Job summary
- Main area
- Staff Wellbeing and Engagement
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 220-WHT-3830
- Employer
- Whittington Health NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Whittington Health NHS Trusts
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £66,274 - £73,496 Per Annum including HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 26/04/2026 23:59
- Interview date
- 07/05/2026
Employer heading
Head of Staff Wellbeing & Engagement
NHS AfC: Band 8a
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 Whittington Health NHS Trust.
For our current apprenticeship vacancies, please go to https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship and use Keyword ‘Whittington’
By applying for this role, you accept in the event you are successful that 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 is aimed at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a set of technology that can perform various tasks that typically required human intelligence. Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role.
We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, it’s important that examples and responses genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey.
Further guidance can be found in the NLPSS Applicant Toolkit https://royalfree.pagetiger.com/cuuomnr/1.
Whittington Health NHS Trust is committed to fair and transparent recruitment and requires applicants to provide accurate information, as misleading details may affect their application or employment and may be verified in line with the Fraud Act 2006. For further information please visit https://royalfree.pagetiger.com/cuuomnr/1.
Job overview
We are committed to making Whittington Health NHS Trust a great place to work. The Head of Staff Wellbeing and Engagement plays a pivotal role in shaping a listening organisation, championing a culture where staff engagement, health and wellbeing are prioritised in the broadest sense.
This role leads the delivery of key elements of the People Strategy, ensuring alignment with our Caring for Those Who Care initiative. The postholder will set the strategic direction for staff engagement and wellbeing, acting as the Trust’s subject matter expert and coordinating a cohesive, organisation-wide approach.
A critical leadership role, this position is responsible for developing, embedding and continuously improving an integrated approach to staff engagement, health and wellbeing. This includes enhancing access to high-quality support and initiatives, driven by meaningful staff feedback, evidence, and best practice.
Main duties of the job
Lead delivery of the Trust’s Staff Engagement, Health and Wellbeing strategies, setting direction, priorities and reporting on impact.
Act as the Trust’s subject matter expert, providing visible leadership and driving a positive culture of wellbeing and engagement.
Translate staff feedback (e.g. Staff Survey, People Pulse) into clear insights and actionable wellbeing plans.
Design and deliver high-impact wellbeing initiatives, programmes and events to improve staff experience and access to support.
Work in close partnership with HR, OD and Communications to ensure a coordinated, organisation-wide approach.
Lead key services and networks, including the Employee Assistance Programme and Wellbeing Leads Network.
Use data and evidence to identify priorities, measure outcomes and drive continuous improvement.
Build and manage strong stakeholder relationships, including external providers and partners.
Lead, manage and develop the Senior Staff Wellbeing Practitioner to ensure delivery of objectives.
Manage budgets and resources effectively, ensuring value for money and alignment with strategic priorities.
Working for our organisation
This role sits within a collaborative and forward-thinking Organisational Development and Learning team, focused on improving staff experience and supporting a positive, inclusive culture. You will work closely with colleagues across the Trust and have line management responsibility for Senior Staff Wellbeing Practitioner, contributing to a supportive and high-performing team environment.
Whittington Health serves a richly diverse population and works hard to ensure that all our services are fair and equally accessible to everyone. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the way we look after our staff. We aim to employ a workforce which is as representative as possible of this population, so we are open to the value of differences in age, disability, gender, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. The Trust believes that as a public sector organisation we have an obligation to have recruitment, training, promotion and other formal employment policies and procedures that are sensitive to these differences. We think that by doing so, we are better able to treat our patients as well as being a better place to work.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
To deliver Trust’s Staff Engagement, Health and Wellbeing strategies, working with key stakeholders to develop objectives and targets. Reporting regularly to senior leadership on progress and impact.
To provide visible leadership, positive role modelling and professional support to staff within the Trust, aligning with colleagues to enable delivery of an efficient and effective service across the breadth of the organisation.
Working closely with human resources and organisational development colleagues to ensure that the messages and actions from the annual staff survey and quarterly pulse surveys are clearly understood, communicated and acted upon.
Support the development of a strong and robust health, wellbeing and engagement culture, working in partnership with key stakeholders to ensure a consistent and professional approach.
To work with colleagues and stakeholders to define appropriate service level agreements and to monitor these proactively, making recommendations for action, where appropriate.
To develop and implement a programme of both internal and external audits, making recommendations where appropriate, and implementing and advising on changes to practice as necessary.
To develop, implement and oversee any appropriate and relevant training development programmes.
