Head of Organisational Development & Design​

Job summary

Ofgem is Great Britain’s independent energy regulator. Our primary responsibility is to protect energy consumers, especially the most vulnerable, while at the same time working with government, industry and consumer groups to deliver a clean, more affordable and secure net-zero energy system at the lowest cost to consumers and drive economic growth.

Ofgem has a culture of inclusion that encourages, supports and celebrates the diverse voices and experiences of our colleagues. It fuels our innovation and helps ensure we can best represent the consumers and the communities we serve. Everyone is welcome - as an inclusive workplace, our employees are comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work.

Role Purpose

The Head of Organisational Development & Design sets the strategic direction and acts as the organisational authority for organisational design, development and people change, ensuring Ofgem’s structures, leadership capability and ways of working enable delivery of long‑term business objectives. Reporting to the Deputy Director of Organisational Effectiveness & Capability, the role provides enterprise‑level leadership across organisational design, development, learning and inclusion‑related capability. The postholder is accountable for OD&D strategy, standards, governance and investment decisions, assuring the quality and coherence of target operating models, structural changes and people change approaches. The role sponsors and assures OD‑led transformation, uses organisational health insight to shape priorities, and ensures EDI and engagement considerations are embedded strategically into design, capability and governance frameworks, with operational delivery led by specialist managers. The role owns senior escalation, statutory assurance and external accountability for OD&D‑led agendas.

Job description

Key Accountabilities

• Set and own the strategic vision, standards and governance for organisational development and design, acting as the organisation’s design authority.

• Own OD&D strategy, frameworks and assurance processes, ensuring high‑quality design, people change and capability interventions aligned to organisational priorities.

• Provide strategic sponsorship and assurance for EDI and employee engagement agendas, ensuring they are coherently embedded into OD&D frameworks, transformation activity and leadership practice.

• Sponsor and assure major organisational design and change initiatives, including target operating models, restructures and service reconfigurations.

• Use organisational health insight, diagnostics and evidence to inform strategic decisions, prioritisation and continuous improvement across OD&D investment.

• Provide senior leadership oversight of OD&D budgets, commissioning and external partnerships, ensuring value for money and prioritisation.

• Hold senior‑level accountability for statutory EDI governance, Board assurance and external scrutiny, with operational delivery delegated appropriately.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership and Design Authority

• Act as Ofgem’s organisational design authority, setting design principles, spans & layers thresholds, role architecture and governance expectations.

• Ensure organisational design decisions support long‑term strategy, leadership effectiveness, workforce sustainability and inclusion objectives.

• Provide authoritative advice to senior leaders on design trade‑offs, risk and options.

• Deputising for HR Deputy Directors and Chief People Officer as required.

OD&D Strategy and Standards

• Define OD&D strategy (own design principles, spans & layers thresholds, job family/capability frameworks and governance).

• Ensure work activity aligns with Civil Service and Ofgem values delivering against organisational strategies and priorities.

• Oversee budgets associated with OD&D standards, frameworks and governance activity to ensure resources are used effectively, commissioning external expertise where required.

• Set clear EDI governance within OD&D standards (e.g., where organisational design decisions require equality impact consideration, staff network consultation or alignment to inclusion objectives).

• Lead Ofgem’s engagement with Cabinet Office and Civil Service HR on the central Inclusion Strategy, responding to cross government asks and representing Ofgem through the Heads of EDI network.

Organisational Design and Change

• Sponsor and assure target operating models, restructures and service reconfigurations, ensuring they reinforce the organisation’s desired culture, support inclusion and respond to insights from engagement and organisational health diagnostics.

• Set design methods, templates and quality assurance standards, ensuring alignment with workforce, finance, digital and ER/IR considerations. Use engagement data, culture metrics and survey outcomes to inform design choices and lead the EDI & Engagement Manager on the overall cultural direction of travel.

• Influence senior leaders on design trade‑offs and change risks, integrate OD&D into programme governance, ensure compliance and coordinate with ER/IR on consultation for people change.

