About this role
Job summary
The Group Head of HR will report into the Director of People and OD. This role will play an integral part of the People Strategy and be responsible for ensuring all HR and volunteer operational objectives are met. The post holder will line manage the HR and volunteering team taking full responsibility for the organisations workforce requirements. With a proven track record of delivering successful HR practices and creating a positive organisational culture the post holder will be pivotal in the strategic success of the organisation. Working collaboratively with teams across the hospice, senior leaders and trustees the role will support the delivery of organisational strategy 2026-30 and lead on delivery and implementation of key strategic objectives related to workforce. The People and OD strategy will ensure all HR practices, employee and volunteer lifecycles and organisational culture have a positive impact on our workforce, making St Giles a great place to be and allowing our teams to thrive.
The post holder will have an understanding of the impact HR has on organisational on culture, staff retention and satisfaction.
Main duties of the job
Working collaboratively with teams across the hospice with senior leaders and managers, the role will support the delivery of the 2026-30 organisational strategy and lead on delivery and implementation of key strategic objectives.Main duties and responsibilities will be to drive initiatives and services that support the Hospice in organisational development; talent; performance management; learning and skills development; employee relations; employee engagement and reward and benefits. Maintain HR policies and processes, aligning outputs to support delivery of our vision.Role model St Giless values working closely with the Director of People and OD in maintaining the desired culture of the Hospice, ensuring the values remain embedded across all of the hospice processes. You will be part of the newly developed Senior Leadership Team (supported with Associate Directors) alongside the Strategy Delivery Group.
You will play an active role in employee engagement by challenging areas of poor people practice, take action to resolve them and report to the Director of People and OD if a solution cannot be found.
The Group Head of HR will hold responsibility for ensuring the workforce establishment is always up to date and reflects all employees on the payroll. They will work closely with the Group Head of Finance around financial performance including people costs such as salaries, benefits, incentives and workforce planning
About us
St Giles Hospice is a registered charity founded in 1983 by the Reverend Paul Brothwell, originally to improve the care of local people dying with cancer.
We now support patients, and their loved ones, living with a terminal illness. Our dedicated team provides individually-tailored care, free of charge, either at the hospice or in patients own homes across our communities.
We spend close to £10 million a year providing our specialist services. With less than a quarter of this funded by the Government, we rely heavily on donations and income generation from the local community.
Job description Job responsibilities
The role entails but is not limited to:
Leadership and Management
Serve as a trusted advisor to the Senior Leadership team offering insights and data to enable improved decision making
Oversee the HR and volunteering departmental budget ensuring there are clear robust processes in place
Assessing and ensuring KPIs are met alongside driving performance to ensure we always maintain high standards.
Set priorities, allocate workloads and ensure the people team delivers a high-quality responsive service to the hospice group
Foster a collaborative solutions-based approach within the HR and volunteering team
Support organisational change initiatives to support overall workforce planning initiatives
Ensure employee records are maintained to a high level and in line with confidentiality
Have full oversight of the EAP to ensure we are offering the best service we can to our employees and report figures on a monthly basis to the Director of People and OD
Overall management of the reward and recognition programme for staff ensuring we are getting the best out of our external partners such as the cycle to work and car schemes
Develop and maintain effective relationships that promote cross organisational working and lead by example maximising success across the hospice.
Play an active part in the development of the Education strategy.
Strategy
Be responsible for ensuring all HR and volunteering operational objectives are met as part of the People Strategy to ensure that the hospice is an attractive employer where staff are supported and empowered to contribute fully to hospice care (Objective 2: To be an outstanding team)
Provide expertise, leadership, vision and guidance, to drive forward the 2026-30 hospice strategy with particular focus on the strategic direction of the HR department; delivering outstanding performance in all aspects of HR practice.
Work with Senior Managers on the implementation and evaluation of an ambitious and achievable People and OD strategy
Champion an inclusive and diverse culture, promoting openness and transparency
Continuously improve the day-to-day administration of the employee and volunteer lifecycle ensuring it is as smooth running as possible including for payroll preparation.
Support on any new organisational projects that may involve the workforce.
Employee Relations
Lead on complex highly sensitive ER matters
Provide complex specialist advice to managers around absence management
Ensure emerging employee relations issued are dealt with effectively and appropriately by the Group HR Manager
Ensure up to date HR compliance in line with employment law by updating the team on a regular basis
Employee Engagement
Work closely with and support the Director of People and OD with all employee initiatives such as wellbeing
Support on all pulse surveys throughout the Hospice
Champion St Giles initiatives such as reward and recognition
Analyse employee feedback and make recommend actions to enhance St Giles retention, culture and engagement to the Director of People and OD
Promote inclusive practices to support a positive thriving culture
Transactional HR Function and Practice
Promote equality and diversity through day-to-day practice across the workforce to ensure fairness and consistency.
To ensure that line managers have the skills and knowledge required to deal with employee relations effectively, providing support and advice on disciplinary, grievance, absence and performance management issues etc. To provide advice and guidance to managers in the identification of recruitment requirements and job design in response to service needs. Sign off on board and quarterly reports from the Group HR Manager before sending to the Director of People and OD for final approval.
