Colleague Wellbeing Manager

Weekly Working Hours:  37

Fixed Term Contract: End Date: 31 July 2026

Job Description: 

About the Role

As part of the People Services Organisation Development and Effectiveness (OD&E) Team, you will play a critical role in supporting and driving colleague wellbeing initiatives across the OU.  

The role reports to the Head of Colleague Experience in the OD&E area of expertise within People Services. Working in a wider team of OD&E Partners; People Business Partners and key stakeholders.

The Colleague Wellbeing Manager will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies to enhance the mental health and wellbeing (MH & WB) of colleagues across the Open University. This role involves working closely with various departments to ensure that wellbeing initiatives align with the University's goals and values. The Colleague Wellbeing Manager will lead efforts to create a supportive work environment, promote mental and physical health, and improve overall colleague satisfaction and productivity.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement colleague mental health and wellbeing strategies and programmes aligned to the University's MH & Wellbeing Strategic Plan
• Collaborate with department heads to ensure wellbeing initiatives align with University goals within People Services functions and across the wider University
• Conduct surveys and stress risk analysis, analysing data to assess colleague wellbeing levels and supporting the implementation of actions against key findings
• Organise events and activities to promote a healthy work environment
• Provide training and support to managers on best practices for colleague wellbeing
• Monitor and report on the effectiveness (outcomes and impacts) of Mental Health and Wellbeing initiatives
• Act as a point of contact for colleagues to address wellbeing-related concerns
• Facilitate the University’s MH & Wellbeing Leads community, enabling the sharing of best practice across all departments/units
• Maintain active membership of relevant committees and forums, reporting insights and data appropriate
• Partner with student facing MH & Wellbeing teams to ensure a whole University approach
• Work with Health and Safety to ensure compliance with necessary legislation.

Skills and Experience

• Understands workplace mental health and wellbeing issues and risks and is able to manage them effectively in a multi-site and large organisation
• Effective project management skills able to plan monitor and evaluate end to end project design, delivery and evaluation
• Excellent planning and organisation skills, able to work with multiple and priorities and respond to emerging needs
• Outcome focused with a strong customer service mindset
• Ability to identify and translate organisational requirements into tangible OD&E outcomes/initiatives
• Driven/resilient with the ability to thrive under challenging situations where priorities can shift
• Effective communicator, engaging and delivering to a diverse audience, from formal presentations through to 1:1 meetings
• Able to work flexibly across different projects and requirements
• Excellent collaborative and team working skills that results in effective delivery
• Has proven problem resolution, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Can easily adapt to and utilise new technologies
• Proficiency in data analysis to understand organisation need and identify areas for improvement
• Demonstrates and role models OU values

Essential Requirements

To apply for this role please submit the following:

• CV, including how you meet the skills and experience required
• Complete the additional application questions within our online application form.

Please Note: We may close this job advert earlier than the published closing date where a satisfactory number of applications are received. We would therefore encourage early applications.

Flexible Working: We are open to discussions about flexible working. Whether it’s a part time, compressed hours or another working arrangement. Please reach out to us to discuss what works best for you. 

Interview Dates: We anticipate that interviews for this role will be taking place during the week commencing 15 September 2025.

It is anticipated that a hybrid working pattern can be adopted for this role, where the successful candidate can work from home and the office. However, as this role is contractually aligned to our Milton Keynes office it is expected that some attendance in the office will be required when necessary and in response to business needs. We’d expect this to be approximately once a week.

The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all in our OU community can reach their potential. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength. We strive to recruit, retain and develop the careers of a diverse pool of students and staff, and particularly encourage applications from all underrepresented groups. We also aspire to make The Open University a supportive workplace for all through our policies, services and staff networks.