Director of People

As one of the UK’s leading universities, Durham offers a unique and historic setting, a global outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, and a warm and inclusive community. Our refreshed sets ambitious goals for delivering transformative education and research and our community of highly talented people are critical to its success.

As the new Director of People, reporting to the Chief People Officer, you will ensure excellent and progressive HR practices and approaches in support of our institutional strategy, and the development and implementation of our current People Strategy, as well as supporting the shaping of a new People strategy. As the nominated deputy for the Chief People Officer, you will have primary responsibility for employee relations (via the Business Partner Team), the University’s Occupational Health service, talent acquisition and associated compliance activities. You will also be the HR lead for equality, diversity and inclusion and will support the CPO and senior university colleagues in the management of trade union relations.

CIPD qualified or with an equivalent professional qualification, to apply you will have considerable experience of leadership of diverse teams of professional staff within a HR/People function (or aligned discipline), including business partnering or ER specialists. You will also be able to demonstrate a track record of leading successful change projects, advising on complex employee relations issues, and of working with employee representative structures. You will have an analytical approach, capable of interpreting data to support decision and solutions and of designing effective solutions to complex problems.

This is a critical appointment for the University and if you are passionate about delivering excellence with a commitment to collaboration and continuous improvement, we would love to hear from you.

Closing date: Tuesday 23^rd September 2025 at 5pm.

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 5^th November 2025.

At Durham University, our aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work. We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women, and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.

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