems; improving optimisation and usage to improve data quality and decision making, which is pivotal to the delivery of the Trust People strategy and NHS People plan priorities. This will be achieved by:

• Act as senior lead for ESR, e-rostering and workforce systems.

• Lead system development ensuring maximum utilisation and return on investment.

HR Services (Helpdesk)

Lead the HR Services team to provide a helpdesk service to staff which includes first-line support on general HR queries with a focus on efficiency, quality and timely delivery of services, as well as a payroll liaison service and temporary staff booking service. This includes working closely with the outsourced payroll provider to provide a timely, accurate and efficient payroll process that meets the needs of the organisation and employees including:

• Lead delivery of efficient, high-quality HR transactional services.

• Transform services to be streamlined, standardised and digitally enabled.

Workforce information

To lead the Information Team, ensuring real time information is available and full interoperability between systems is provided.

• Report, analyse, present, and interpret workforce information to enable local, regional, and national reports and to support the efficient workforce planning process. This includes managing Freedom of Information (FOI) for the Workforce Directorate.

• Be expert users of ESR and monitor system usage to ensure best practice is being adhered to.

Automation and Improvement

Working in partnership with IT and senior leaders, the postholder provides strategic leadership and oversight of workforce automation and digital transformation across HR and Organisational Development services, establishing a clear roadmap for optimising workforce systems and processes.

Carries out regular audits to support data quality e.g. on right to work, data quality within the staff record, and sensitive data for the staff census.

Managing People

Ensures excellent standards of staff management across all staff groups, ensuring staff appraisals and performance development plans are completed and implemented for all staff and that their mandatory training requirements are fulfilled as a priority.

Delegated budget holder for 3 department budgets. Responsible for identifying efficiencies and ensuring expenditure of budget is compliant with the Trust’s Standing Financial Instructions.

Demonstrating Personal Qualities

• Ensures own professional and personal development demonstrating self-awareness and willingness to continually learn and develop.

• Acts with integrity and treats others with respect at all times.

• Acts as a role model to demonstrate the Trust’s values and behaviours at all times.

Please refer to the Job Description for further details

Person specification

Qualifications and knowledge

Essential criteria

Masters level qualification or equivalent experience
Level 7 CIPD qualification (or equivalent experience)
Formal project/programme management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2, MSP or equivalent)
Evidence of continuous professional development in HR systems, digital transformation or workforce analytics
Advanced knowledge of: o ESR and workforce systems o HR systems architecture, integration and optimisation o Workforce data governance and information standards o Information Governance, Data Protection Act 2018 and risk management

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of NHS workforce systems, ESR, and national datasets Qualification or demonstrable expertise in digital transformation, automation or data analytics
Knowledge of NHS People Plan and workforce strategy delivery

Experience

Essential criteria

Significant senior leadership experience managing HR systems, HR services or workforce information functions
Proven experience delivering large-scale transformation or change programmes across HR or workforce services
Experience leading: o HR transactional services or shared services o Workforce systems optimisation and integration o Automation or digital transformation initiatives
Extensive experience of ESR and workforce system implementation, optimisation and governance
Experience of developing and delivering workforce data insights to support decision-making
Experience managing multidisciplinary teams and driving high performance
Experience of working across organisational boundaries and influencing at senior level

Desirable criteria

Experience of working with outsourced providers (e.g. payroll services)

Skills

Essential criteria

Strategic leadership and ability to translate organisational priorities into operational delivery
Ability to lead complex programmes and deliver measurable benefits and efficiencies
Strong analytical and problem-solving capability, including interpretation of workforce data
Ability to establish governance frameworks, KPIs and performance monitoring systems
Ability to design and implement service improvement and business process redesign
Strong digital literacy and understanding of system interoperability and optimisation
Ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders across clinical and corporate services
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including report writing for senior forums
Ability to lead, motivate and develop high-performing teams
Ability to manage risk, compliance and data integrity
Can deal with conflict proactively.
Ability to discuss and explain technical issues to non-technical staff.
Able to monitor and appraise individual and organisational performance.
Knowledge and understanding of Information Governance.

Communication

Essential criteria

Exceptional communication.
Ability to engage, influence and challenge constructively at Board and senior leader level
Ability to communicate complex technical/system issues to non-technical audiences

Specific requirements

Essential criteria

Demonstrates personal resilience and ability to work under pressure in a complex environment
Self-motivated with the ability to work autonomously and lead others
Ability to prioritise competing demands and deliver to deadlines
Commitment to continuous improvement and innovation
Acts as a role model for Trust values and behaviours
Ability to manage sensitive, complex and sometimes contentious issues
Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion

We believe success lies in the diversity of our employees and are committed to promoting equality, encouraging diversity and embracing inclusion. We welcome applications from everyone interested in working for us.

We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications have been received.

MKUH uses identification scanning technology to confirm the authenticity of documents; all prospective employees of MKUH will have their original documents verified using this technology.

By applying for this role, you accept if successful, that information from your application will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system. Your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which aims at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.

Applications, offers of employment and contracts may be withdrawn or terminated if it is found that fraudulent statements were made or fraudulent documents provided during the recruitment process. Additional possible consequences include referral to professional bodies or criminal sanctions.