Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust - Organisational Development Strategic Lead

Are you passionate about people and maximising their potential in work?

We have a great opportunities to join the leadership team of a high performing mental health, learning disabilities and community NHS trust. We’re looking for a values-driven, innovative and highly skilled professional to join our team within the HR Directorate as the Strategic Lead: Organisational Development.

Our strategic goals are to deliver High Quality Care, Better Health, Sustainability and a Great Place to Work. Our People Strategy gives six commitments to achieve our Great Place to Work ambitions including: -

• Model recruitment & retention
• Health and well-being
• Great culture, values & behaviours
• Strong voice
• Equality, diversity & inclusion
• Full potential

Main duties of the job

Strategic Lead: Organisational Development

Band 8A - £55,690,21 to £62,682 per annum (dependent on experience)

Hours: 37½ hours per week (Full Time)

Base: Invista Training Hub, Gloucester with some travel to other locations and home-working (Hybrid working)

We are seeking an exceptional Strategic Lead for Organisational Development to drive transformational change across our organisation. This pivotal role requires a visionary leader who can design and implement comprehensive organisational development strategies that enhance patient outcomes, improve staff engagement, and build sustainable operational excellence.

Working for GHC

We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.

Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:

• 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
• 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
• 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust’s priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.

This high-level overview shows we are in a healthy position, with higher scores than average for comparable organisations, alongside a great response rate, indicating good staff engagement. However, we also know we have plenty of room for improvement in many areas. To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The successful candidate will possess extensive experience in healthcare transformation, change management, and stakeholder engagement, with the ability to navigate complex multi-disciplinary environments while fostering a culture of continuous improvement. You will lead cross-functional teams, develop innovative solutions to organisational challenges, and ensure our workforce is equipped to deliver outstanding care in an evolving healthcare landscape. This is an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on both organisational effectiveness and patient care quality across our healthcare system.

This role provides strategic leadership and operational management of the Trust’s OD function, developing and driving innovation through high quality OD practice, expert knowledge and guidance. You will lead and oversee the operational delivery of Organisational Development Programmes across the Trust, including the development and delivery of various portfolios aligned to our Leadership & Culture programme which includes Restorative Just and Learning, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership and Management, Well-being, Values & Behaviours and Freedom to Speak Up.

Bringing energy, insight and a focus for inclusion and reducing inequalities, you will have responsibility for developing and driving a high-performance service culture whilst also instigating and supporting a range of organisational development initiatives. You will be highly driven, goal and action orientated, have a talent for inspiring and motivating teams, with a track-record of delivery.

Closing date: Sunday 1st February 2026

Longlisting Date: Monday 2nd February 2026

GHC Shortlisting Date: Tuesday 3rd February 2026

Shortlisted Candidates Notified: Wednesday 4th February 2026

Psychometric Testing for Shortlisted Candidates to be completed online: Thursday 5th February – Friday 6th February 2026

Psychometric Testing Feedback provided to Shortlisted Candidates online: Tuesday 10th February 2026

Assessment Centre for Shortlisted Candidates: Tuesday 17th February 2026

For more information please contact Andrew Barton at Penna on andrew.barton@penna.com or D +44 (0) 7922 386 432

How to Apply:

1. Upload your CV under “Please select one of the options below.”
2. Complete the short mandatory fields on the next page.
3. Use ‘Add Attachments’ to upload your Supporting Statement and any other documents.
4. Please ensure that the file name of your CV and supporting statement includes your full name.
5. Ensure both CV and Supporting Statement are uploaded before submitting your application.
6. If you have a long-term health condition or disability and would like your application to be considered in accordance with a Disability Confident Scheme, please email: execapplications@penna.com, to inform the Penna team.

Please find the full job description for the role Here