Head of People and Capability


Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Salary:	£69,501 to £79,743 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	Bristol
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	14 Sept 2026
Closing date:	27 Sept 2026

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Summary

Are you passionate about helping organisations achieve their objectives through their people?

Do you have experience in contributing to the development and delivery of people strategies?

Can you influence and advise senior leaders on workforce, organisational or people-related issues?

If so, we would love to hear from you!

Our work is focused on improving vehicle safety and environmental protection by providing robust testing and certification to national and internationally recognised standards. We are a part of the Department of Transport as the designated UK Vehicle Type Approval Authority. With more than 40 years’ experience, we have become one of the largest and well-respected approval bodies around. This position has been built on a reputation for technical expertise and quality, which is at the heart of everything we do, and what you could be a part of.

Please also refer to our Candidate Pack and VCA website for more information.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday
Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at VCA

The Head of People & Capability is VCA’s senior people leader and Head of the People Profession. The role is accountable for ensuring VCA has the workforce, leadership, culture and organisational capability needed to deliver its strategic objectives and respond to future regulatory, technological and organisational demands.

The postholder will lead VCA’s people strategy and HR function, combining strategic leadership with accountability for the effective delivery of people services across the employee lifecycle. They will provide authoritative advice and constructive challenge to the Chief Executive, Executive Team and senior leaders on workforce priorities, organisational effectiveness, people risks and complex employee matters.

The role will bring together Department for Transport policies and frameworks, shared service arrangements and VCA’s organisational requirements into a coherent people system that supports organisational performance and a positive employee experience.

Your main duties will include but will not be limited to:

Ensure VCA has a people strategy, workforce plans and organisational capability that support delivery of current priorities and future organisational needs.
Ensure the Executive Team has robust workforce insight, evidence and advice to make informed decisions on people, capability and organisational performance.
Ensure organisational structures, workforce capability and ways of working remain aligned to VCA's strategic objectives and operating environment.
Ensure VCA has robust succession, talent and career development arrangements for critical roles and capabilities.
Ensure leaders and managers have the capability, confidence and support needed to lead people effectively, manage performance and deliver change.
Foster an inclusive, high-performing culture that supports engagement, wellbeing, continuous improvement and organisational effectiveness.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

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