Job summary
- Main area
- People Team / Human Resources
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8c
- Contract
- 6 months (Will consider secondment or fixed term contract until 31 March 2026 only)
- Hours
- Full time
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 260-TP-980
- Employer
- Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Tavistock Centre
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £85,431 - £97,148 Per annum (pro rata) inclusive of HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 16/09/2025 08:00
Employer heading

Interim Deputy Chief People Officer
NHS AfC: Band 8c
It is a condition of this employment that you must live in and remain a resident of the United Kingdom during your employment with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
Covid-19 Vaccination
Getting vaccinated, and getting a booster, remains the best defence against COVID-19.
We encourage and support staff to get COVID-19 vaccine and a booster dose as and when they are eligible.
Please note in order to progress your application, your data will be processed by our 3rd party recruitment providers – North London Partners Shared Service, who conduct recruitment activities on behalf of The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust
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The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health trust with a focus on training and education alongside a full range of mental health services and psychological therapies for children and their families, young people and adults.
We are committed to improving mental health and emotional wellbeing, believing that high quality mental health services should be available for all who need them. We bring a distinctive contribution based on the importance we attach to social experience at all stages of people’s lives, and our focus on psychological and developmental approaches to the promotion of health and the prevention and treatment of mental ill health
We contribute to the pool of ideas through our own research and development, but are also committed to bringing together the best ideas of the time, old and new, from inside and out, together with the most gifted and able professionals in our fields of endeavour. We aim to share our ideas and practice through as many routes as possible.
As a Trust we aim constantly to be evolving in nature and form in relation to the environment in which we work, to ensure that our contribution remains relevant.
The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
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Job overview
A fantastic opportunity has arisen at an exciting time for the organisation, for the role of Interim Deputy Chief People Officer.
The Interim Deputy Chief People Officer will play a pivotal role in driving forward the Trusts People Strategy in line with the NHS People Plan and in supporting our impending merger.
Due to potential strategic changes for the organisation, only a secondment opportunity or fixed term contract may be considered; any contract will be limited to 31 March 2026.
This role is full time and will require the majority of the working week to be spent onsite, however flexible working requests will be considered.
Main duties of the job
The Deputy Chief People Officer will manage and is responsible for leading the HR Business Partnering service, Operational People Team services of the Directorate which includes the electronic staff record (ESR) and other workforce systems, Payroll, temporary staffing, people business intelligence, information and reporting, e-rostering and job planning, shared services and outsourcing, and a People advisory and administrative service.
The Deputy Chief People Officer will strategically lead the transactional and operational services within the People Directorate and working with the CPO, Head of Organisation Development, Culture and Engagement and Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion will take a lead role in service transformation and culture change.
The Deputy Chief People Officer will Deputise for the CPO where appropriate.
Working for our organisation
Please refer to the attached VMV document for our refreshed vision, mission and values.
The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We are particularly keen to attract candidates from underrepresented backgrounds to better meet the needs of the service users and students that we serve.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached Job Description and Person specification for more information on the role requirements and duties.
Person specification
QUALIFICATIONS
Essential criteria
- Comparable previous experience to Masters qualification in a relevant Human Resources Management, Organisational and Workforce Development or Education and Training role
- Relevant professional qualification in the field of Human Resources Management, Organisational and Workforce Development.
- MCIPD qualified
Experience
Essential criteria
- Previous experience leading significant people programmes of transformational / complex change
- Management of complex employee relations cases
- Experience in health and/or education sectors gaining HR/workforce/education development/medical staffing experience
- Service / quality improvement experience
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to develop and deliver strategy at and operational delivery at an organisational and Departmental level
- Political/ strategic influencing and persuasion skills
- Highly developed communication and negotiation skills (written, verbal, direct formal and informal presentation, persuasion, influencing)
- Leadership, management & people development capability
- Ability to manage challenge, confrontation, conflict and resistance, reconciling conflicting views
- Well-developed analytical and judgement skills, able to interpret comparative options and work with high levels of uncertainty
- Financial/ budgetary management skills
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Ability to work across organisational/ professional boundaries
- Knowledge and experience of working positively with professional representative bodies (including Royal Colleges), unions, registration and regulatory organisations often on complex and contentious topics
- Application of Employment law in a workplace setting
- Demonstrates strong commitment to action to achieve equality and diversity and inclusion in the workforce
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable personal motivation & drive
- Credible and authoritative in a senior forum
- Visionary / Creative
- Collaborative in approach
- Strong desire to improve mental health services for patients and clients
- Commitment to, and understanding of staff and team development
- Self-belief and personal resilience, able to manage staff problems and issues
- Able to manage high levels of uncertainty, situations requiring intense concentration with frequent interruptions
- Inquisitive, enjoys addressing seemingly intractable problems
OTHER
Essential criteria
- Ability to travel
- Keyboard / IM&T skills
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Gem Davies
- Job title
- Chief People Officer
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
If you would like to speak with the present incumbent of the role, please first make contact with Gem Davies, CPO.
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