Senior Employee Relations Advisor

We are pleased to be recruiting for a Senior Employee Relations Advisor to join West Yorkshire Police, at their HQ in Leeds.

This is a temporary post for 6 months initially, working 37 hours Monday - Friday with the potential to work Hybrid.

PLEASE DO NOT APPLY FOR THIS POSITION UNLESS YOU HAVE LIVED IN THE UK FOR AT LEAST THE LAST 5 YEARS CONTINUOUSLY. THIS IS DUE TO POLICE CRITERIA. ANYTHING LESS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

The aim of this role: To oversee and co-ordinate the delivery of an efficient and effective professional customer focused Employee Relations Service to all staff and managers in accordance with Force Objectives, Policy and Procedure and legislative requirements. To be subject experts on specialist areas of HR and lead on complex case management to the final stage.

Key points:

1. Proactively manage the performance, attendance and wellbeing of police officers and police staff against the required standards to ensure they are dealt with and supported in accordance with the correct policies and procedures.
2. Provide effective leadership to a team of Employee Relations Advisers in order to provide a professional, flexible and customer focused service. Establish and maintain a performance management framework which takes account of timescales, quality of service, consistency and continuous improvement. Allocate complex cases, monitor workloads and provide support, expert advice, coaching and guidance to enable the delivery of an effective Employee Relations service.
3. Act as subject expert within the team on all ER related matters, maintaining a thorough understanding of current and forthcoming legislation, case law and emerging best practice. Work with colleagues to share specialist knowledge in order to build resilience in the team. Contribute to the modernisation, engagement and performance of the workforce including responsibility for the delivery of specific areas of the Employee Relations Delivery Plan.
4. As the Employee Relations lead support the successful implementation of organisational change, collaborative agreements, and other reviews, ensuring that arrangements are delivered to meet the requirements of the Force.
5. Oversee and contribute to an effective process of negotiation and consultation with Trade Unions and Staff Associations, participating in formal consultation and informal meetings as required and establishing and maintaining effective working relationships.
6. Foster a culture of continuous improvement of systems, processes and service standards. Undertake regular research, compliance audits, case reviews and pulse checks to identify areas for improvement and develop associated action plans.
7. Undertake any other People work as directed, including working at different locations in order to provide business continuity and to enable the Employee Relations team as a whole to fulfil force-wide needs.

Essential criteria:

1. Qualified to level 7 CIPD
2. Significant proven experience in the support and management of complex ER matters
3. Proven ability to develop, interpret and provide advice to managers and senior leaders on a diverse range of HR policies, processes, Employment Law and Terms and Conditions.
4. Previous experience of advising on complex people management cases
5. Excellent communication skills; both written and verbal
6. Experience of policy design and development
7. Proven experience of consulting and negotiating with Trade Unions and Staff Associations
8. Previous experience of supporting Organisational Change

You would be required to travel around the Force area in this role, and therefore a Full UK Drivers Licence is required.