About this role
Job summary
The Head of Wellbeing and Inclusion is the Trust wide senior professional lead for workforce wellbeing, inclusion and equality. The postholder is accountable for the strategic direction, delivery, performance and assurance of these portfolios across all divisions and corporate services, leading two Band 8b portfolio leads and the teams reporting through them.
Main duties of the job
As a member of the Culture and Organisational Development Senior Management Team, the postholder will contribute to the strategic leadership of the wider Culture and OD portfolio and lead the wellbeing, inclusion and belonging priorities within the Trust's Culture and OD Strategy. Working alongside the Heads of Organisational Development and Engagement and Learning, Leadership and Talent, the postholder will ensure that specialist expertise contributes to integrated culture improvement and workforce experience priorities.
The postholder will provide authoritative professional advice and constructive challenge to Executive Directors, King's Executive and Board committees. The role will work through a matrix and commissioned model with Divisional People Directors, HR Business Partners, operational leaders and colleagues across the Culture and OD portfolio to agree priorities, mobilise specialist expertise and assure delivery. The postholder will contribute to shared portfolio planning, prioritisation and evaluation arrangements that support delivery across the wider Culture and OD function.
About us
The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. In June 2026, we launched our new strategy for 2026-31. Our vision is to transform healthcare, and we have agreed six strategic ambitions to help us improve care for patients, and the working lives of our staff.
Our six strategic ambitions are deliveringhigh-quality patient care; creating a great place to work; leading pioneering research, innovation and education; building strong and successful partnerships; providing timely and efficient care; and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.
We have also agreed four new organisational values - Caring, Collaborative, Inclusive, Innovative - and these underpin everything we do, and how our teams interact with the patients under our care.
We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.
King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The postholder is accountable for: Delivery of the wellbeing, inclusion and belonging priorities within the Trusts Culture and OD Strategy and associated multi-year and annual delivery plans The workforce elements of the Trusts Equality Objectives and corporate equality duties Leadership and assurance of WRES, WDES, gender pay gap reporting and other relevant workforce equality requirements Development and delivery of the Trusts Race Equity Plan and targeted race equity interventions Strategic direction and assurance of the Trusts organisational wellbeing and psychological safety approaches
Lead the development, implementation and review of Trust wide workforce policies, frameworks, standards and improvement plans relating to wellbeing, inclusion, belonging, equality and psychological safety. Interpret equality legislation, NHS policy, workforce evidence and emerging practice, determining the implications for Kings and the action required where there is no clear precedent. Lead highly complex and sensitive discussions where there may be significant disagreement, resistance or competing organisational priorities. Reconcile different perspectives from staff, networks, trade unions, operational leaders, executives and external stakeholders and provide clear recommendations on the appropriate course of action.
The postholder will operate with a high degree of professional and managerial autonomy within theTrusts strategic and governance framework. They will independently interpret legislation, nationalpolicy and emerging evidence, determine functional priorities and make decisions within delegatedfinancial and professional authority. The postholder will be accountable for the performance and deployment of the Wellbeing, Inclusion and Belonging function and for providing authoritative advice where established policy or precedentdoes not provide a clear course of action.
Matters carrying significant corporate, legal, financial or reputational risk will be escalated through the agreed governance arrangements. Lead the Trust's approach to reducing workforce inequalities. Provide strategic oversight of Trust Equality Objectives and associated action plans. Oversee delivery of WRES, WDES and other workforce equality improvement frameworks. Ensure inclusive practices are embedded across leadership, recruitment, talent management and organisational development processes.
Lead strategic engagement with staff networks and ensure network intelligence informs decisionmaking. Lead the development and delivery of the Trusts approach to race equity, including actions to address disparities in recruitment, progression, employee experience, formal processes and senior representation.
Person Specification
Knowledge and Experience
Essential
- Significant senior leadership experience with demonstrable breadth across workforce equality, inclusion and organisational wellbeing, including responsibility for Trust wide strategy, delivery, performance and assurance in a large and complex organisation.
- Experience of designing and delivering preventative and organisational approaches to workforce wellbeing, including psychosocial risk and psychological safety.
- Experience of leading significant race equity, disability inclusion or other workforce inequality improvement programmes.
- Experience of working with staff networks, trade unions and staff groups to translate lived experience into organisational improvement.
- Experience delivering large scale organisational change and workforce transformation.
- Experience of leading complex and contentious organisational matters where there are competing perspectives, significant sensitivities or barriers to acceptance.
- Experience using workforce insight and data to inform strategic improvement.
- Expert knowledge of the Equality Act 2010, the Public Sector Equality Duty, reasonable adjustments and relevant workforce equality reporting requirements.
Education and Qualification
Essential
- Master's degree or equivalent level of knowledge and experience in a relevant discipline such as organisational development, workforce equality, public health, psychology, human resources, organisational wellbeing or health service management.
- Evidence of substantial continuing professional development.
- Advanced leadership and management knowledge, gained through formal development or equivalent senior leadership experience.
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Employer details
Employer name
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Denmark Hill
Camberwell
SE5 9RS
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.kch.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)