Thank you for expressing interest in the role of Chief People Officer at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This is an exciting time to join our team, leading a workforce that supports one of the top-performing hospitals in the country, committed to innovation and exceptional patient care.
We have spent the last two years working with our interim CPO on developing our People Strategy and People & OD delivery model. We are now excited to make permanent appointments to pivotal senior leadership roles within this new structure. We seek a leader who can quickly assimilate into the Chief People Officer role and join our high-performing Executive Team. You will be driven, action-oriented, and have a proven track record of delivery, inspiring and motivating teams. Can you lead, manage, and foster leadership across a dynamic Trust?
You will bring significant experience driving strategy and change within a large, complex environment, collaborating with senior leadership and boards. Your ability to establish strong working relationships across systems will be key to achieving your teams' goals. Leadership must be ethical, collegiate and focused on equity, diversity and inclusion. A key priority is ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our staff, while keeping patients at the heart of everything we do.
As an executive leader within the North West London (NWL) Integrated Care Board (ICB), you will play a vital role in building links within the system, working closely with NWL Acute CPOs to deliver People Services Transformation. We are looking for a leader who will be proud to work alongside our 7,500 dedicated staff to deliver on this agenda.
If this candidate briefing describes you, please email alex.collett@nhs.net to discuss the role further. We look forward to hearing from you.
Lesley Watts
Message from the chief people officer
It has been a privilege working for the Trust for the last three and a half years. The Trust fosters a high-performance culture that drives excellence and innovation. Our PROUD values are embedded in everything we do, with our people, colleagues and patients at the heart. Since being appointed as interim Chief People Officer in 2022, I have worked with the Executive Team and People and Organisational Development colleagues to review our operating model, refresh our people strategy, and lay a solid foundation to support the Trust in delivering its strategic priorities. We are now ready to recruit a permanent Chief People Officer and complete the Senior People and OD structure.
This is an exciting opportunity for a driven and highly committed people professional to advance their career. You will support recruitment for senior positions, including the Deputy CPO and Associate People Director roles, following interim appointments and internal development opportunities. Our teams are lean, hardworking and deliver excellent workforce performance, including low sickness rates, high core training rates, and reducing staff turnover. We are proud of our improved staff survey results and the culture we’ve fostered, which supports health and wellbeing, encourages staff to raise concerns and contribute to changes in how we work.
There is still much to achieve. We must build a more equitable and inclusive organisation, with colleagues from the global majority represented at senior levels and having equitable experiences. We encourage applications from candidates from the global majority for this role. Additionally, we must improve staff safety, reduce violence and aggression, and address bullying and harassment. The Chief People Officer will champion this agenda, encouraging bold, innovative approaches that make a visible difference.
As part of the NWL Acute Provider Collaborative, you will be supported by a network of senior people and OD leaders working together to ensure NWL is the place for people professionals to build careers and deliver excellent services across the sector.
If you’re interested in this role, please contact me for a conversation by emailing Alex Collett at alex.collett@nhs.net.
Lindsey Stafford-Scott
Welcome
Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is proud to be one of the top performing and safest trusts in England.
We have two main acute hospital sites—Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital—plus our award-winning clinics across North West London and beyond.
Our values
Our PROUD values demonstrate to staff, patients and the public the standards of care and experience they should expect from our services:
Putting patients first
Responsive to patients and staff
Open and honest
Unfailingly kind
Determined to develop
Proud of our history
Westminster Hospital was founded in 1719 and was replaced by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in 1993.
Brentford Infirmary opened in 1896, renamed West Middlesex Hospital in 1920.
Our two hospitals merged in 2015 to become one Trust.
Our vision and strategy
Our ambition is simple—to provide world class care. We combine globally recognised clinical expertise with locally delivered care to represent the NHS at its best. This has been tested with staff, patients and stakeholders and is delivered through our staff’s commitment to our values and our organisation’s focus on our 3 strategic priorities:
To deliver high-quality care: Patients, their friends, family and carers will be treated with unfailing kindness and respect by every member of staff in every department and their experience and quality of care will be second to none.
To be the employer of choice: Provide every member of staff with the support, information, facilities and environment they need to develop in their roles and careers, and recruit and retain people needed to deliver high-quality services to our patients and other service users.
