Head of Cultural Change

Location: Birmingham (Hybrid Working, 2 days per week on-site)
Contract: Interim, 3-6 Months

Hays Recruitment is delighted to be supporting a leading public sector organisation in the search for an experienced Interim Head of Cultural Change & Engagement. This is an exciting opportunity for a strategic leader with a strong background in organisational development, employee engagement, transformation, and cultural change to play a key role in shaping and embedding a people-focused transformation agenda.
Working closely with senior leadership and People & Culture teams, you will be responsible for developing and delivering engagement strategies that drive cultural transformation, improve employee experience, and support the successful delivery of organisational change initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Lead the development and delivery of cultural change and employee engagement strategies aligned to organisational objectives.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders on engagement, culture, communications, and organisational transformation.
• Design and implement engagement initiatives that support the successful adoption of new ways of working and organisational change programmes.
• Anticipate communication challenges and ensure effective messaging that supports transformation and cultural ambitions.
• Collaborate across leadership teams to ensure alignment of engagement activities and organisational priorities.

Culture, Engagement & Transformation

• Drive organisation-wide cultural change initiatives to embed desired values, behaviours, and ways of working.
• Lead engagement campaigns and interventions that increase employee understanding, participation, and commitment to transformation objectives.
• Partner with Organisational Development, Change, and Transformation teams to ensure engagement activities reinforce change outcomes.
• Champion employee feedback mechanisms and ensure employee voice is considered throughout transformation programmes.
• Develop initiatives that enhance the overall employee experience across all touchpoints.

People & Policy Development

• Work closely with HR and policy teams to review, develop, and embed people policies, frameworks, and guidance.
• Ensure organisational values are reflected in policies, procedures, and leadership behaviours.
• Support leaders and managers in building their capability to effectively communicate and lead through change.

Operational Delivery

• Develop robust governance, planning, and evaluation frameworks to measure engagement effectiveness and cultural impact.
• Use workforce insights, feedback, and performance data to continuously improve engagement approaches.
• Support the development and enhancement of digital employee platforms and self-service resources.
• Monitor policy adoption, employee engagement levels, and transformation outcomes using data-driven insights.

Stakeholder Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior stakeholders across the organisation.
• Represent the organisation at internal and external forums where cultural change, engagement, and transformation expertise is required.
• Act as a visible leader and ambassador for organisational culture and change initiatives.

About YouTo be successful in this role, you will have:

• Significant experience leading large-scale cultural change and organisational transformation programmes.
• A strong background in employee engagement, internal communications, organisational development, or change management.
• Proven ability to influence and engage senior stakeholders and executive leadership teams.
• Experience designing and implementing employee engagement strategies that deliver measurable outcomes.
• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to use data and insights to drive decision-making.
• Experience working within complex public sector or large organisational environments would be highly advantageous.
• A collaborative leadership style with the ability to inspire and engage teams during periods of change.

To apply, please send across your updated CV, or reach out for a confidential discussion if you are interested in this opportunity.

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