Head of Workforce Strategy and Transformation

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is a special place to work. We’re an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history.

We’ve set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won’t become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring.

That’s where you come in. Because we can’t do this without you.

Job Overview

Recruitment stage: External
Salary: £64,178
Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment for 12 months
Band: H / Grade 6
Closing date: Monday 23rd November at midnight


Shape our future workforce. Help our people thrive. Turn ambition into lasting change.

About the role
As Head of Workforce Strategy and Transformation, you will help shape the people, skills and capabilities The National Archives needs for the future and turn that vision into action. Reporting to the People Director, you will shape and deliver our future workforce plan, connecting our ambitions with practical plans for our people, in line with our strategy and financial plans.
You will bring together performance, talent, leadership development and learning, leading a small specialist team to help people and the organisation grow. Working across organisational boundaries, you will guide complex change, advise senior leaders and use workforce insight to make better decisions. Throughout, your focus will be on making change work for people, with inclusive practice and employee experience at the heart of what you do.

About you
This role will suit someone who sees the bigger picture and enjoys making things happen. You are curious about how organisations work, thoughtful about what people need to succeed and motivated by turning complex challenges into a clear way forward. Drawing on your experience of workforce strategy, organisational change and developing people services, you will enjoy connecting long-term ambitions with practical improvements that colleagues can see and feel.
You enjoy bringing people together, building trust and helping others do their best work. You are comfortable exploring the evidence, asking constructive questions and working with senior leaders to find a way forward — then rolling up your sleeves to help deliver it. If you like combining strategic thinking with hands-on leadership, and want to make people development and inclusive change part of everyday organisational life, this could be the role for you.

Why apply?
This is a chance to do more than write a strategy: you will help put it into practice. With a remit spanning workforce planning, organisational change and people development, you can connect decisions about our future with the experience of colleagues today. As part of the People, Inclusion and Change Senior Leadership Team, you will work directly with senior decision-makers and fellow heads of department to shape priorities and deliver change together.

This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department.
A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

Application process:

We ask all applicants to supply work history details and a supporting statement, not exceeding 1000 words.

Selection for interview will be based on the Essential Criteria listed in the job description below so please ensure that your application demonstrates in detail how you meet these requirements.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.  Please visit the Civil Service Careers website where you can find further information on the use of AI in the application guidance section.

Interviews will be held on-site, w/c 7th December. Candidates invited to interview will be asked to prepare a presentation, details of which will be provided in the interview invitation.

Job Description

Role and Responsibilities

• Workforce Strategy and Planning: Lead the development and implementation of The National Archives’ future workforce plan, aligned with our mission, vision, strategy and financial plans. 
• People Transformation: Lead cross-organisational projects and programmes that deliver complex people change, bringing together multidisciplinary teams to address systemic issues.  
• Performance, Talent, Leadership and Learning: Lead a small specialist team responsible for performance management, talent management, leadership development, and learning and development. Ensure that these disciplines operate as a coherent capability offer rather than as separate programmes of activity. Lead the delivery of the annual performance review cycle and continuously improve our policies, processes and services, placing employee experience at the centre. 
• Strategic Leadership and Advice: Act as a trusted adviser to the Director of People, Inclusion and Change, Executive Team and Board. Prepare high-quality advice, papers, analysis and recommendations, balancing strategic ambition with practical constraints and the Civil Service employment framework. 
• Inclusive Practice: Deliver a people-centred and inclusive approach to workforce strategy and interventions, partnering with the Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to help to embed inclusivity in organisational culture, 
• Team Leadership: Lead, motivate and develop a small team, creating a high-performing, collaborative and inclusive working environment. Set clear performance objectives, support people’s development, and ensure effective prioritisation and resource planning. 
• Innovation and Best Practice: Keep up to date with Civil Service and external best practice. Horizon-scan emerging workforce trends, identify opportunities for innovation, and apply relevant insights to improve organisational capability and people services. 
• Senior Leadership: As a member of the Senior Leadership Team within People, Inclusion and Change, collaborate effectively with the other Heads of department and the Director to provide strong, cohesive leadership and deliver shared priorities effectively. 

Working Conditions

• Kew-based with the opportunity for flexible or hybrid working, subject to organisational requirements. 
• Display Screen Equipment user. 
• The role involves sustained engagement with senior stakeholders, complex information and periods of competing delivery pressure. 
• Normal office environment

Person Specification

Essential criteria:

• Significant experience of developing robust workforce strategies and plans in a complex organisation, distilling complex people issues into clear written advice, priorities and recommendations.  
• A proven track record of scoping, planning and delivering leading major organisational design or workforce change projects and programmes, and delivering strategic impact for the business.  
• Significant experience of developing and delivering services in performance management, talent management, leadership development or learning and development. Including the ability to continuously improve policies, systems and processes.  
• A highly credible leader, with the ability to establish clear priorities and empower multidisciplinary teams to achieve challenging outcomes. Including a willingness to flex between strategic and operational issues.  
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills, with the credibility to influence senior leaders and challenge constructively. 
• Strong analytical capability, including the ability to interpret financial, skills and workforce data and turn insight into strategic action. 
• The ability to bridge the gap between HR policies and procedures and strategic priorities, developing practical approaches and plans. 

Desirable criteria:  

• CIPD Chartered Fellow or willingness to work towards this.  

Other Requirements

• Must be prepared to travel to other government departments and organisational locations as required.
• Occasional overnight stays may be required.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is
found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service
D&I Strategy.

Benefits 

Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development.  Annual leave entitlement of 30 days per calendar year and 10½ days public and privilege holidays per annum.

Any move to The National Archives from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk; (opens in new window)