To provide better care at lower cost: Continuously improve the quality of care and patient experience through the most efficient use of resources (financial and human, including staff, partners, stakeholders, volunteers and friends).
These priorities are reflected in our clinical services strategy, our quality strategy and our annual operating plan. They are set out in our divisions’ detailed business plans and are the framework for our staff’s objectives and appraisals.
Who we are
7,500 staff and 500 volunteers
We treat someone in A&E every 2 minutes
We deliver a baby every 50 minutes
We operate on a patient every 17 minutes
We perform 52 imaging procedures each hour
We serve a diverse population of 1.5 million from the beginning to the end of life
Proud of our services
We have one of the largest and busiest HIV and sexual health services in Europe, delivering world-class care and outcomes for 269,000 patients a year
We’re proud to be part of Fast Track Cities, a global movement to end new cases of HIV by 2030
We run specialist trans clinics and offer the first NHS-commissioned masculinising surgery service
We have one of the largest and safest maternity services in the UK, delivering 10,500 babies each year
Our world-renowned burns service is the leading centre in London and the South East
We are one of the largest urgent and emergency services providers with some of the lowest ambulance handover times in the UK, treating 270,000 people last year
Proud of our workforce
Our 7,500 staff are recruited from local communities and around the world
Our staff rate us second among acute trusts in London as a place to work
Despite challenges in the NHS, our low staff vacancy rate remains significantly better than the national average
We are passionate about the health and wellbeing of our staff with a huge support offer, including our nationally-recognised free back-up care scheme and Timewise accreditation as a flexible employer
We love to develop our people, offering a range of development programmes and apprenticeships, with our healthcare support worker apprentices winning Apprentice of the Year for two years running
We offer a fantastic range of salary sacrifice schemes, from season ticket loans, bicycles and vehicles, to gym memberships, home electronics and holidays
Proud of our diversity
Our inclusive culture is driven by leaders, managers and all staff, further highlighted by receiving the Stonewall Gold Award for supporting LGBTQ+ staff
We amplify staff voices through four staff networks—Enrich, Women, LGBTQ+ and Disability—contributing to our ranking as the second-best acute trust in London
We embrace cultural diversity and inclusion with our maternity cultural safety champions and our development programme to support our leaders in leading with compassion and inclusivity
We are a gold-awarded Veteran Aware employer, recognising our work in advocating for and supporting former and current defence and armed forces personnel
We have an NHS Pastoral Care quality award for supporting our international recruits with an internationally educated nurse accelerated development programme and tailored approaches to onboarding
Proud of our supporters
Thanks to generous support from our local communities, our charity CW+ can:
Build and enhance clinical facilities to create an outstanding environment for patients and staff
Deliver an art and design programme to support the wellbeing of our patients
Invest in health innovation to deliver exceptional patient care
Proud of our environment
Our intensive care unit is a world-class facility, home to the latest technology
Our Sky Garden supports the mental health and wellbeing of our staff and patients
Our modern neonatal intensive care unit cares for 150 more babies annually, ensuring high-quality, specialised care in a state-of-the-art facility
We are proud to be a leader in sustainability, having reduced our NHS carbon footprint by 20% since 2019/20, and being recognised as a ‘zero-waste-to-landfill’ Trust in 2024
Our new Ambulatory Diagnostics Centre at West Mid will enhance access to care, aligning with our commitment to provide high-quality, accessible healthcare to all
Proud of our research
We recruited 3,500 patients into 160 research projects in the last year
Our clinical trials unit, renowned for pioneering COVID-19 vaccine research, continues to lead in developing new antibody therapies and other treatments
Our PrEP trial, the largest of its kind in the UK, has had significant national impact, underscoring our leadership in public health research
We continue to lead research in areas such as maternal health, burns, and infectious diseases
Proud to innovate
We continue to invest in digital innovation to improve care delivery:
CW Innovation is a joint initiative between the Trust and our charity CW+ which tests and scales high-impact innovations to improve patient care and hospital operations, utilising digital systems, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning
Our portfolio of more than 90 projects positions us as a leader in innovation and next-generation health services
Our robotic surgery programme significantly reduces patient recovery time and length of stay
Sensium® sensors remotely monitor vital signs every two minutes, compared with traditional monitoring of 4+ hours
Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms give clinicians near-realtime risk prediction for COVID-19 patients
Proud of our achievements
One of the lowest hospital mortality rates in England
Chief Executive Lesley Watts awarded CBE for her contributions to healthcare
Magnet4Europe
HSJ finalists for wellbeing and service redesign initiatives and highly commended in the Trust of the Yearcategory
RCM shortlist for excellence in maternity care during COVID
Building Better Healthcare award for design of ICU
Gaydio Award for 56 Dean Street #TestNowStopHIV campaign
Proud of our community
Our 700 dedicated volunteers help improve and enhance patient experience
We work closely with patient partners, community representatives, our membership base and council of governors to help shape our services
Our community engagement efforts have been recognised through various awards, reflecting our commitment to building strong, supportive relationships with the people and communities we serve
Proud to support our frailty patients
One in ten patients over 65 and one in two patients over 85 live with frailty
Our HOME initiative—Hydrate, Out of PJs, Mobilise, Engage—helps maintain our patients’ independence in and out of hospital
In 2023/24, we conducted geriatric assessments on nearly 99% of eligible patients, ensuring better identification and management of frailty to improve health outcomes
Proud of our sustainability
Our green plan is pivotal to delivering our vision—deliver high-quality care, be the employer of choice and make the best use of resources
We are committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040, with an interim goal of an 80% reduction by 2028–32—our efforts have already led to a 20% reduction in our NHS carbon footprint since 2019/20, highlighting our proactive approach to sustainability
Job summary
Job title
Chief People Officer
Band
VSM
Division
Corporate
Responsible to
Chief Executive
Responsible for
People and organisational development function
On-call responsibility
Executive team on-call rota
Location
Trustwide—Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital
Travel
To meet the needs of the Trust’s services you will be required to travel to and/or work outside your normal place of work
The Chief People Officer is responsible for delivering the people strategy for the organisation, sharing corporate responsibility for strategic planning, policy-making and achieving the Trust’s objectives while providing professional advice to the Board.
You will lead the workforce and organisational development functions, ensuring they meet the needs of both clinical and non-clinical departments and work effectively in partnership with staff and their representatives.
A key focus of this role is ensuring that the Trust maintains a fully engaged, supported, motivated, skilled and high-performing workforce. You will also lead workforce transformation to ensure it is fit for future demands while promoting a culture of compassion, inclusivity and fairness.
The Chief People Officer will oversee all aspects of teaching and learning, including talent management, leadership development and other staff development programmes. This includes essential staff training and managing partnerships with academic and professional bodies while developing innovative recruitment strategies to draw on our diverse local communities. The Trust has a strategic partnership with the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and you will lead the shared Learning and Organisational Development service across both Trusts.
You will drive collaboration across the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative and play a major role in delivering the North West London Integrated Care System’s people agenda, working with CPOs and HRDs from other NHS, community and social care institutions.
Key responsibilities
Strategy and policy
Interpret and anticipate national, regional and local health policies to ensure the people strategies and plans support effective recruitment, retention, leadership and management of staff in line with the NHS People Plan.
Ensure all people development strategies and plans align with agreed strategic objectives and are fully integrated into broader corporate and divisional planning.
Collaborate with other change leaders in the North West London Integrated Care System, the NWL Acute Provider Collaborative and NHSE (London) to interpret and influence policy, sharing insights and learning.
Develop and embed policies and procedures that meet the organisation’s needs, align with our values and comply with legislative and regulatory requirements, ensuring fair and responsible employee relations that support effective staff management.
System working and provider collaboration
Acute Provider Collaborative
Since 1 Apr 2022, the four acute Trusts in North West London have been working as an Acute Provider Collaborative (APC). We have a single Chair (Matthew Swindells), a board-in-common and a well-developed collaborative governance structure.
The four trusts work closely together to drive up quality and improve efficiency. The four chief executives each lead on a priority across the collaborative and work directly with the senior executives in each Trust for their area.
