4055 - Head of People and Culture for the Disused Tips Authority

Job summary

This is a unique opportunity to shape the culture, capability and future workforce of a new national organisation, helping establish the Disused Tips Authority as both an employer of choice and a recognised centre of excellence in people, leadership and professional capability.

Important: The Disused Tips Authority for Wales will be established as an independent Welsh Public Body and separate legal entity on 1 April 2027. Until then, these roles will be hosted by the Welsh Government, providing a unique opportunity to help create and shape a new national organisation from the outset.

Successful candidates will initially be employed by the Welsh Government before transferring to the Disused Tips Authority when it becomes operational on 1 April 2027, with continuity of employment maintained throughout.

The Disused Tips Authority is a separate organisation from the Welsh Government. Please disregard any Welsh Government guidance, policies or recruitment information linked within this advert and refer to the accompanying Candidate Information Pack for information relevant to this vacancy.

To learn more about the Authority's purpose, ambitions, culture, values, benefits and recruitment journey, please review the Candidate Information Pack and recruitment video.

Help build a new public body for Wales: Disused Tips Authority for Wales

General Candidate Information Pack - 2026 Recruitment Campaign

Help build the organisation behind one of Wales' newest public bodies.

The Disused Tips Authority for Wales is being established as the national public body responsible for overseeing the safety, management and regulation of disused tips across Wales. Operating in a high-profile, safety-critical environment, our success will depend not only on technical expertise, but on the people, culture and leadership that enable us to deliver our purpose.

As Head of People & Culture, you will play a critical leadership role in building the organisation from the inside out. You will shape our culture, develop our people and create the workforce capability needed to deliver our statutory responsibilities, ensuring colleagues are supported, empowered and united by a shared purpose.

Job description

Beyond the organisation itself, you will play a pivotal role in developing the Authority's ambition to become a recognised centre of excellence for workforce capability and professional practice. Working with partners across Wales, you will help shape the future profession by strengthening technical capability, developing leadership, influencing professional standards and creating the talent pipelines needed to support the long-term management of disused tips.

The role is both inward and outward facing:

• Internally, you will create a positive, inclusive and high-performing culture where people feel valued, supported and connected to the Authority's purpose, values and ambitions.
• Externally, you will work with government, local authorities, professional bodies, education providers and other partners to strengthen workforce capability across Wales and build the skills needed for the future.

Person specification

Key Tasks

Building a people-first organisation

• You'll develop and lead the Authority's People & Culture Strategy, ensuring our workforce, leadership and organisational development activities support delivery of our statutory responsibilities while creating an organisation where people can thrive.

Shaping our culture

• You'll create and embed a values-led culture where colleagues feel trusted, included and empowered to do their best work. You'll champion wellbeing, inclusion and psychological safety while fostering accountability, continuous learning and high performance.

Developing people and capability

• You'll lead workforce planning, recruitment, learning and development, leadership development and talent management, ensuring the Authority has the capability and capacity to meet future challenges and deliver its long-term ambitions.

Supporting strategic delivery

• You'll ensure our people strategy, organisational design and workforce planning are fully aligned to the Authority's Corporate Plan and organisational priorities, translating strategic ambition into practical delivery and organisational performance.

Developing a national profession

• You'll lead the Authority's work to strengthen workforce capability across Wales, working with Welsh Government, local authorities, professional bodies, higher education and industry partners to develop professional standards, learning pathways and leadership capability.
• You'll help establish the Authority as a recognised centre of excellence by developing the talent pipelines, skills and professional capability needed to support the long-term management and regulation of disused tips across Wales.

Leading a high-performing function

• You'll build and lead a modern, values-led People & Culture function, delivering high-quality HR, organisational development and employee experience while creating an environment where your team can thrive and deliver excellent outcomes.

Successful candidates will have a degree in Human Resources, Organisational Development, Business Management or a related discipline, or be able to demonstrate significant relevant experience in senior HR, people, organisational development or workforce leadership roles.

Technical Capabilities

Important: The technical capabilities listed below will be assessed throughout the selection process. Please refer to these capabilities when preparing your application and provide evidence of how you meet them through your qualifications, skills and experience.

Strategic People Leadership

• Developing and delivering organisation-wide people, culture and workforce strategies aligned to organisational priorities.
• Translating organisational vision into practical people plans that enable delivery of statutory responsibilities.

Organisational Development & Culture

• Leading organisational development, culture change and values-led transformation.
• Creating inclusive, high-performing workplaces where people feel engaged, supported and able to thrive.

Workforce Capability & Talent Development

• Developing workforce capability, leadership and succession strategies to meet current and future organisational needs.
• Designing learning, leadership development and talent management approaches that build long-term organisational resilience.

Workforce Partnerships & Professional Capability

• Building trusted relationships with Welsh Government, public bodies, professional institutions, education providers and other partners to strengthen workforce capability across Wales.
• Developing professional standards, skills pathways and talent pipelines that support the Authority's ambition to become a recognised centre of excellence.

