Employee Relations Officer – HR & OD Service

Fixed Term Contract / secondment – 10 months (until September 2025)

Hackney is a vibrant and exciting borough to live and work, and like many councils we have challenges as well as ambitious plans for the future. This requires our HR & OD service to provide agile, targeted and excellent support to enable Directorates to deliver. To meet this aim, we have reviewed the way we are organised and how we deliver our HR services, bringing together our corporate and schools teams into a single integrated HR & OD service.

Our aim is to transform the way we work within the HR & OD service, supporting our organisation to become high performing, digital and networked, whilst working within a highly collaborative and innovative culture, where our HR people are also enabled to flourish and reach their full potential.

Our Team of HR Specialists is focused on supporting Hackney’s mission to make Hackney a place for everyone, where all our residents, whatever their background, have a chance to lead healthy and successful lives; a place where everyone can be proud, with excellent services, thriving businesses, and outstanding public spaces; a place where everyone feels valued and can make their voice heard.

As a member of our Employee Relations/Change team, you will support the delivery of a professional service to a range of customers, providing specialist ER advice to managers, and advising and supporting them in people management practices, directing them to toolkits, other advice and available solutions to empower and enable them to take informed and appropriate action in the management of their staff.

Your key areas of activity will include the provision of day-to-day specialist advice on case management, including handling conflict, performance and conduct issues, and sickness absence; the collation and analysis of relevant information/documentation to undertake thorough, objective, and efficient investigations; and supporting the review and development of ER policies and related processes.

If you have experience in advising and working collaboratively with management of all levels on a range of people matters; have up-to-date knowledge of developments in UK employment legislation and case law; and good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively on confidential and sensitive matters to inform management and providers, this could be the role for you.

There is no better place to work in London than Hackney; we have great pride in our borough, our communities, and our services. Hackney is one of London’s most vibrant and diverse boroughs. It’s one of the most sought after areas to live in London with good schools, parks and local amenities, as well as great transport links and vibrant and diverse communities.

If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.

The recruitment process is anonymous. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CVs.

When applying, there will be a number of questions relating to the post on the application form. You will also be required to complete a question that asks you to detail how you meet the criteria of the role based on your skills, knowledge and experience.

We will not accept applications where Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been used to assist with completing the competency questions or any part of the application form.

Please note, if you have applied for this role within the last 6 months, you do not need to reapply.

Closing date for applications: 08 December 2024 (22:59)

Interview date: To be confirmed

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: hackneyworks@hackney.gov.uk