Working with communications colleagues to ensure the dissemination of engagement, health and wellbeing information on a regular basis. To plan and implement new programmes, initiatives and ideas to enhance staff wellbeing across the organisation. Overseeing and delivering agreed programmes
Line manage and supervise the Senior Staff Wellbeing Practitioner including setting objectives, conducting appraisals, supporting development and ensuring delivery of agreed wellbeing initiatives.
To provide leadership, direction and co-ordination for the Employee Assistance Programme.
Support the development, co-ordination, planning and implementation of listening events and designated health and wellbeing initiatives in order to develop and support an annual plan for listening and engagement with staff.
Contribute as an active member of appropriate meetings which include staff experience, engagement and wellbeing updating on pieces of work and encourage a proactive approach to future local initiatives.
To be data led using a variety of sources to enable preparation of verbal and written reports which sets out existing local wellbeing-related activities and places.
To highlight health and wellbeing related gaps the Trust may have and influence areas for development and support.
Develop local networks to support the engagement of staff to ensure ownership, collaboration and implementation of approaches and initiatives to improve wellbeing by liaising with service areas and staff.
Lead the Trust’s Wellbeing Leads Network, providing guidance, support, and advice.
Act as the lead for collation of local information from interventions and staff feedback.
Support planning and delivery of wellbeing projects in line with allocated budgets, in collaboration with colleagues
Support scoping and costing of all local staff wellbeing projects, whilst being cognisant of different funding streams and any locally allocated staff wellbeing budget.
Develop local communications to promote services, resources, and tools available to staff to support a holistic wellbeing approach.
Consider appropriate communications to maximise engagement across our wide and diverse staff populations, understanding barriers to engagement and participation and adapt accordingly.
Be the identified contact for staff, encouraging staff to proactively help themselves by directing them to appropriate resources.
Maintain and effectively communicate a comprehensive list of internal and external support services and resources for signposting purposes.
Act as point of contact for any external providers supporting the local staff wellbeing agenda and facilitate experts to run events, awareness sessions for staff.
Person specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Master’s degree or equivalent experience, with advanced and specialist knowledge relevant to wellbeing, organisational development, or a comparable field at a senior level.
Desirable criteria
- Relevant professional qualification and demonstrable ongoing professional development, or equivalent experience in designing and delivering wellbeing communications and engagement initiatives across digital and in person channels.
- Recognised counselling or coaching qualification, or equivalent.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Proven track record effectively using a range of communications tools and channels, including digital media platforms.
- Experience of delivering a range of staff experience and engagement projects.
- Knowledge of NHS Staff Survey/People Pulse and stakeholders
- Experience of managing information gathering, collation and dissemination process including contribution to executive board papers
- Experience of writing content for communications media
- Experience of presenting information creatively and ensuring it is engaging.
- Proven experience of leading projects with successful outcomes
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria
- A high level of literacy and ability to interpret and convey complex information
- Excellent presentation skills including the ability to create and present information creatively and succinctly.
- Ability to effectively interact with and influence a diverse range of people.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Facilitation skills to support workforce engagement activity.
- Acts as a role model, aligning behaviour to trust vision and values to demonstrate the highest professional standards.
- Self-motivated, with the ability to work independently towards agreed goals and with minimal management intervention.
- Lead a range of creativity and idea generation skill sessions with teams.
- Ability to lead, plan and organise work programmes, and to adjust programmes as required, ensuring effective delivery.
- Ability to prioritise competing demands across the team, and to balance project development requirements with day-to-day operational needs.
- Ability to communicate difficult and complex information both verbally and written, both internally to colleagues and externally to a range of audiences.
- Highly motivated, with the ability to influence and inspire others.
- Work, collaborate and influence closely with other staff, both within and outside the Trust, to ensure high- quality, accurate material.
- Ensure that activity is well lead, managed and delivered to the highest standards, and in alignment with the Trust strategies
- Ability to plan and organise a broad range of activities and implementation of key strategies
- Budget management experience
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria
- Behaviours and beliefs consistent with the Trust’s vision and values
- Innovative and progressive thinker
- Dynamic, resilient and impactful
- Team player whilst able to lead (inclusively) and work under own direction.
- Results oriented.
- Personable and collaborative
- Ability to engender trust among colleagues and operate with professional credibility.
- Ability to work autonomously and provide advice and support.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Leanne Chaney
- Job title
- Deputy Director of L&OD
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07958619921
- Additional information
Please call or email to arrange an informal conversation prior to interview.
List jobs with Whittington Health NHS Trust in Administrative Services or all sectors