Directors
Dean Royles, Director
Dean Royles is the director for NHS Employers. Previous roles include director of workforce and education at NHS North West; director of HR and communications at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust and deputy director of workforce for the NHS at the Department of Health, where he was responsible for developing a national HR strategy for the NHS. He also had responsibility for work linked to the European Working Time Directive.
Dean was the first HR director at East Midlands Ambulance Service following its creation in 1999. He has also worked at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and in a community trust having started his HR career in industrial relations in a local authority.
Dean has an MSc in Human Resources. He is also a Visiting Fellow at Newcastle Business School, chair of the board of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a chartered fellow for the same organisation. Dean is married with four children and lives in Sheffield.
Read and watch Dean's communications with HR directors.
Contact Dean at dean.royles@nhsemployers.org
Gill Bellord, Director for Employment Relations and Reward
Gill Bellord heads up key work programme areas including employment services, medical workforce, equality and diversity and primary care contracting.
She is also responsible for national pay and pensions negotiations on behalf of NHS organisations, securing employer involvement in pay review evidence, negotiating changes to contractual arrangements for Agenda for Change and employed doctors and maintaining current contracts. Gill also leads on employment relations and is our link to the work of the national Social Partnership Forum.
Contact Gill at gill.bellord@nhsemployers.org
Sue Covill, Deputy Director of Employment Services
As deputy director of employment services at NHS Employers, Sue supports the work of the employment services function, incorporating workforce planning; recruitment and retention; health, work and wellbeing; modernising health professions; and employment standards. Sue is also a key representative with members and stakeholders, driving forward NHS Employers’ employment services programme of work across the UK. Sue brings great experience to the organisation from her previous role as director of human resources at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where she led the organisation through a period of significant change and achievement.
Contact Sue at sue.covill@nhsemployers.org
Programme leads
Geoff Winnard, Head of Agenda for Change / Non-Medical Pay
Geoff Winnard is Head of Agenda for Change/non-Medical pay at NHS Employers. He is responsible for working with and supporting employer representatives in national negotiations on conditions of service through the NHS Staff Council and its various technical sub groups including those on the Knowledge and Skills Framework and the Job Evaluation. He also leads on employer evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body. His team provide advice and guidance to employers on the nationally agreed pay and conditions of service for non-medial staff and related issues.
Contact Geoff at geoffrey.winnard@nhsemployers.org
Bill McMillan, Head of Medical Pay and Workforce
Bill McMillan leads NHS Employers’ work on pay negotiations and employment relations in the employed medical and dental workforce, managing and co-ordinating the delivery of all associated work programmes related to strategic medical workforce issues. Bill represents NHS Employers at national meetings on medical and dental pay and workforce and associated issues and develops close working relationships with key stakeholders, including the Department of Health and NHS organisations. His team organises the joint negotiating committees (JNC) for consultant doctors, for SAS doctors and for doctors in training, as well as the JNC for salaried dentists and our Medical Workforce Forum, to ensure that there is a strong and coherent employer voice on matters of medical pay, workforce education, professional standards and staffing. He is responsible for the annual preparation of NHS Employers’ evidence to the Doctors and Dentists Pay Review Body.
Contact Bill at bill.mcmillan@nhsemployers.org
Andrea Hester, Head of Pensions and Reward
Andrea leads NHS Employers' work on the NHS Pension Scheme reform programme and the total reward strategy for the NHS. She has held a variety of senior roles including director of HR at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust and director of OD and HR at NHS North of Tyne. Andrea was appointed to the NHS Employers Assembly in 2003 and from this role became a member of the management side Staff Council and Pay Negotiating Committee. She joined NHS Employers full time in 2006 as the head of programmes, with responsibility for the ISTC work programmes and workforce productivity. In October 2006 Andrea became the head of employment services with responsibility for health and well-being, employment practice, revalidation and education. Following a period of just over 18 months at NHS North of Tyne, Andrea returned to NHS Employers as the Head of Pensions and Reward.
Contact Andrea at andrea.hester@nhsemployers.org
Andrew Clapperton, Head of Primary Care Workforce & Contracting
Andrew Clapperton heads the Primary Care Workforce and Contracting team which is responsible for the negotiations of the General Medical Services contract and the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. Andrew joined NHS Employers in March 2008. Prior to taking up this role, Andrew spent 12 years working in various policy and finance roles at the Department of Health. Andrew’s experience before then covers both the private and public sector, including eight years in the NHS.
Contact Andrew at andrew.clapperton@nhsemployers.org
Caroline Waterfield, Deputy Head of Employment Services
Caroline has responsibility for the key workstreams of regulation and safer recruitment practices; and the changes to the commissioning element of education and training. Working closely with NHS Careers to support employers' future workforce needs, the team also represents employers' views on changes to professional education and training, supports employers to implement policy changes and facilitates the sharing of learning and best practice through a range of different outlets. The team works closely with both HR leaders and practitioners and a number of government departments including the Department of Health, Home Office and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, as well as professional regulators and professional bodies.
Contact Caroline at caroline.waterfield@nhsemployers.org
Ruth Warden, Deputy Head of Employment Services
Ruth has responsibility at NHS Employers for three key workstreams: modernising scientific careers, flexible workforce (agency working) and health, work and well-being. Ruth is an experienced team facilitator and developer with over 20 years experience in both the private and public sector. She started her career in the private sector designing training solutions for ASDA. Ruth moved into the NHS in 1992 and had a variety of roles ranging from training and development, workforce modernisation, workforce planning and workforce information management. Following a short time at Yorkshire and Humber SHA working in the Public Health department supporting the development of the Public Health Workforce, Ruth moved to NHS Employers organisation in July 2010 to take up her current role.
Contact Ruth at ruth.warden@nhsemployers.org
Elizabeth Eddy, Head of Workforce e-solutions
Liz leads the national work and projects for NHS Jobs Service, the Registration Partnership Project (a workforce synergy project with DH, Connecting for Health and Electronic Staff Record) and the professional agenda for nursing and midwifery.
Contact Liz on 0113 3063032 or elizabeth.eddy@nhsemployers.org
Carol Baxter CBE, Head of Equality, Diversity and Human Rights
Carol ensures that equality and diversity are integrated into the wider work of NHS Employers and leads on our programmes to help NHS organisations embed equality, diversity and human rights in their work. This includes providing guidance and updates on legislation, representing the combined views of NHS trusts, and sharing knowledge and good practice. Carol also develops and maintains links with national equality commissions, the higher education sector and trade unions. She was awarded a CBE in 2009 and has been inducted into the Nursing Times Hall of Fame.
Contact Carol on 0113 3063020.