London Boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth - Assistant Director of Human Resources

Salary up to £116,847

Lead a Strategic Transformation of People, Culture and Capability

Richmond and Wandsworth are two of London’s most dynamic and diverse boroughs – places with strong identities, ambitious agendas and a shared determination to deliver outstanding outcomes for their communities. Under our Better Services Partnership, we have brought together our workforces to create a single, collaborative organisation with the scale, influence and ambition to drive real change. Together, we’re designing a future-focused organisation – one that’s agile, innovative and equipped to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

This is a defining leadership opportunity at the centre of our transformation. As our Assistant Director of Human Resources, you will lead the development of a centre of HR excellence that underpins our organisational effectiveness and accelerates our ambition. Working across both councils, you will shape a modern, forward-looking HR service that is strategic, proactive and outcome focused. From embedding digital enablement and designing seamless self-service solutions, to ensuring our strategic advice is insightful, influential and trusted, you will ensure HR is a true enabler of change and improvement.

We are seeking an accomplished and credible HR leader – someone with the professional authority, vision and curiosity to reimagine what excellent people services look like in a modern local government context. You will be more than the organisation’s senior HR counsel: you will be a transformational leader, able to anticipate future workforce challenges, redesign services around business needs, and create a culture of continuous learning, innovation and high performance. Championing CIPD professional standards and investing in the growth of capability across the HR function will be central to your success.

Why Richmond & Wandsworth? 

•        Scale and impact: Lead a workforce of over 3,000 people delivering vital services to hundreds of thousands of residents.

•        A platform for innovation: Shape a centre of excellence that sets new standards in public sector people leadership.

•        Values-driven culture: Join an organisation that thinks bigger, embraces difference, connects better, leads by example and always puts people first.

If you are motivated by the opportunity to lead large-scale transformation, deliver lasting organisational impact, and shape the future of two ambitious London boroughs, we look forward to hearing from you via our recruitment partner, Penna.

For further information, please download the Candidate Briefing Pack and contact our consultants at Penna:

•        Tom Niven on 07860 657044 or email: tom.niven@penna.com

•        Rachael Morris on 07840 711217 or email: rachael.morris@penna.com

•        James Miller on 07701233159 or email: james.miller@penna.com

Closing date: 11:59pm, 2nd November 2025

Assessment & Interview dates: w/c 10th November 2025

How to Apply

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