Strategic Workforce Planning & Organisational Delivery

• Leading workforce planning, organisational design and people initiatives that support delivery of corporate strategy and organisational objectives.
• Aligning people, culture and organisational development activity to measurable business outcomes.

Leadership & Professional Judgement

• Providing strategic advice and challenge to senior leaders on workforce, organisational development, culture and change.
• Exercising sound judgement when balancing organisational priorities, people needs, risk and public accountability within a complex and evolving environment.

Qualifications

Hold a degree in Human Resources, Organisational Development, Business Management or a related discipline, or can you demonstrate significant relevant experience in senior HR, people, organisational development or workforce leadership roles

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Important: Please find our Technical Capabilities noted under Key Tasks
• Please describe the qualifications, professional memberships, chartership and relevant experience you hold that demonstrate how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for this role.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

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 Experience and Technical skills.

Welsh Government, like all other Government Departments use Success Profiles when we recruit. For each role we consider what you will need to demonstrate to be successful. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. It raises performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

The selection process and stages are:

Number of Stages:2 stage processStage 1Application FormStage 2Interview

Assessment Weightings

Where more than one appointable candidate is identified, the following criteria will be applied in the order listed below:

1. Demonstration of our values, including trust-building and alignment with the organisation's purpose and culture.
2. Technical capability in strategic people leadership, organisational development, culture change, workforce planning, talent development, partnership working and professional judgement.
3. Relevant experience leading people, culture or organisational development functions, developing workforce capability and talent, driving organisational change, and providing strategic people advice within complex or evolving environments.
4. Desirable criteria, listed below,
5. Welsh language skills.

Additional Assessment Activities

Important: Technical Capabilities' are set out under Key Tasks.

Stage One – Application Applying for a role with us is straightforward.

You will be asked to provide:

• A CV

• A Personal Statement (maximum 1,250 words)

Your CV should provide an overview of your career history, including your current and previous roles, key responsibilities, achievements, qualifications and any relevant professional memberships. It should give us a clear understanding of your experience and career progression but does not need to repeat the evidence provided in your personal statement.

Your personal statement should be structured around the technical capabilities outlined in the online job advert. Please explain how your knowledge, skills and experience demonstrate your ability to meet these requirements. You do not need to address every bullet point individually. Instead, provide relevant examples that demonstrate your capability across the key technical areas.

We encourage you to draw on a range of experiences and clearly describe your personal contribution, the actions you took, the outcomes you achieved and the impact you had.

Assessment at Stage 1 will be based on the evidence provided in your CV and personal statement against the technical capabilities, relevant experience and any role-specific requirements outlined in the advert.

Stage Two – Interview

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a proportionate G7 interview assessing:

• values, including Trust-Building and wider alignment to TIPS;
• technical capability in strategic people leadership, organisational development, culture change, workforce planning, talent development, partnership working and professional judgement.
• relevant experience leading people, culture or organisational development functions, developing workforce capability and talent, driving organisational change, and providing strategic people advice within complex or evolving environments.

To learn more about the Authority's purpose, ambitions, culture, values, benefits and recruitment journey, please review the Candidate Information Pack and recruitment video.

Help build a new public body for Wales: Disused Tips Authority for Wales

General Candidate Information Pack - 2026 Recruitment Campaign

A presentation on Technical Competence will be required at Interview. More information will be provided in the invitations to that stage.

In the event of a large number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted against the lead assessment criterion: technical capabilities. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Our Values

We assess candidates against our TIPS values: Trust-Building, Integrity-Led, Purpose-Driven and Skilled & Collaborative. Full details of our values and culture can be found in the Candidate Information Pack.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for these opportunities. Candidates offered reserve status will remain on the reserve list until the Disused Tips Authority is established in April 2027. Those placed on the reserve list will only be considered for opportunities within the Disused Tips Authority and will not be considered for Welsh Government vacancies.

Desirable

The following qualities are desirable and will only be considered where two or more candidates achieve the same score at the application or interview stage.

1. It would be desirable for candidates to be a Chartered Member or Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and to have demonstrable experience leading strategic HR, organisational development or people functions within the public sector or other complex, regulated organisations.
2. Welsh Language Ability. The Disused Tips Authority is committed to operating as a bilingual organisation and providing services in both Welsh and English. We want our workforce to reflect the communities we serve and play an active role in promoting and normalising the use of Welsh in the workplace.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 :

• Name : Disused Tips Authority
• Email : DisusedTipsAuthorityJobs@gov.wales

Recruitment team

• Email : SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales

Further information

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition. Please see the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles on the Commission's website.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and wish to make a complaint please email complaints@gov.wales. Please ensure that you refer to the vacancy reference number.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Welsh Government, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: info@csc.gov.uk