In developing and managing the APC, we identified seven principles of collaboration within a joint statement of intent agreed at the first public board-in-common meeting:
a commitment to delivering a step change in quality and financial and operational performance across our system
a commitment to treat everyone fairly and inclusively
maximising the benefit of our collective resources by improving coordination and avoiding duplication
collective decision-making for the benefit of our patients, communities and staff
transparency of our data, information and decisions
a commitment to join up our strategies and planning
respect for the continuing statutory roles of our respective trust boards and councils of governors (in the case of foundation trusts)
The APC operates within the North West London Integrated Care System (ICS), which has come together to deliver four key objectives:
improve outcomes in population health and healthcare
prevent ill health and tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience and access
enhance productivity and value for money
support broader economic and social development
As an APC senior leadership role, the post-holder will be expected to promote and role model the values and behaviour expectations of all the Trusts within the collaborative. The four CPOs within the APC work together to deliver the APC People Services Improvement Programme, and each CPO leads a number of workstreams and programmes across the four trusts.
Strategic partnership—The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
As part of the strategic partnership with Hillingdon, the CPO leads the shared Learning and Organisational Development service for both trusts and provides strategic leadership support for the People and OD function as required.
NWL Integrated Care System
The CPO plays a key role in supporting the NWL ICS in developing and delivering its workforce programme. This includes acting as SRO for projects and programmes such as the NWL Health and Social Care Skills Academy and NWL overseas recruitment.
Organisational development
Deliver an ambitious, highly visible, engaging and actively managed programme of organisational development initiatives that shape our culture and values, fulfilling our commitment to putting staff at the heart of everything we do.
Enhance devolved leadership at all levels by designing and delivering high-quality leadership development programmes, providing advice and support to line managers to foster positive culture change and innovation.
Nurture and develop clinical and managerial talent for future leadership roles, utilising a rigorous talent management and succession planning framework for key divisional and corporate posts to ensure service continuity and effective leadership.
Deliver plans to achieve high levels of staff engagement, positioning the organisation as a recognised model employer.
Develop the reward and recognition framework that incentivises appropriate behaviours and high performance.
Lead strong, coordinated action on improving staff health and wellbeing, including ensuring physical and psychological safety for all colleagues.
Utilise digital solutions, including robotic process automation and artificial intelligence, to enhance workforce management, including resourcing, employee and manager self-service and electronic rostering.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
Take proactive leadership in further developing and implementing diversity and inclusion strategies to deliver demonstrable improvements against the Workforce Race and Disability Equality Standards. Embed a culture of inclusivity and support the Trust to improve senior representation and staff experience for those from the global majority.
Ensure we meet our obligations under all equality duties, acting as the executive lead for diversity and inclusion.
Teaching and learning
Lead the implementation of an education strategy that positions the organisation as an employer of choice, developing exceptional people for exceptional careers while meeting the obligations of education and training commissioners, academic partners and the training needs of staff.
Collaborate closely with universities, NHS England, the Chief Nursing Officer and the Chief Medical Officer to optimise the training and development of clinical professionals and new roles, introducing different ways of working.
Oversee essential training programmes for all staff, ensuring the requirements are regularly reviewed, staff and line manager responsibilities are clearly communicated, training is of high quality and efficient in terms of staff time, training outcomes are evaluated, and compliance is appropriately monitored and reported.
Workforce planning and performance
Support the development and implementation of annual workforce plans with divisional teams, ensuring an appropriately skilled and experienced workforce at all levels while reducing reliance on bank and agency staffing.
Work with executive directors and divisional leaders to introduce innovative recruitment and retention strategies, including new flexible roles and ways of working, putting workforce redesign at the heart of service transformation.
Develop and implement proactive recruitment and retention plans, drawing on diverse local communities to ensure the organisation has the right number of qualified and trained staff for both short- and long-term needs.
Lead the development, implementation and monitoring of key performance indicators and provide workforce information to improve individual and organisational performance.
Ensure a clear and transparent framework for appraisal and performance management of all employees, with line managers trained to use it effectively and held accountable for local people management and performance.
Employee relations
Foster productive partnerships with staff representatives, trade unions and staff governors, involving them appropriately in strategic and operational planning.
Use national and local surveys and other methods to understand staff views and concerns in detail, implementing robust plans to improve staff satisfaction.
