Role: Operational Change and People Readiness Lead

Business: Office of Public Guardian (OPG)

Location: National (based at your closest MoJ Hub) but with frequent travel to OPG offices in Birmingham and Nottingham

Grade: G6

Salary: £71,381 (minimum)

Contract Type: Permanent

Minimum Hours: 24

Organisational Overview

The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) helps people in England and Wales plan for their future by administering Lasting Powers of Attorney. We also have a role in supervising and investigating those who administer the affairs of those who may not have the mental capacity to make certain decisions for themselves, such as about their health and finance. We are an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), set up in 2007 following the introduction of the Mental Capacity Act of 2005.

OPG is responsible for registering lasting powers of attorney (LPA) and enduring powers of attorney (EPA) and supervising deputies who are appointed by the Court of Protection.

OPG is a fantastic place to work offering a range of development opportunities. The OPG is a disability confident employer and is committed to developing a supportive and inclusive environment that reflects the diverse community we serve.

OPG is currently delivering an ambitious transformation programme. This will change the way we provide services and help us meet the growing needs of our users, partners and our stakeholders. It will make sure our users experience a better level of support and will help us to respond to the changing needs of society. Transformation will ensure we can better support adults at risk and create high-quality services that are accessible and affordable.

Team Overview

This role is provisionally placed within the Operations Directorate to ensure the successful candidate is embedded in the business area most impacted by the change that will come from our transformation. However, as the role develops, and due to the very close relationship needed with our Transformation colleagues, the role may move to the Transformation Directorate.

Operations is the largest directorate in OPG containing around 1500 people who undertake all the customer facing, frontline functions needed to ensure our customers can make and register lasting powers of attorney. We also supervise those who have been appointed by the Court of Protection to support those who may not have the capacity to deal with their own affairs, and we also investigate concerns raised about how those who have responsibilities within this framework have discharges their duties.

Change is a feature of the work of Operations, and we have the assistance of a dedicated group within the business who help both optimise our processes and systems and also help implement wider change.

This role will report directly to the Chief Operating Officer, who leads Operations, and also have dotted line responsibility to the Director of Transformation.

Duties and Responsibilities

What are we looking for 

 OPG is undertaking a significant programme of transformation completely re-engineering how we provide services to our customers. Along with this digital change comes significant people change and we are looking for an empathetic, strategic lead for the people aspects of this transformation. We are looking for someone with significant practical experience of delivering people change at a senior level,  but who is also comfortable with collaborating with operational, policy, transformation and technical partners in order to ensure that both our plans and the implementation of those plans deliver in the best way possible for our people and for  our wider stakeholders. 

Responsibilities of the Role 

• Working with others devise and deliver a detailed strategy and timeline to ensure that following our digital transformation we have the right numbers of people in the right roles at the right time and that this is delivered in a way that aligns with OPG values.

• Working with Comms colleagues and senior leaders devise and deliver an internal communications strategy and plan to support the work above. This will involve you both in personally leading staff forums and creating content for delivery by others.

• Work in close partnership with the Head of People Change and Transformation, trades unions and operational colleagues to ensure the people change needed from our major transformation projects aligns with the Strategic Workforce Plan, Target Operating Model and wider organisational change activity.

• Implement agreed plans to stretching timelines and delivery schedules ensuring high quality outcomes for the business and for our people. These outcomes may be personally delivered by you or via colleagues’ professionals and workstreams you need to persuade and challenge to deliver so you need to be comfortable with a variety of communication styles.

• Lead people change readiness activity for our major digital project implementation, including identifying workforce risks, dependencies and pinch points and escalating these early to senior leaders.

• Own the landing of people change with operational teams, supporting leaders and staff through periods of uncertainty and translating strategic intent into practical, workable change.

• Maintain a strong frontline connection, using direct engagement with staff to test assumptions, gather feedback and adapt approaches during delivery by creating staff buy in and understanding by being personally accessible and visible. This will involve teams calls and “Town Hall" events across both our main sites in Birmingham and Nottingham and face to face office attendance.

• Give assurance to the Executive team and Board of OPG around people plans and delivery progress, staff readiness and emerging people risks as implementation develops.

• Lead wider operational cultural change to ensure OPG has the flexible workforce it needs to be future-ready, ensuring a joined-up approach across OPG.

Agreed Expectations

The successful candidate will be expected to work from their base location (nearest MoJ hub) on a weekly basis in line with current Civil Service requirements, outside of any reasonable adjustments.

This role also includes regular travel to OPG offices in Birmingham and Nottingham.

Skills & Qualifications

Essential Skills

• Applicants need to have a minimum of three years’ experience delivering people change at a senior level. (Lead Criteria)

• Evidence of successfully delivering people change with and through others.

• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage with people at all levels of the organisation in an authentic credible and respectful manner.

• The ability to flex plans and pivot the organisation based on changing priorities, in a way that gives assurance to the Executive and is clear to our people.

• A collaborative and inclusive leader with the ability to work with others to deliver successfully.

Application Process

This recruitment will follow the Civil Service Success Profile process. Candidates will be expected to provide:

• A CV detailing their work experience and achievements over the last 5 years. The CV should be no more than 2 sides of A4 and should be anonymised to remove personal details that could identify you.

• A Statement of Suitability of no more than 1000 words in support of your application explaining your suitability based on the responsibilities of the role, and the essential skills.

• Evidence of the behaviour Communicating and Influencing (250 words) at G6/7 level using the following guidance: “Using an example, tell me about a time you  had to tailor a message to very different audiences to ensure you met the needs of differing groups."

In the event of a high number of applications, the lead criteria will be: Applicants need to have a minimum of three years’ experience delivering people change at a senior level.

Interview Process

If you are successful at sift, you will be invited to an interview which will use the Civil Service Success Profiles. At interview, candidates should expect questions on:

• Strengths relevant to the role

• The following Behaviours at G6/7 level:

  • Communicating and influencing

  • Changing and Improving

  • Seeing the Big Picture

  • Leadership

• Your experience of delivering people change.

All interviews will be held remotely via MS Teams.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

Reasonable Adjustments

At OPG we consider all applications on the basis of merit and want you to feel able to demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. If you require any reasonable adjustments for any aspect of the selection process, do not hesitate to get in contact with us.

As a Disability Confident organisation, we will offer a guaranteed interview to candidates with a disability who meet the essential criteria for this role. If you are applying for a role within OPG and would like to be considered under the Disability Confident Scheme, please indicate this in your application and let us know of any reasonable adjustments you may require during the selection process.

For further information on benefits of working for OPG, such as our Flexible Working Policy and a FAQ, please check the candidate information pack attached to this advert.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, we may offer you an alternative role at the same or lower grade should one be available.