Senior OD Consultant

Oxford Brookes University

Based at our Headington Campus (with hybrid working and a minimum of one day per week on campus), and reporting to the Director of Organisational Effectiveness & Development, the Senior OD Consultant will play a key role in shaping leadership, culture and organisational effectiveness across the University.

This is a senior, high-impact role within the People Directorate, with a particular focus on strengthening coaching as a core organisational capability. You will lead the strategic development of our coaching offer, ensuring quality, consistency and impact, while also contributing to leadership and management development, culture change and broader organisational development initiatives.

We are open to flexibility in working patterns, from 0.6 FTE (minimum three days per week) up to full time.

You will join a small, specialist Organisational Effectiveness & Development team consisting of the Director OE&D and a close-knit Learning & Development team. We work in close partnership with the wider People Directorate, particularly our Strategic People Partners (HRBPs), who provide localised OD support.

As a team, we focus on:

• Delivering key ambitions in the University’s People & Culture Enabling Strategy
• Strengthening leadership and management capability
• Supporting culture change and organisational effectiveness

This is an opportunity to work in a collaborative environment with real scope to shape direction, influence senior leaders and see the tangible impact of your work.

What will I be doing?

• Lead the strategic development of coaching as a core organisational capability.
• Design, deliver and facilitate impactful leadership and management development interventions aligned to our Leadership & Management Framework.
• Establish and facilitate leadership and management communities of practice, including action learning and peer learning approaches.
• Support substantial culture change and organisational effectiveness initiatives at institutional level.
• Act as a trusted OD consultant to senior leaders, diagnosing systemic issues and designing interventions to improve leadership effectiveness, organisation design, culture and performance.
• Use research, organisational data and employee insight to shape evidence-based interventions and evaluate impact.
• Work in close collaboration with Strategic People Partners and EDI colleagues to ensure joined-up, inclusive and sustainable approaches.

What skills do I need?

Essential

• Accredited coaching qualification at practitioner level or above (e.g. EMCC Practitioner/Senior Practitioner, ICF PCC/MCC or equivalent).
• Significant experience in a OD, leadership development or coaching-focused role within a complex organisation.
• Demonstrable experience of building and sustaining internal coaching capability, including quality assurance, supervision and embedding coaching as a strategic organisational resource.
• Proven ability to design and deliver high-impact leadership and management development interventions aligned to organisational strategy and capability frameworks.
• Ability to operate credibly as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, with strong consultancy, influencing and diagnostic skills.
• Experience of applying OD theory and organisational insight to design systemic, outcome-focused interventions.
• Strong understanding of organisational culture, engagement and change within complex environments.

This is an opportunity to shape coaching and leadership capability at a strategic level, while also engaging in varied, meaningful OD work with real institutional impact. If you are an experienced coaching professional with strong organisational development expertise and are looking for a flexible, high-impact role within a collaborative and ambitious team, we would love to hear from you.

If you would like an informal discussion about the role, please contact Abigail Reilly, Director Organisation Effectiveness and Development areilly@brookes.ac.uk