Visa sponsorship Home Office sponsor register · Skilled Worker route

This role is listed by an employer that holds a live Home Office sponsor licence on the Skilled Worker route.

Salary for this role£112,782 – £129,783 a year

Health and Care route minimum£25,000 a year

Pay basisNational pay scales (NHS bands)

NHS roles fall under the Health and Care Worker route. Salaries set by national pay scales (NHS bands) at or above the relevant band rate typically meet the occupation's requirement.

Closest occupation match: SOC 1140, Directors in logistics, warehousing and transport. Home Office going rate for this occupation: £81,400 a year.

Individual eligibility depends on personal circumstances. These figures are public reference information, not advice or a verdict on this job.

Role description

Job summary

The NHS Transforming People Services (TPS) programme sits at the heart of delivering the NHS 10 Year Health Plan -- creating a workforce that is empowered, flexible and digitally enabled to meet the evolving needs of patients and communities. The ambition contained within the 10 Year Health Plan is to deliver a Digital 1st Strategy which will enable staff to access People services anytime and anyplace, to book annual leave, or onboard to a new organisation digitally, with virtual assistants to improve both staff and manager experience. This ambition will be delivered through the Transforming people Services Programme.

Being part of this programme is more than a transformation role; it is an opportunity to redefine how people services are delivered across the NHS and directly influence the experience of one of the largest workforces in the world.

As the Deputy Director of People Services Transformation you will be accountable and responsible for the strategic and operational development of the Service Design Team within the Transforming People Services Programme.

The successful candidate will bring exceptional leadership expertise in shaping and leading high-performing teams to redesign NHS People Services on a national scale.

Main duties of the job

You will play a key role in bringing together operational expertise, policy, service design and digital capability to redesign how people services are experienced and delivered across the NHS.

We are looking for ambitious, collaborative and delivery-focused service design experts who thrive in complexity and are passionate about improving public services. The ideal candidate will bring:

Leadership leading complex transformation, service improvement or workforce redesign programmes within large or complex organisations
Strong understanding of HR, workforce or people services, with experience designing user-centred and digitally enabled service models
Experience of bringing together experts and customers to develop a service or function

Working within the Service Design Team, you will collaborate with specialists and customers from across the NHS to shape future operating models and redesign how people services work at scale. This is a rare opportunity to influence strategic decisions, lead meaningful change and see the direct impact of your work across the health system.

Most importantly, you will be part of a team delivering change that improves the experience of the NHS workforce and supporting better outcomes for patients and communities nationwide.

About us

NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.

Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.

If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR).This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.

Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.

Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.

We cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.

Date posted

07 October 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 9

Salary

£112,782 to £129,783 a year per annum (exclusive of London Weighting)

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Job share, Flexible working

Reference number

990-PPL-EC5822-E

Job locations

Wellington House or Wellington Place (other NHSE sites will be considered)

London or Leeds (other NHSE sites will be considered)

SE1 8UG

United Kingdom

Job description

Job responsibilities

You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents. Secondments

Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
CIPD Level 7, fellow or equivalent qualification in HR & OD.

Knowledge

Essential

Significant experience of HR and OD and People Services within the NHS.
Extensive knowledge and experience of working on workforce transformational programmes.
Subject matter expertise across a number of key areas relating to:- People Services Service Design; Building Shared Services; Occupational Health and Wellbeing services

Experience

Essential

Proven delivery of major programmes and meeting key programme deadlines.
Experience of Leading teams to deliver large scale transformation.
Significant senior leadership experience leading large-scale HR, workforce transformation or shared service redesign programmes within complex NHS or public sector environments.
Proven expertise in service design, operating model development and organisational transformation, with the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams to deliver user-centred, digitally enabled and nationally consistent people services.
Strong track record of influencing senior stakeholders and building collaboration across HR, operational, digital, finance and policy teams to deliver strategic workforce improvements that enhance employee experience, organisational performance and patient care outcomes.
Proven ability to collaborate across medical workforce, HR, operational, digital and transformation teams to deliver nationally consistent, user-centred services that support workforce sustainability and high-quality patient care
Proven experience designing or delivering HR service transformation, operating model redesign or large-scale people change programmes
Strong understanding of HR processes, service delivery models and workforce transformation within complex organisations
Experience building user-centric services, translating operational needs and policy requirements into practical and scalable service solutions
Experience leading complex workshops, service design activity and collaborative problem-solving across multiple stakeholders.
Strong programme delivery and strategic planning capability, with the ability to manage priorities, risks and dependencies in a fast-paced environment