Chief People Officer

JOB DESCRIPTION

Reports to: Chief Executive

Strategic Leadership

As a member of the Corporate Leadership Team, Chief Officers are responsible for working flexibly and collaboratively with the Chief Executive and other members to provide strategic leadership to the Education Authority (EA), particularly in regard to progressing EA’s improvement journey and ensuring strategic alignment across the organisation.

In this context, the roles have responsibility for the following:

• Collectively as part of the Corporate Leadership Team, optimising business structures, harnessing strengths and making EA a great place to work.
• Leading a functional review of each Directorate to ensure clarity and focus on the statutory responsibilities and strategic priorities EA is responsible for delivering.
• Working collectively with other Chief Officers to align and agree functions under the new leadership structure.
• Considering the resourcing profile and organisational changes required to deliver the optimum structure for EA.
• Focusing on strategic leadership duties, offering overarching leadership that empowers individuals managing services to focus more on operational excellence.
• Leading detailed reviews of EA’s core functions and current challenges to inform a more balanced structure.
• Working towards EA’s long-term, improvement ambitions, ensuring that the future structure is aligned with its vision, purpose, and strategic goals.
• Ensuring focus on the core purpose of the organisation to ensure clarity of mission and objectives.
• Leading prioritisation of EA activities to determine which are essential and which may need to be discontinued.
• Aligning functions under a new structure, as well as consideration of the resourcing profile and organisation changes required in support of any future change agenda.
• Ensuring that EA lives within its annual Budget allocation from the Department of Education.
• Working in partnership with staff and stakeholders including partners across the education sector, governing bodies, school leaders, trade unions, elected representatives, other related agencies, the media and the public.
• Maximising opportunities for improvements while promoting innovation and ambition.
• Providing strategic leadership for all programmes and projects relating to improvements to service delivery models while ensuring that EA adheres relevant legislation and standards.
• Ensuring that service delivery is shaped by service user input.
• Advising the Department of Education on policy issues and contribute to policy reviews.

Key Areas of Focus

The Chief People Officer is responsible for leading the human resources, talent and organisational development functions and acting as a driver of people actions required to maintain overall financial and organisational health.

Budget: £22 million

Staff: 346

This Chief People Officer role includes the delivery of the following three high-level responsibilities along with providing overall leadership to the directorate, fostering a culture of improvement and engagement.

People Strategy and Leadership: Implement and regularly review EA’s People Plan while leading the creation and execution of a strategic, multi-disciplinary workforce plan to identify and address staffing needs for the short and long term.

Culture and Employee Experience: Cultivate a positive and inclusive EA workplace culture that aligns with the organisation’s values and purpose, and implement initiatives to improve employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention.

Professional Development: Develop and oversee professional development programmes to enhance employee skills and career growth, ensuring alignment with EA goals and employee needs.

• Delivering EA’s five-year People Plan, with a focus on one culture for EA.
• Provide leadership on the development of strategic workforce planning for varied roles in EA.
• Provide leadership in the development and the establishment of first-class employment practices that will attract and retain a high-quality workforce.
• Responsible for relationship-building with schools and responsible for the effective operation of the employing authority role for all teachers and other school-based staff, providing advice, support and assistance to schools and employees as necessary.
• Leading the professional development of staff, with a focus on skills and capabilities.
• Responsible for the provision of EA’s corporate services and its professional legal advice and the management of insurance, claims and legal administration.

Other

• Any other duties related to the role which may be required from time-to-time by the Chief Executive and the Board.
• In accordance with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act (1998), be expected to promote Good Relations, Equality of Opportunity and pay due regard for Equality Legislation at all times.

This job description will be subject to review in light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works. The Corporate Leadership Team is currently reviewing its structure. It is likely that other roles and responsibilities will be assigned as a result of the review.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Candidates must demonstrate on their application form that they meet the following essential criteria.

A minimum of Chartered Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent.

Application Form

Pre-Employment Checks

A minimum of three years’ experience of providing strategic leadership within a large and complex environment, to develop and deliver a vision and plan to deliver the best possible outcomes for its service users.

‘Large and complex environment’ is defined as an organisation with a budget over £100m and with a multi-disciplinary workforce.

Experience of working collectively across a senior leadership team to deliver strategic alignment of purpose, vision and goals, and optimise use of the organisation’s resources to deliver maximum value for the public/customers.

Experience of providing overarching leadership with evidence of empowering, championing excellence and establishing momentum for continuous improvement that has delivered improved outcomes for the public/customers.

The successful candidate should also be a strong communicator with proven skills to engage across a wide range of stakeholders, demonstrating successful impact.

Demonstrates an understanding of the potential along with the challenges of leading human resources, talent and organisational development functions in the public sector.

Application Form

Presentation

Interview

Have access to a suitable vehicle (appropriately maintained and insured for Education Authority business) that will enable you to carry out the mobility requirements of the post in an efficient and effective manner;

OR

Provide sufficient information to satisfy the employer that you have access to an appropriate alternative form of transport that will enable you to carry out the mobility requirements of the post in an efficient and effective manner.

Application Form

Our Values

Through the selection process we will also seek evidence that the personal values of candidates align with those of the EA. This will include evidence of commitment to equality and excellence in service delivery. These reflect our aim which is to meet the needs of all our children and young people equally, removing barriers to learning and ensuring equality of access to excellent education services so that every child can develop to his or her full potential.

DISCLOSURE OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 defines working directly with children or young people or in specified places as ‘regulated activity’.

In the event that you are recommended for appointed to a post that involves ‘regulated activity’, the Education Authority will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure of Criminal Background.Please note that you WILL be expected to meet the cost of an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate. Details of how to make payment will be sent to you at the pre-employment stage.

Further information can be accessed at NI Direct or the Department of Justice.

APPLICANT GUIDANCE NOTES

To view the applicant guidance notes, please click here.

For more information, the candidate information pack can be viewed here.

To learn about the many great benefits of joining the Education Authority, click here.

The Education Authority is an Equal Opportunities Employer.