Embed restorative justice principles in all aspects of the employee relations framework.
People directorate function
Provide professional leadership, vision and direction for workforce and organisational development functions, ensuring high-quality, innovative and consistent operational services that meet the needs of clinical and non-clinical departments.
Ensure there is sufficient senior staff presence on each Trust site to deliver a high-quality, responsive workforce function.
Oversee the medical staffing function, ensuring close collaboration with the Chief Medical Officers.
Actively participate in the North West London Occupational Health Partnership Board, ensuring a high-quality service for staff.
Deliver efficiency improvements in the People Director’s budgets, maximising shared roles within the North West London Acute Provider Collaborative and the national Futures programme. Support wider corporate productivity initiatives with other executive directors and divisional leaders.
Professional responsibilities
Support the Acute Provider Collaborative’s People Board by delivering necessary assurances on progress against agreed plans.
Provide confidential advice and support to the Nominations and Remuneration Committee.
Offer advice and support to the chair, chief executive and other executive directors on specific employee relations or workforce issues.
Assist the chief executive in developing the senior leadership team.
Executive director responsibilities
Contribute fully as an executive director to the Trust’s overall strategies and direction, ensuring effective functioning of the executive team and fostering strong partnerships within and outside the local health community.
Share responsibility with other directors for corporate performance, risk management and achieving strategic objectives in service, teaching and research.
Provide visible leadership for all staff, championing our values and promoting an empowered leadership style to maximise team performance to deliver great patient care. Develop the skills and capabilities of operational teams to deliver the people strategy and ensure a talent pool is in place to meet strategic needs.
Contribute to financial plans, ensuring the workforce is used productively and efficiently within the pay budget. Support Trustwide savings initiatives and lead projects to reduce the overall pay bill.
Participate in the executive director on-call rota.
People and Organisational Development senior team structure
This job description may be subject to change based on the varying needs of the service, following discussion between the post-holder and their manager. All duties must be carried out in line with Trust policies and procedures.
Person specification
Job title
Chief People Officer
Band
VSM
Division
Corporate
Evidence for suitability in the role will be measured via a mixture of application form, testing and interview.
E = essential D = desirable
Trust values
Putting patients first
E
Responsive to patients and staff
E
Open and honest
E
Unfailingly kind
E
Determined to develop
E
Education and qualifications
Master's degree, equivalent post-graduate qualification or evidence of working at that level
E
Membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or equivalent
E
Formal training or qualification in management and/or leadership
D
Experience
Demonstrable track record of success at director level
E
Proven leadership of the people agenda at a senior management level within a large, complex organisation, preferably within the NHS or a similar healthcare environment
E
Experience in leading organisational and structural change, with evidence of delivering creative people solutions to meet clinical service needs
E
Clear evidence of developing and implementing inclusive people and organisational development strategies, aligned with a shared vision across an organisation
E
Experience of leading innovative employee engagement initiatives that result in measurable improvements in the employee experience
E
Proven ability to develop and implement performance systems, supported by robust governance, ensuring successful delivery of the people agenda and effective risk mitigation
E
Experience of leading transformational change across the people agenda, operating at a system level and engaging multiple stakeholders
E
Skills and knowledge
High level of political awareness and influencing skills
E
Strong understanding of NHS structures, processes and current issues
E
Exceptional leadership, communication and presentation skills
E
Excellent creative skills in oral, written and presentation communication
E
Ability to conceptualise and persuade
E
Ability to earn the trust and respect of senior clinicians and managers
E
Proven track record of building relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, both internal and external, with a strong commitment to education and a solid understanding of research methodology
E
A commitment to setting and achieving high standards, with leadership that promotes learning across organisational lines
E
Strong analytical and organisational skills
E
Ability to work effectively with complexity and ambiguity
E
Ability to build relationships with all key stakeholders, including the media
E
Understanding of how to apply digital solutions to the workplace
E
Strong facilitation skills
E
Understanding of Foundation Trust arrangements
D
Personal qualities
Demonstrate compassionate leadership and a commitment to leading with cultural inclusivity
E
Resilient and able to perform in a fast-paced, performance-focussed environment
E
Ability to challenge in a constructive but firm way at all levels inside and outside of the Trust