• Ensure design artefacts and decisions incorporate equality impact insights. Escalate material EDI risks to appropriate governance with clear mitigations.

EDI, Skills, Capability and Culture

• Accountable for the design and delivery of OD and EDI interventions that strengthen Ofgem’s skills and capability, colleague collaboration and drive a high-performance culture.

• Lead learning and capability team/s - working with Heads of Professions to ensure learning activity delivers strong leadership & management and strengthens Ofgem’s Professional skills and capability.

• Accountable for the continued evolvement and delivery of Ofgem’s EDI Strategy, working with Senior Leaders, internal specialists and staff network groups to drive a culture of equity, inclusion and diversity.

• Oversee budgets for EDI, culture programmes, skills and capability development and team interventions to ensure value for money and prioritisation.

Insights & Diagnostics

• Own OD analytics and diagnostics, produce insights and action plans for Executive Boards and measure intervention outcomes.

• Manage expenditure on diagnostics tools, surveys, organisational health platforms and specialist insight providers.

• Integrate EDI & engagement related insights, trends and risks (internal and sector wide) into organisational health dashboards and Board reporting, including progress against statutory reporting (e.g., gender/ethnicity pay gaps) and strategy targets.

Person specification

Key Skills and Capabilities

• Significant experience leading organisational design and development in a complex public sector environment, including acting as a design authority for major change.

• Deep expertise in OD&D methods and organisational design.

• Strong grasp of people change governance and compliance.

• Proven ability to convert organisational health data into actionable insight and measurable outcomes.

• Excellent senior stakeholder management, influencing and coaching skills. Credible adviser to Senior Leadership.

• High‑quality written and verbal communication, able to simplify complexity and frame clear options and trade‑offs.

• Programme/portfolio leadership, with disciplined prioritisation and benefits realisation focus.

• Resilient, pragmatic and collaborative. Comfortable leading through ambiguity and challenge.

• Credibility and experience in EDI & engagement leadership, including statutory reporting, staff network engagement, sector level collaboration and cross government liaison.

• Ability to manage sensitive issues with sound judgement, discretion and timely escalation.

Essential Criteria:

• Proven experience setting strategic direction and leading organisational development and design functions in complex organisations. (Lead Criteria 1)

• Strong expertise in organisational design principles, including target operating models, structural changes and governance. (Lead Criteria 2)

• Demonstrable experience delivering evidence-based OD interventions that improve organisational health and performance.

• Experience of EDI & engagement governance, statutory reporting and senior level engagement with staff networks and sponsors.

• Ability to use organisational health data and workforce insights to inform strategy and continuous improvement.

• Professional qualification in organisational development, organisational design, or HR e.g. CIPD Level 7 or equivalent (or equivalent experience)

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Leadership

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £63,443, OFGEM contributes £18,379 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; up to 30 days annual leave. Excellent training and development opportunities. The opportunity to join the Civil Service pension arrangements which include a valuable range of benefits. Flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Restaurant and subsidise gym (London only). Interest free season ticket loan.

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 Behaviours and Experience.

Candidates are required to provide an anonymised CV and tailored supporting statement of no more than 1250 words. Please ensure your supporting statement is tailored and well evidenced against the essential criteria for the role. Candidates who do not provide a tailored application will not be invited to interview. Should we receive a high number of applications for the role a pre-sift on the lead criteria will be conducted.

The interview will include a short presentation. The title will be confirmed and made available to candidates invited to interview.

Due to high volumes of applications, we are only able to provide feedback at interview.

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

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.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 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 : P&EEvolve@ofgem.gov.uk
• Email : P&EEvolve@ofgem.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : P&EEvolve@ofgem.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should email The Head of Talent Acquisition at: Recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. More detailed information can be found on the Civil Service Commission website.

Attachments

Candidate Pack - Head of Organisational Development & Design - Opens in new window (pdf, 776kB)Head of Organisational Development & Design - Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 158kB)Terms and Conditions Apr25 Opens in new window (pdf, 335kB)