Director of People, Culture and Change Management
- phillipfey8
- Sep 29
- 6 min read
Dear Candidate,
Intro blurb
With best wishes,
Name
Hiring Manager
About South Essex College Group
The South Essex College Group is a dynamic and inclusive educational organisation committed to delivering excellence in teaching, learning, and support services. With a proud history of serving diverse communities across South Essex and beyond, the group encompasses a range of specialist campuses and training centres dedicated to empowering individuals and transforming lives through education. Rooted in strong values of ambition, innovation, and collaboration. It offers a broad curriculum that spans further education, higher education, apprenticeships, and adult learning, all designed to meet the evolving needs of students and employers. The College Group strives to create a nurturing environment where every learner and staff member can develop and succeed.
1000+ staff: With over 1000 staff there are plenty of career opportunities to choose from
5 Campuses: We have campuses in Southend, Thurrock, Basildon and Stephenson Road.
3 Railway Links: All our campuses are easily accessible and have excellent transport links.
6 Virtual Tours: View our campus virtual tours to explore our facilities, spaces and technology.
Disability Confident: South Essex Colleges Group is certified as a Disability Confident Employer.
Strategic Objectives
Provide teaching and learning that expands learners’ horizons and enables them to achieve the qualifications they need to give them life-time choices.
Attract and retain the best and diverse people and become an employer of choice.
Become financially, technologically and environmentally sustainable.
Build our brand equity to increase our markets, influence, and add social value across Essex and East of London.
Collaborate across education, community, and employers to find innovative solutions to achieve our shared goals.
Mission & Vision
We want all of our students to achieve above and beyond their expectations and experience motivational learning which will shape and change their lives, making us the first choice organisation in the region. We believe our programmes will contribute significantly to personal development and provide our students with relevant employability skills, alongside gaining relevant professional and technical skills. We believe this will enhance their opportunities and contribute significantly to the regional economy.
Mission
Working together, we will provide knowledge, education and skills development for all.
Vision
We are the heart of community Transformation.
Organisational Structure
Denise Brown
Denise is a visionary leader, since her appointment as CEO, the Group has seen an increase in student numbers, an increase in achievement rates and achieved Ofsted rating of ‘Good’. By extending links with employers and the community, she has put the College Group at the heart of community transformation.
Ansar Mahmood
Ansar Mahmood has an excellent track record of developing strong and successful teams. Since joining the College Group he has completely transformed the areas of MIS, IT, Marketing & Admissions and is now focusing on HR. His vision for HR is to have a team that drives cultural transformation and organisational change.
The Role
Title: Director of People, Culture and Title Change Management
Reports to: Deputy Group CEO & CIO
Direct reports: HR manager, Acquisition Talent Manager.
Benefits
30 days leave
College Additional leave
Teachers Pension/Local Gov, Pension – Enhanced
Travel Expenses
Discounted on site Hair and Beauty facilities
Free Eye test and contribution towards glasses for VDU users
Enhanced sick pay and family (subject to policy terms)
Free breakfast on campus (Term time only)
Free On-site parking (subject to space/permits)
Wellbeing and health support
Cycle to work scheme
Flu Jabs
Job Purpose
The Director of People, Culture and Change Management will lead a strategic transformation of People Services, workplace culture, Health & Safety, Legal Compliance, and Data Protection (GDPR), ensuring the College Group is a leader in workforce governance, compliance, and cultural change.
This role requires a results-driven, innovative, and commercially astute executive with a proven track record in leading high-performing teams, implementing change at scale, and ensuring regulatory excellence. Reporting to the Group Vice CEO & CIO, this position will set the direction for a workforce strategy that drives performance, compliance, and organisational agility.
The post holder will have direct strategic oversight of:
People Services Workforce strategy, employee relations, talent acquisition,
leadership development, and performance management.
Legal Compliance Providing strategic leadership on employment law,
governance frameworks, contractual compliance, and industrial relations.
Data Protection & GDPR Acting as the Data Protection Officer (DPO), ensuring GDPR compliance, regulatory adherence, and data security governance.
Health & Safety Ensuring a safe and legally compliant environment across
multiple campuses, embedding a culture of safety.
Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership of Core Mission-Critical Departments
Drive workforce transformation, talent acquisition, leadership development, and performance culture to ensure the College Group attracts, retains, and develops top-tier talent.
Drive leadership development programs to strengthen managerial and executive capabilities, ensuring educational excellence.
Overhaul employee relations and succession planning, ensuring the organisation is future-ready and fully optimised.
Lead cutting-edge workforce analytics, leveraging AI and predictive data to inform talent, engagement, and retention strategies.
Oversee industrial relations and lead trade union negotiations, ensuring business needs align with operational strategy.
