Group Director of People | Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Our ambition at the Royal Free London is to deliver world class expertise and local care, combining outstanding healthcare with ground-breaking research, education and innovation. Our 18,000 people are central to achieving that ambition, and we have recently launched our new People Strategy for 2027–2031: World class people for world class care. We are now looking for an exceptional Group Director of People to help us turn that ambition into reality.

Reporting to the Group Chief People Officer and acting as their deputy, this is a pivotal leadership role within the People Directorate and across the Royal Free London. You will provide strategic and operational leadership across our group People functions, working closely with Health Unit Directors of People and Culture and other senior People leaders to deliver an outstanding and increasingly consistent experience for our people across the organisation.

Our new People Strategy is deliberately ambitious and focused. It sets out how we will shape our culture, enable our people to be at their best, and ensure our workforce is future ready. We want to build consistently excellent leadership, be brilliant at the fundamentals that matter to our people, create an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive, and prepare our workforce for the opportunities presented by new models of care, digital technology, data and AI.

As Group Director of People, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across our group People functions and play a leading role in translating our new People Strategy into measurable improvements in the everyday experience of our people.

As Deputy to the Group Chief People Officer, you will represent the People Directorate at senior forums and deputise as required, providing expert advice and leadership across complex workforce and organisational issues.

You will lead a significant portfolio of group-wide People services and Centres of Expertise, including

• People Operations and Group People Services, including Workforce Information, Policy, People Hub and Freedom to Speak Up
• Employee Resolutions and Advisory Service (ERAS)
• Inclusion, Wellbeing and Recognition
• Resourcing, Retention and Programmes
• People Planning, Operations and Partnerships.

Working in partnership with Health Unit People teams and colleagues across the wider People Directorate, you will drive greater consistency, quality and impact across our People services. You will champion a people-centred employment experience, ensure we are brilliant at the basics, use data and insight to drive performance and improvement, and help modernise our services through digital technology, automation and new ways of working.

The Royal Free London is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, with 18,000 people working side by side across four acute hospitals and more than 70 sites in north London and Hertfordshire, serving a population of around two million people. We combine internationally recognised specialist expertise with high-quality local hospital and community care.

Our mission brings together world class healthcare treatment, clinical research and teaching excellence. We are one of the country’s leading research trusts, a major provider of medical, nursing and allied health professional education, and an organisation with a strong track record of innovation and partnership.

Our workforce is as diverse as the communities we serve, with colleagues from more than 140 countries and an extraordinary breadth of professions, skills and experience. Our shared commitments - Care with compassion, Champion inclusion, Act with integrity and Deliver excellence - describe how we want to work with one another and are the foundation of our People Strategy.

We are at an exciting point in our development. With a new People Strategy now in place, this role offers the opportunity to help shape the next chapter of the Royal Free London and make a tangible difference to the experience of our people and, ultimately, the patients and communities we serve.

Full duties and responsibilities are outlined in the Job Description and Person Specification.

Should you wish to review the People Strategy document, please contact Claudia McCarthy directly (details below) and a copy will be provided via email.

Stakeholder panel w/c 16th November 2026

Interview panel w/c 23rd November 2026

This advert closes on Wednesday 28 Oct 2026