Job summary
This key Grade 6 leadership role for a seasoned HR professional, the Head of Employee Experience, sits within the Cabinet Office's People Development and Transformation (PD&T) team. Joining the PD&T Senior Leadership Team, the post-holder will serve as a trusted advisor to the Deputy Director for PD&T and the Chief People Officer. The role operates within a fast-paced environment subject to extensive internal and external scrutiny, requiring strong political astuteness, active risk management, and a minimum of 60% workplace attendance.
Job details
The role involves both strategic development and operational leadership across vital services, specifically Culture and Wellbeing, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), and Learning and Development (L&D). A core responsibility is leading the Employee Experience Pillar within the new Cabinet Office People Strategy, ensuring strategic alignment with the Civil Service EDI Strategy and the updated CS People Plan. As a thought leader, the post-holder will champion a diverse workplace, scoping and delivering targeted behavioural change interventions to foster a high-performing culture of belonging. A key focus will be transitioning services to a Centre of Excellence model to protect capacity for high-value initiatives, while ensuring statutory obligations like Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap disclosures are met. For L&D, the role directs the Central Learning and Apprenticeship Offers, translates advancements like AI into a long-term skills roadmap, and oversees the transition to the new Government Skills Campus.
The Head of Employee Experience will also manage departmental change, build effective business engagement, and lead a geographically dispersed team of 8–10 people across the UK.
Candidates must be experienced HR professionals holding SC clearance, who are currently Chartered CIPD or willing to commit to achieving it.
Essential skills include a strong operational grasp of EDI, deep expertise in at least one relevant area (such as L&D, EDI, Employee Experience, Culture Change, or Organisational Design), and a solid track record of delivering culture change in a complex organisation. The position demands excellent leadership, stakeholder management, strategic thinking, and proficiency in using workforce data for decision-making.
Key Responsibilities
Strategy & Business Engagement
- Lead the development and delivery of the Employee Experience Pillar within the new Cabinet Office People Strategy, guaranteeing seamless alignment with the Civil Service EDI Strategy and the updated CS People Plan.
- Serve as an organisational thought leader to champion a diverse and inclusive workplace by scoping and delivering targeted behavioural change interventions that foster a high-performing culture of belonging.
- Manage departmental change and continue to build effective business engagement through a range of channels, including HR Business Partners, networks, and forums.
EDI, Wellbeing, and Culture
- Transition reactive services toward a Centre of Excellence model to protect the team's capacity for high-value, systemic initiatives and department-wide programmes.
- Manage relationships with senior sponsors, including overseeing their appointments, visibility, communications, and involvement in broader change initiatives.
- Ensure that statutory obligations like Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap disclosures are met and utilised to drive evidence-based progress.
Learning and Development (L&D)
- Direct the strategic delivery of the Cabinet Office Central Learning and Apprenticeship Offers, providing high-level governance to ensure core skill requirements are met.
- Offer compassionate transition support and high-quality development offers for staff affected by restructuring.
- Partner with the People Transformation Team to translate emerging trends, such as AI advancements and Skills England, into a coherent, long-term skills roadmap.
- Oversee the department’s transition to the new Government Skills Campus and ERP system roll-out, acting as the senior escalation point to remove systemic obstacles.
Leadership & Team Management
- Formally lead, maintain, and motivate a geographically dispersed team of 8–10 people across the UK.
- Oversee strategic resource management, prioritising and triaging work packages to align team capacity with mission-critical goals.
- Proactively manage risks, resolve unblocks, and deputise for the Deputy Director as required.
Person specification
Essential Experience and Knowledge
- A strong operational grasp of EDI is essential for this role, with evidence of managing associated challenges, risk and external scrutiny associated with the EDI agenda.
- Excellent leadership and management skills - with the ability to build, maintain and motivate high-performing teams, which are multi-functional and geographically dispersed.
- Deep understanding of HR and employee experience, including a solid track record of leading and improving services in at least one of the areas: L&D, EDI, Employee Experience, Culture Change or Organisational Design.
- The ability to think strategically and translate strategy into actionable plans - including understanding the current context, identification of priorities and development of robust projects / programmes.
- Experience delivering high quality culture change initiatives for an organisation similar in scope, scale and complexity to the Cabinet Office.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills, and the ability to effectively communicate complex issues to non-expert audiences, with attention to detail.
- Excellent stakeholder management, with the ability to form strong relationships at all levels and able to work across organisational boundaries to collaborate and resolve issues.
- Proficiency using data and analysis to inform strategy and decision making - particularly in relation to employee engagement and use of workforce data.
- Ideally with experience of commercial and financial management, specifically in the context of large-scale L&D/wellbeing procurement or apprenticeship levy management.
Work setting
Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating and Influencing
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £69,308, Cabinet Office contributes £20,078 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Additional benefits include:
- Learning and development tailored to your role.
- An environment with flexible working options.
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
- A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
- A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.
Artificial intelligence
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 see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Application process
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, personal statement and Behaviour statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
You will be required to provide a CV setting out your career history/qualifications, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant to the essential criteria in the person specification section of the job advert.
You will also be required to provide a 750 word statement of suitability. This should outline how you consider your skills, experience and achievements and provide evidence of your suitability for the role and the criteria outlined above, with particular reference to the essential criteria.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the lead behaviour, Seeing the Big Picture. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Selection process
Candidates who are successful at the application stage will progress to interview where they will be assessed against behaviour questions.
Behaviours to be assessed at interview:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing & Improving
- Communicating & Influencing [presentation question]
You may also be asked to deliver a short presentation at interview. Further details will be provided if you are invited to interview.
Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date – week commencing 22nd June 2026
Expected interview date/s – week commencing 6th July 2026
Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.
Reasonable adjustments
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Government Recruitment Service via Cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.
Additional information
Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website. Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you. Any move to Cabinet Office 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. A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service/Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.
However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email [email protected]
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window). See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : [email protected] If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at [email protected]. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/.
Attachments
Cabinet Office Employee Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)
Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)
