As a member of our senior executive team, reporting directly to the Vice Chancellor, you will provide strategic leadership across People & Culture, shaping organisational capability, digital confidence, workforce intelligence and employee experience. You will lead the development of a future‑focused workforce strategy, champion digital enablement, and embed a values‑led, psychologically safe and high‑performing culture.

You will play a pivotal role in enabling the University to deliver its refreshed Towards 2030 strategy, supporting our place-based mission and values, including major developments such as our new Barrow campus, as well as the complexities of a dispersed multi-campus University.   This is not a traditional Higher Education context.

We are seeking a senior leader with:

• Significant executive‑level experience of organisational and cultural transformation, with the judgement to balance values, compassion, pace, risk and sustainability.
• The skills and insight to lead the adoption of digital enablement across the organisation.
• A values‑driven, collaborative leadership style.
• The ability to inspire, mobilise and develop people through change.

If you are motivated by purpose, partnership and the opportunity to make a lasting impact on people and place, we welcome your application.

The University of Cumbria has engaged University Leadership Associates (ULA) to support the appointment of the Chief People Officer.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact: Elle Hurst, Senior Consultant at elle.hurst@ulassociates.co.uk 

Further information and details about how to apply can be found at University of Cumbria - Chief People Officer - ULA. 

Closing Date: 28 May 2026

Sub Section: Professional Services

Salary: Competitive Salary