Birmingham City Council
Job description
Birmingham City Council – Company Overview
Birmingham City Council is the local authority for Birmingham, England, serving over 1.1 million residents. As the largest local government body in the UK, it provides a wide range of services, including education, housing, transportation, and social care. The council operates from the historic Council House in Victoria Square and is led by Labour leader John Cotton, with Joanne Roney CBE serving as Chief Executive. en.wikipedia.org+1thetimes.co.uk+1
Innovation
The council has undertaken significant digital transformation initiatives to enhance service delivery. Notably, it has adopted the Jadu Continuum CXM platform, enabling residents to track service requests in real-time and receive automatic notifications, thereby improving transparency and efficiency. jadu.net+1jadu.net+1
Customer Focus
Birmingham City Council is committed to providing high-quality services to its diverse communities. It offers a range of benefits to employees, including flexible working arrangements, family-friendly policies, and a supportive organizational culture, aiming to attract and retain a skilled workforce dedicated to public service. birmingham.gov.uk
Sustainability
The council is actively working towards sustainability through various initiatives. These include promoting green energy solutions, enhancing public transportation options, and implementing recycling programs to reduce the city’s environmental footprint. Additionally, the council’s commitment to sustainability is reflected in its employee benefits, such as the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme and support for green commuting options. uk.indeed.com+3blog.bham.ac.uk+3birmingham.gov.uk+3
Company Values
Birmingham City Council upholds values of inclusivity, integrity, and innovation. It strives to create an equitable environment for both employees and residents, focusing on community engagement and continuous improvement in service delivery. The council’s commitment to these values is evident in its efforts to address historical pay disparities and enhance organizational transparency. theguardian.com+1theguardian.com+1
Current Job Opportunities
| Job Title | Department | Salary (GBP) | Employment Type | Closing Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catering Supervisor B | Cityserve Catering | £26,409 – £32,654 | Permanent | Ongoing |
| Business Support Co-ordinator | Various Departments | £33,366 – £40,476 | 12-month FTC | Ongoing |
| Sessional Teacher – Community Learning | Education & Skills | £26,409 – £32,654 | Variable | Ongoing |
| General Assistant | Cityserve Catering | £23,656 – £24,027 | Part-time | 26 Feb 2025 |
Head of Employee Relations
Permanent
Grade 7 – £64,561 – £83,183
Consultation grade – subject to formal evaluation under the Pay Equity Review
Working 36.5 hours per week
Overview
We are at the heart of Birmingham City Council’s most essential asset – it’s People.
Playing a vital role in shaping the future of the city and ensuring that key services reach those who need them most. With a focus on aligning workforce needs with organisational goals, our team supports, engages, and motivates the workforce to deliver exceptional services to Birmingham’s citizens.
Whether it’s managing accurate payroll, ensuring safe recruitment, fostering positive employee relations, or driving inclusive policies, every decision we make has a direct impact on both employees and the community.
We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive, guided by our core principles of being helpful, open-minded, and delivering positive outcomes.
By working collaboratively across service areas, we provide expert guidance and support to colleagues, empowering them to focus on delivering vital front-line services. If you’re passionate about making a difference, this role gives you the opportunity to contribute to a forward-thinking, diverse, and vibrant city, creating lasting impact for both our employees and citizens.
Role Overview
This is a high-impact leadership role at the heart of HR, OD and Payroll. As Head of Employee Relations, you’ll lead and shape strategic employee relations across the organisation, playing a pivotal role in building a high-performing, inclusive, and engaged workforce. You will drive forward people policies and practices that not only ensure legal compliance and fairness but also actively support organisational change, and workforce wellbeing. With a strong focus on collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement, this role is instrumental in creating a modern, customer-focused HR service that makes a real difference to the lives of our employees and the citizens we serve.
Key Responsibilities
Provide strategic leadership of the Employee Relations function, delivering expert guidance and shaping forward-thinking policies that support a high-performance and inclusive culture
Case Management Manage and resolve complex employee relations cases, including disciplinary, grievance, and performance issues, ensuring fair and consistent application of policies and legal compliance throughout the process
Build strong, collaborative relationships with senior leaders and Trade Unions, ensuring fair and transparent people practices and fulfilling all statutory obligations.
Lead the development and continuous improvement of ER strategies, using data and insight to inform decision-making and drive organisational change.
Manage and develop a high-performing ER team, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation,
About You
A highly credible HR professional with extensive experience in employee relations within large, complex organisations. Bringing advanced knowledge of employment law, case law, and people strategy, with a strong track record of developing and implementing effective policies and solutions. Demonstrable strategic insight, sound judgement, and the ability to influence at a senior level in unionised and politically sensitive environments.
Proven ability to manage complex caseloads, lead high-performing teams, and collaborate with key stakeholders to deliver people-focused outcomes. Skilled in interpreting data and business intelligence to inform decision-making, drive continuous improvement, and shape proactive people interventions. Committed to innovation, continuous development, and upholding the values of equality, inclusion, and public service.
Please upload an up-to-date via the attachments part of your application. Unfortunately, we cannot consider any applications without a CV attached
We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the communities we serve. Our data tells us that for this level of role, ethnic minorities are underrepresented and therefore we will use positive action to support us to achieve diverse shortlists. This may mean that recruitment times are a little longer, but we think this is worth it to achieve our aim.
Birmingham City Council is an accredited Disability Confident Leader employer, and we are committed to employing, retaining and developing all of our people.
We want to ensure your recruitment journey with us is a positive and equitable one, so please let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments, additional support, accessibility needs, or if there is any way in which we can support you through your application.
We welcome applications from people with caring responsibilities and flexible working options will be considered.
Proof of Right to work in the UK will be required for all applicants in accordance with UK Home Office requirements, before any employment offer can be confirmed.
Job Description and Person Specification: RM-00044792-Head of Employee Relations-Job Description.pdf
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