Health & Safety
Full strategic control of health & safety governance, ensuring legal and regulatory compliance across all sites.
Eliminate risk exposure through world-class compliance frameworks, real-time risk assessments, and crisis management strategies.
Embed a safety-first culture, ensuring obligations are not just met but exceeded.
Work closely with regulators to maintain a legally compliant learning and working environment.
Legal Compliance
Ensure the College Group operates with absolute legal integrity, minimising risk while driving operational agility.
Lead on public sector governance and workforce legal strategy, ensuring best-in-class regulatory adherence.
Oversee employment law, safeguarding compliance, and risk mitigation at the highest level.
Data Protection & GDPR
Serve as the College Group’s Data Protection Officer (DPO), ensuring GDPR compliance and data security governance.
Oversee risk assessments, audits, and security policies, ensuring a culture of proactive compliance.
Manage Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, ensuring transparency and regulatory alignment.
Strategic & Operational Leadership.
Organisational Change & Innovation
Lead a bold, disruptive transformation strategy, redefining how the College Group attracts, retains, and optimises its workforce.
Develop and execute a comprehensive people and culture strategy aligned with the college group’s vision, values, and mission.
Shape the future of education workforce strategy, ensuring adaptability to policy changes, sector trends, and legislative developments.
Drive HR digital transformation, implementing AI-powered analytics and automation to enhance workforce efficiency.
Industrial Relations & Stakeholder Engagement
Lead trade union and workforce negotiations, ensuring fair and strategic industrial relations.
Develop and implement governance frameworks that embed transparency, legal compliance, and workforce accountability.
Engage with executive teams, regulatory bodies, and government agencies, influencing workforce policy and compliance strategies.
Legal Compliance, Risk Management & Health & Safety Governance
De-risk the organisation by embedding proactive governance and compliance frameworks across all departments.
Ensure the College meets and exceeds statutory health & safety obligations, mitigating risk across all sites.
Lead crisis management and emergency preparedness strategies, ensuring a best-in-class safety culture.
Collaborate with legal experts and regulators to oversee workforce legal risk, employment disputes, and contract governance.
Person Specification
Background, Experience & Knowledge
Proven successful experience in delivering cultural and organisational
change programmes.
Executive-level leadership experience in a high-pressure, high-stakes
environment, ideally in a large scale commercially driven
environment.
Recent, senior-level experience in leading People Services, Health &
Safety, Legal Compliance, and Data Protection/GDPR.
Expertise in employment law, safeguarding, industrial relations, and
governance frameworks.
Proven ability to lead trade union negotiations and employee
relations at Board level.
Recent Experience in workforce digital transformation, automation,
and predictive analytics.
Recent proven track record of successfully driving compliance,
cultural change, and governance leadership across complex
organisations.
Demonstrated track record in building and leading high- performing
teams that deliver high-impact results and services that supports the
Group’s growth.
Experience in developing, leading and embedding EDI initiatives.
Proven experience to produce clear, accurate and concise written
reports.
Experience of developing, recording, communicating and reviewing
processes and procedures.
Proven track record in developing and implementing systems and
solutions in order to drive up service standards and improve quality.
Experience of working to targets and be results driven and customer
focused.
Skills & Competencies
High level of IT skills
Diligent and adherence to high ethical standards
Excellent oral communication and interpersonal skills to liaise effectively with all levels of staff in a professional manner
Attention to detail in all aspects of data management and compliance
Able to organise, prioritise and prioritise to achieve strict deadlines
Able to work and contribute as a member of a large, multi-faceted department
Timetable
Closing Date: 11.59pm, Sunday 15 June
Shortlisting: w/c Monday 16 June
Interviews Arranged: Friday 20 June
Interview Commence: w/c 23 June
Offer Stage: w/c 30 June
How to Apply
Please contact our Talent Acquisition Manager, Sarah Barnes (sarah.barnes@southessex.ac.uk) for further information.
Application process: CV and supporting statement (maximum 2 pages) explaining your motivations for applying for the role, how your skills, knowledge and experience match the job outline and what you can additionally bring to the role.
Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Statement
Our college is committed to ensuring that your experience is free from discrimination, bullying, harassment or victimisation and is an environment where you will be treated with respect and dignity.
We celebrate everyone, irrespective of their race, colour, disability, age, religion, belief, gender or sexual orientation.
Ours is a culture of equality and diversity. Equality means that everyone will get a fair chance and diversity means that your differences will be respected and embraced. It is important to us that you receive the support you need to enable you to fully participate in your work and are able to become involved in all aspects of the college.
You will work in a vibrant, inclusive environment where everyone’s contribution and individuality is valued.
Finally, we believe that embracing different cultures brings real benefits for everyone, as well as opportunities to learn from one another, share ideas, improve lives and develop rewarding careers.
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