Employee Relations Manager

Ready to modernise employee relations and make a real difference for people and services?

At Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), we’re looking for an experienced Employee Relations (ER) Manager to lead a specialist team within our HR & Cultural Change service and play a key role in how we support our people through change. 

Our HR & Cultural Change team is bringing our People and Culture Strategy to life and rethinking how we work. This is an opportunity to help shape a positive, inclusive workplace by taking a holistic approach to employee relations: looking beyond individual issues to understand people’s experiences, strengthen relationships and improve ways of working.

This is a wide-ranging, high impact ER leadership role with scope to challenge established approaches and shape the future direction of employee relations at OCC. You’ll bring a wider organisational perspective, connecting employee experience, culture and organisational change and driving a culture of continuous improvement rather than focusing solely on individual cases. Just as importantly, you’ll create the conditions for your team to grow, build confidence and contribute ideas that improve how we support our people and services.

You’ll lead a contemporary, values-led approach to employee relations, taking a holistic view of how relationships, leadership, culture and ways of working shape employee experience. Working collaboratively across the organisation, you’ll challenge assumptions, encourage fresh thinking and help colleagues build constructive, trusted working relationships.

Your focus will be the wider ER picture across Council services, including Schools and the Fire Service. Working with our Strategic People Partners, leaders and recognised Trade Unions, you’ll bring together insights from employee relations issues to understand underlying themes, identify opportunities for earlier support and influence sustainable improvements. You’ll help leaders consider the people impact of organisational change, looking beyond the resolution of individual cases to what we can learn and do differently.

You’ll partner with leaders to shape people-focused approaches to organisational change and contribute to OCC’s ambitious transformation programme, Delivering the Future Together. You’ll challenge established ways of working with curiosity and constructive challenge, role-modelling our values and daring to do it differently. Your emphasis will be on turning learning into practical improvements that strengthen employee relations and support better outcomes for our people, services and communities.

Leading and developing the ER team will be central to your role. Through coaching, reflection and shared learning, you’ll create a supportive environment where colleagues can ask questions, challenge approaches and try new ways of working. You’ll encourage the team to use their professional judgement, grow their capability and confidence, and take ownership of improvements, while keeping a clear connection between their work and wider organisational priorities.

• A holistic understanding of employee relations and how employee experience, workplace relationships, culture and leadership connect, with the ability to translate that understanding into practical improvements.
• Experience of supporting leaders and teams through change in a complex, diverse organisation, considering the wider organisational context, to recognise wider themes, address underlying causes and influence sustainable improvement.
• Proven ability to lead, coach and develop others through direct and matrix management, creating a supportive environment for shared learning, constructive challenge and growing confidence. This role includes leadership of a team of up to 15 colleagues.
• Experience of turning service plans and business strategies into clear, practical priorities, helping colleagues understand the wider purpose of their work and take ownership of improvements.
• Experience of building constructive, trusted relationships with Trade Unions in a political or public sector environment, listening to different perspectives and working collaboratively to strengthen employee relations.
• The confidence to question established ways of working, communicate clearly and influence leaders and stakeholders constructively, while encouraging others to contribute ideas and develop their own professional judgement.
• Excellent, up-to-date knowledge of UK employment law and relevant regulation, applied with sound judgement and a wider organisational perspective. Experience in the public sector or a similarly regulated environment is desirable.

You’ll be a collaborative ER leader who can see the bigger picture, connect themes and challenge established ways of working constructively. Curious and open to different perspectives, you’ll bring people together to improve how ER is delivered and help your team develop the confidence and judgement to shape solutions, not simply follow familiar processes.

For full details of the role, including responsibilities and application criteria, please refer to the attached job description. The information pack is designed to give you a real sense of what it’s like to work at OCC, outline the role in more detail, and help you prepare a strong application. We encourage you to read this alongside the Role Profile and our People and Culture Strategy, as these documents will support you in addressing the essential criteria in your covering statement. 

If you’d like a confidential conversation about the role, please contact the Talent team at talent@oxfordshire.gov.uk and one of the team will be happy to connect you with the right person. 

If you’re an experienced HR professional looking for a varied and meaningful role where you can really make a difference, we’d welcome your application. 

Your opportunity to make a difference starts here.

Please note: We reserve the right to close these vacancies early if we receive a high number of applications, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. 

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