Ensure effective communication with line managers across the group acting as a specialist resource for providing advice and strategies on all employee relations matters including disciplinary, grievance, sickness absence, performance management, appeals, and bullying/harassment issues.
To provide information and support to employees on policies, procedures and other matters relevant to their employment. To offer support to staff and line managers in cases of redeployment/ redundancy or TUPE ensuring that employment rights are preserved and employees are treated fairly.
Facilitation of mediation meetings.
Ensure all HR Polices Procedures are kept up to date and legally compliant and embed these across the Hospice.
Ensuring exit interviews take place and analyse results for trends.
Oversee and when needed directly manage complex ER cases such as disciplinary, grievances, restructuring/redundancies, bully and harassment, TUPE etc.
Develop and implement new and existing HR systems and processes ensuring they are compliant, efficient and fit for purpose.
Maintain the HR & volunteer System in line with GDPR and relevant regulations/law.
Streamline workforce processes where relevant to ensure the employee has a smooth journey when joining, staying and leaving St Giles.
Work with the communications team to conduct regular staff surveys and act on the results to improve employee engagement.
Develop personal and professional knowledge through critical self-appraisal, networking with other HR professionals, partners and Hospices and attendance at relevant courses and conferences.
To act as HR expert/mentor to colleagues within the people Team.
Ensure that the Hospices Vision, Mission and Values are embedded across the organisation.
Work collaboratively with all departments to ensure clear communication channels and that they remain engaged in St Giles work
To be responsible for the development of volunteer roles to ensure that the skills and expertise of volunteers are used to best effect and that the contribution of volunteers is maximised throughout the organisation. Lead the volunteer services team to ensure a positive and well-structured volunteer management lifecycle is applied across the organisation Personal Education and Development
Through continuing professional development, to ensure that personal HR knowledge and skills are maintained and developed to consistently provide high standards of quality and output. To undertake annual IPR and respond to the agreed development objective plan
Key relationships:
Director of People and Organisational Development
People and Organisational Development team
External stakeholders
Executive Leadership team
Senior Leadership Team
Managers
Employees
Bank Workers and Volunteers
Just so you know:
We may review applications before the application review date, however, if you apply after the application review date, your application may not be considered. We will accept applications until we have successfully filled the role, this may be earlier than the closing date.
If you have not heard within 14 days of the application close date, then please consider that your application has been unsuccessful at this time.
As part of your application your data will be managed in line with St Giles Hospice Privacy Policy and kept for 6 months. If you would like to see this in full, please visit https://www.stgileshospice.com/privacy-policy/
Person Specification
Values Essential
Exhibits our hospice values and behaviours
Personal Attributes Essential
Inspirational leader with credibility, respect and demonstrable knowledge Inclusive and able to lead on embracing difference. Engaging and motivational, skilled in supporting teams, recognising great performance and celebrating success. Ambitious, with passion to grow and develop self, colleagues, teams and the hospice. Champion of a positive culture Authentic, credible and high degree of integrity Empathetic Team Player Able to work under pressure Collaborative Ambassador for St Giles Hospice.
Qualifications Essential
CIPD Level 5 qualified or above (or equivalent) Wealth of in-depth knowledge of UK employment law and working in a HR team Experience of managing and advising line managers on all ER areas Experience of HR Information Systems Experience in dealing with complex Employee Relations issues Evidence of continued professional development
Desirable
Experience of meeting standards for a regulatory body e.g. Care Quality Commission Experience of delivering a focused HR and people strategy. CIPD Membership
Skills and Abilities Essential
High level of integrity Advocate for outstanding patient care and quality of service Ability to have difficult conversations in a sensitive and professional way. Ability to develop, implement and maintain new systems, policies and processes. Ability to manage within agreed budgets. Deliver bad news in a pragmatic and empathetic way. Comprehensive understanding of the HR practice and employment law Well-developed leadership skills that encourage commitment from others Ability to organise and undertake a diverse workload with constantly shifting demands. Ability to manage with sensitivity and compassion. Ability to develop, implement and maintain new systems, policies and processes. Ability to make difficult decisions to manage conflict. Ability to relate empathetically with staff, volunteers, service users and other partners. Ability to win the confidence and trust of staff, volunteers and other partners. Ability to provide clear, appropriate, balanced and unambiguous advice. Excellent communicator both verbally and in writing. Ability to provide sound professional advice at senior management level.
Desirable
An understanding of the health and social care sector An understanding of the charity sector An understanding of the retail sector.
Other requirements Essential
Valid driving licence Eligibility to work in the UK Please note that St Giles Hospice does not hold a sponsorship licence and is therefore unable to accept sponsorship requests
Disclosure and Barring Service Check This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details Employer name St Giles Hospice
Address Fisherwick Road
Whittington
Lichfield
Staffordshire
WS14 9LH
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.stgileshospice.com/ (Opens in a new tab)