Head of Employee Relations and Shared Services

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Act as a senior leader within the People & Culture Directorate, driving forward the people and change agenda.
• Align employee relations and shared services strategy with WMCA’s wider organisational goals and public purpose.
• Lead the development of fair, legally compliant, and values-led people policies, accessible through both traditional and digital channels.
• Shape and deliver the operating model for the People Service Centre, ensuring efficient, customer-focused services.
• Provide strategic oversight of employee relations activity, including restructures, TUPE, and case management.
• Represent People & Culture in corporate forums, ensuring people priorities are embedded in decision-making.
• Lead the development of people-related data insights to support informed decision-making and risk management.
• Ensure employment legislation is understood and applied across the directorate, embedding changes into practice.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop teams within Employee Relations, Policy, and the People Service Centre.
• Build capability and confidence across teams to advise and support managers and senior leaders.
• Foster collaborative working across Talent Acquisition, Workforce Planning, Reward, and Business Partnering teams.
• Develop training for managers to apply policies consistently and confidently, aligned with WMCA values.
• Build strong, trust-based relationships with trade unions, leading strategic engagement and negotiations.
• Oversee changes to Collective Agreements, ensuring effective planning and consultation.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure seamless integration between the People Service Centre and other People & Culture functions.
• Monitor and manage employee relations cases to ensure timely, fair, and compliant outcomes.
• Drive continuous improvement across systems and processes, embedding changes effectively.
• Maintain data integrity and ensure audit compliance across people systems and processes.
• Provide governance and assurance for policy development and reviews.
• Support organisational transformation and change initiatives through effective people practices.

Financial Stewardship

• Advise on the cost, risk, and value of system and process proposals, ensuring alignment with public value.
• Oversee contracts related to People Service Centre processes (e.g. Occupational Health, DBS).
• Ensure value for money and adherence to governance processes in all financial activities.

Qualification & Requirements

• Extensive experience in a strategic people leadership role within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing employee relations specialists and embedding value-driven and fair cost-effective resolutions.
• Experience of leading a shared service centre for people systems, advice and transactional and administrative processes.
• Proven track record of managing union relationships and employee industrial relations.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional people input across the employee lifecycle.
• Experience working in a politically aware and unionised public service environment.
• Strong knowledge of employment law, people policy and public sector governance.
• Deep understanding of best practice employee relations and evidence-based value for money solutions.
• Skilled in using data, evidence, and systems thinking to drive system and process continuous improvement.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, coaching, and influencing skills.
• Strong awareness of strategic workforce drivers and organisational performance.
• Understanding of the public sector context or regional devolution.
• Strategic thinker with excellent judgment, analysis and systems perspective.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to synthesise and articulate complex information.
• CIPD Level 7 (or equivalent senior-level HR experience); Fellow or Corporate CIPD Member.
• Evidence of continued professional development.

Benefits

• Local Government Pension Scheme (one of the most generous pension schemes in the UK).
• 28 days paid annual leave (with an option to purchase more)
• EV car benefit scheme
• Ethical saving options and healthcare plans.
• Discounted gym membership, will writing and mortgage advice.
• An option to buy a bicycle, including e-bikes and adapted pedal cycles, at a discounted rate.
• 3 days of paid leave each year to volunteer.
• Interest free financing through SmartTech to buy the latest technology
• Discounted shopping with over 2,000 big-name retailers, and more.