Head of People & Organisational Development

Head of People & Organisational Development - RCN02596

Human Resources People | RCN UK HQ | £84,576 (including inner London weighting of £5094)

Contract type: Permanent

Head of People and Organisational Development

RCN UK HQ with hybrid working, 35 hours, Permanent

£79,482 - £89,238 per annum plus £5,094 London Weighting per annum*

There is more to the RCN than you might think. We’re a trade union with a membership of over half a million nurses, midwives, nursing support workers and students. We support their practice, represent them, lobby on their behalf, and develop them. Our employees are drawn from many walks of life – we are nurses, marketers, administrators, IT professionals, policy and finance experts, lawyers… together we are so much more.

As a function, the RCN’s People and OD (POD) Department’s purpose is to enable the RCN to succeed through its people. We seek to create the best possible experience of work and working life for our people, support and empower our people through people-centred policies, practices and provisions and recruit, develop and engage our people to thrive in their roles.

As our Head of POD, you’ll lead the delivery of our purpose by working strategically and proactively across the organisation to ensure the overall service delivery of the department aligns with the RCN’s strategic plan and organisational priorities to drive organisational effectiveness, foster good employee relations and engagement, and maintain constructive working relationships with trade unions and staff.

You will manage the overall service delivery of the reward, operations, learning and organisational development and people services (encompassing equity, diversity and inclusion, people analytics, reward, HR systems, people resourcing and people policy) and people business partnering functions ensuring initiatives, projects, policies and activities are consistent, up to date, relevant and in line with statutory requirements, maximising opportunities for growth and minimising organisational risk when needed.

The ability to foster strong professional relationships and encourage close collaboration between departments is at the heart of this leadership role.

As an Affiliate member of CIPD or other relevant professional body with a Level 7 HR qualification or equivalent qualification and/or experience you’ll also need contemporary knowledge of all areas of HR practice including EDI, employee relations, learning and reward.

You will need experience of working effectively in a trade unionised environment with responsibility for organisation-wide human resources activity as well as experience of making a positive contribution to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion agendas.

What we offer you

We offer an impressive range of benefits, a broad range of learning development opportunities and an award-winning health and wellbeing programme. We offer annual leave up to 32 days plus bank holidays and three additional days for the Christmas break plus generous maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental leave packages.

We are a diverse organisation and understand everyone has different needs and many of our employees enjoy flexible working enabling them to deliver results whilst having a good work life balance. Our hybrid working model allows for up to 60% of your working time to be carried out from home. At least 40% of your working time will be spent working in person.

Our selection process

Please click the ‘apply now’ button to submit a CV and answer the supporting questions online demonstrating how you meet the criteria for this role. Please ensure your CV is in a simple format with minimal tables and sections. Any identifying information in your application will automatically be anonymised for shortlisting purposes.

Equal opportunities for everyone

Equity, diversity and inclusion are a priority for us and we aim to foster an inclusive environment so our people can bring their authentic selves to work. This is integral to our mission to enable you to support our members and ensure their voice is heard by all UK governments to get the best outcomes for them and their patients.

As a proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme we actively encourage applications from people with disabilities.

Contact details

For more information or for an informal discussion about the role please contact Geraldine Zake, Executive Assistant to Chief People Officer at Geraldine.Zake@rcn.org.uk who will arrange a time.

For more information about the recruitment and selection process please contact recruit@rcn.org.uk

Opening date: 18 December 2024

Closing date: 11.59pm on 19 January 2025

Assessment centre: 04 February 2025 in person at RCN UK HQ

Interviews: 10 February 2025 in person at RCN UK HQ