Head of Organisation Design and Development

Job summary

Make a real impact on how people experience work at the Gambling Commission.

The role:

We’re looking for a dynamic leader to head up our Organisation Design and Development Team; a team dedicated to creating an exceptional employment experience for our people. This is your opportunity to shape the future of our organisation, enabling leadership excellence, optimising structures and processes, and fostering a culture of inclusion, continuous improvement, and high performance.

You will be a key member of the Senior Leadership Team and will work with the Director of People Services, and broader Executive Team, advising and influencing at the highest level to make the Gambling Commission a truly great place to work.

You will lead and inspire a talented team to deliver innovative and joined-up organisational development solutions. You will champion our People & Culture Strategy, driving cultural change and organisational effectiveness, develop management capability to prepare the Gambling Commission for the next stage of our evolution.

Job description

Your responsibilities:

Strategy:

• Work with the Director of People Services to develop, deliver and embed our People & Culture Strategy through the design and development of change initiatives to enable the delivery of the Commission’s strategic aims.
• Oversee the design of comprehensive organisation development frameworks in service of the People and Culture strategy and the corporate strategy e.g. foster leadership and management capability, learning and development, organisation design, cultural change, performance improvement, and employee experience.
• Lead the development and delivery of the organisation-wide learning and development agenda, fostering development through digital and creative learning solutions, and maintaining strong engagement with our leaders to drive workforce capability and performance.
• Lead the long-term development of capabilities ensuring that the learning and development offer is aligned to the corporate strategy
• Lead the delivery of the Diversity and Inclusion strategy, ensuring it is integrated into all organisation design and development initiatives to foster an inclusive culture.

Operational:

• Oversee and lead diagnostic assessments and reviews to design and optimise operating models, structures, systems and processes that meet evolving operational demands, ensuring alignment with workforce planning, talent management, and performance frameworks.
• Facilitate cultural and behavioural change, working closely with senior leaders to implement strategies that support a high-performance and inclusive culture.
• Lead the development, refinement and review of relevant OD&D frameworks to support the people and culture ambitions of the organisation e.g. competency framework, learning and development framework, change management framework, organisation design framework, performance management framework.
• Ensure the continuous improvement of organisation design and development interventions through regular monitoring, feedback, and agile adaptation to organisational needs.
• Partner leaders across the organisation to ensure change processes are holistic and addressing all elements of change and transformation.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with the Executive Team, acting as an internal consultant and coach to ensure the successful delivery of OD&D initiatives.

Leadership & Management

• Lead a high performing Organisation Design & Development team, creating a culture of continuous improvement, creating a culture of openness, accountability and collaboration by role modelling our values.
• Lead, coach and mentor the Organisation Design & Development team, building internal capability across organisation design, development and change management.
• You will develop and maintain effective relationships with our preferred suppliers to ensure effective third-party supplier performance.

The above does not constitute an exhaustive list of duties. The post holder may be required to perform any reasonable tasks commensurate with the level of responsibility at the request of their Manager.

Person specification

What we’re looking for:

Essential criteria:

• Extensive experience in a HR leadership role with a wide breath of knowledge in organisation design & development, change management, and learning & development, preferably within the public sector.
• Strong experience in developing and coaching a team of OD&D and learning professionals, motivating them to achieve their objectives, deliver excellent professional advice and services, working effectively as a team.
• Ability to think strategically, with strong planning and analysis skills and the ability to develop creative solutions to support the management of change.
• Significant experience of leading and managing change to achieve desired outcomes.

Desirable criteria:

• Excellent relationship management, influencing, facilitation and presentation skills at all levels, including with the Executive Team.
• Highly organised, self-managed, and able to manage a broad portfolio of activities.
• Proven track record of developing and implementing HR strategies that achieve desired results.
• Professional HR certification (e.g., CIPD).
• Professional coaching qualification with extensive experience in coaching others.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £78,000, Gambling Commission contributes £22,596 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Our offer to you:

• Civil Service Pension, with 28.97% employer contribution. Click for more information
• 26 days’ holiday, rising to 29 days after two years’ service (pro rata)
• Holiday purchase scheme (option to buy up to five extra days annual leave)
• Flexible working & family friendly policies
• Ergonomic, fully accessible office, very close to Birmingham New Street Station
• Open, collaborative and people focused culture

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

Your application:

We value diversity in our workplace and are committed to a culture where each individual is engaged and feels that their contribution is valued and respected. We welcome all applications from candidates who meet the minimum requirements for the role.

To apply for this position, please see the Gambling Commission careers website.

The Gambling Commission have an anonymised recruitment process, so you should not attach a CV to your application. Instead, application questions will ask you to evidence how your personal skills, qualities and experience match the essential criteria for the role.

The closing date for this role is midnight on 18th January 2026.

Shortlisting and interviews will be conducted on an ongoing basis as applications are received and we reserve the right to change the closing date depending on the number of responses received. Please therefore submit your application as soon as possible to ensure it is considered in the selection process.

The selection process will comprise of a preliminary (remote) conversation about Organisation Design. All progressed candidates will be given a minimum 5 working days’ notice ahead of an in-person interview. Interviewees will be asked to prepare a short presentation based on a pre-supplied written task. This will then be followed by an interview consisting of competency and technical questions. To prepare for your interview please familiarise yourself with the STAR technique for answering interview questions. In total the final assessment is expected to take 1-hour 15 minutes.

Please ensure you have the right to work in the UK before applying as we are unable to provide visa sponsorship.

Incomplete applications will be discounted from shortlisting. Please ensure your application is fully completed and submitted before logging out of your account.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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

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 : recruitment@gamblingcommission.gov.uk
• Email : recruitment@gamblingcommission.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@gamblingcommission.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact Governance, Gambling Commission, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham B2 4BP in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from us, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

Head of OD&D Job Advert Opens in new window (pdf, 136kB)