The Northern Ireland (NI) Civil Service partnered with the CIPD to embed professional standards, strengthen capability and deliver ambitious organisational change.
After restructuring its people team in 2023, the NI Civil Service created a new People and Organisation Development (People and OD) function to drive strategic HR transformation. With tight budgets, high expectations and many colleagues still early in their HR careers, the NI Civil Service People and OD team partnered with the CIPD to help embed professional standards, build credibility and develop a high-performing, future-focused team.
Through CIPD capability assessments, expanded professional membership options and deeper engagement with the wider HR community, the team has strengthened its ability to act as a trusted partner to those leading the transformation. The function now has a stronger professional identity, clearer expectations for continuous development and a more consistent, evidence-based approach to people practice.
This progress has enabled the NI Civil Service People and OD team to achieve CIPD People Development Partner (PDP) status, recognising its sustained commitment to ongoing professional development.
In 2023, NI Civil Service restructured its people function to create two new entities. NI Civil Service Human Resources would focus on day-to-day HR operations for around 24,000 employees, while NI Civil Service People and OD took on responsibility for shaping the service’s strategic people agenda and future workforce capability.
People and OD will play a central role in delivering the NI Civil Service People Strategy 2025-2030, driving both change and cultural transformation. But the team must deliver this ambitious programme against a backdrop of tight public sector funding, growing political and public scrutiny and high expectations for rapid change. Alongside the strategic reforms, People and OD also faced a capacity challenge, with many colleagues early in their HR careers requiring professional development and support.
As the strategic arm of the NI Civil Service people function, People and OD needed to build credibility, capability and consistency, ensuring its teams could act as trusted partners to senior leaders and those central to the transformation.
Recognising that professionalisation was key, Jill Minne, People and OD lead, partnered with the CIPD to help embed world-class professional standards, strengthen capability and demonstrate measurable business impact.
“Professionalisation wasn’t just about skills, it was about creating a team that could confidently lead, influence and deliver real impact across the organisation.”
Working together, we created a bespoke professionalisation plan that would help People and OD develop capability, build credibility and embed recognised professional standards across the whole team.
For Jill, professionalisation had to start at the top. We supported every member of the People and OD leadership team to undertake a CIPD Experience Assessment to achieve Chartered Fellow status. Through this visible commitment, they demonstrated that professional standards, continuous development and evidence-based practice were now the norm.
“We wanted to demonstrate what good looks like, not just tell people about it. Achieving Chartered Fellow status showed our commitment to excellence and our belief in the power of professional standards.”
The next step was to help People and OD build a clear picture of the function’s strengths and areas for development. Using the CIPD Development Insight Tool, they completed a comprehensive capability assessment against global professional standards. Over 70% of the team took part, generating insights that informed both team development initiatives and individual growth conversations, all aligned with the CIPD Profession Map.
To create a shared professional identity across the function, People and OD also began to formally support eligible colleagues to gain the right level of professional membership to match their experience. Some did this by completing a CIPD qualification, while others followed our rigorous upgrading and experience assessment programmes. This helped ensure individuals had the level of professional recognition appropriate to their role’s seniority and responsibility. They also extended access to valuable CIPD resources, development tools and our global community of people professionals to all colleagues through a Group Affiliate Subscription.
Jill and her team have also encouraged People and OD colleagues to participate in the wider CIPD community, including attending our annual conference in Northern Ireland, to share insights and shape new internal initiatives.
In August 2025, Jill launched an internal communication and engagement division, designed to amplify People and OD’s voice, strengthen the NI Civil Service employee value proposition and promote it as an employer of choice.
Through each stage, we’ve supported Jill and her team with the professional frameworks, assessment tools and benchmarking expertise needed to embed a commitment to professional standards, consistency and credibility throughout the function.
Through its focus on professionalisation, People and OD has created a benchmark for excellence across all levels of the team. The senior leadership team’s achievement of Chartered Fellow status set a strong example. At the same time, through wider capability assessments and professional memberships, the team has developed a stronger professional identity. They also have clear expectations for continuous development, with almost a third of colleagues now CIPD members.
Using data from the CIPD Development Insight Tool, People and OD has targeted development in priority areas with colleagues completing CIPD-accredited programmes in strategic workforce planning, HR analytics and organisational development. This has ensured that all learning investment directly supports the delivery of the NI Civil Service People Strategy. By focusing on data analytics and storytelling, the function has also strengthened its ability to provide insightful, evidence-based advice to senior leaders and respond to external scrutiny.
The team’s journey to professionalisation has led to a visible sense of pride and confidence within the People and OD community. Colleagues are increasingly describing themselves as people professionals rather than HR staff, reflecting a cultural shift towards ownership, accountability and influence.
"This recognition is a major step forward in how we support and develop our workforce. This progress is central to delivering our People Strategy and ensuring the Civil Service is ready to meet future challenges. Collaboration is key to driving transformation, and our partnership with the CIPD will help us deliver benefits for our people, strengthen the organisation, and ultimately enable us to provide the best possible services."
By strengthening its voice through engagement with the wider HR community, new development programmes and the launch of the internal communication and engagement division, People and OD is positioning itself as a leading people function in the public sector.
In October 2025, we awarded the NI Civil Service People and OD team CIPD People Development Partner (PDP) status in recognition of its sustained commitment to professional development – the first organisation in Northern Ireland to achieve this accreditation.
The recognition celebrates progress in professionalising the function and long-term commitment to building a capable, credible, strategic HR function.
“We’re proud to recognise the NI Civil Service People and OD team as the first People Development Partner in Northern Ireland. This reflects a strong partnership, leadership commitment and a clear focus on embedding professional standards across the NI Civil Service.”
“Achieving CIPD People Development Partner status is an important milestone in our journey to transform people practices. It reflects our commitment to professional excellence and continuous growth, building capability and confidence across the team to drive positive change.”
Looking ahead, the People and OD leadership team has identified further areas of focus, aligned to the NI Civil Service People Strategy, including:
We’ll continue to help the NI Civil Service People and OD team strengthen its reputation as an employer that invests in its people and drives cultural transformation through evidence-based practice.
To find out how the CIPD can support your people function, get in touch.