Head of ER and Industrial Relations, People Directorate

Directorate Overview

The People Directorate is here to shape the Bank's people strategy, provide information, help and advice to colleagues and line managers to thrive in their roles, and to deliver important people services across the Bank. The Directorate is made up of three divisions: People Strategy and Insights, People Advisory Services and Operations, and Reward. Our work helps the Bank to attract, identify, develop, nurture, retain and motivate the people we need to fulfil our mission.

People Advisory Services is a strategic and advisory function responsible for leading the Bank's commercially focused employee relations agenda, including organisational change, union partnership, workplace adjustments, absence risk management, and the development of modern people policies aligned with UK legislation. The role requires expert leadership of complex people matters, constructive engagement with the recognised trade union and employee representatives, and oversight of consultation, negotiation and dispute resolution, while using evidence, technology, people development, and continuous improvement to strengthen critical people processes and enhance employee experience.

As the Senior Manager of a team of approximately 10- 15, you will report to the Head of People Advisory Service and Operations. As well as providing subject matter expertise to Executive Directors and senior leaders on employee relations matters, you will lead the strategic oversight and quality assurance of the team, and include (but are not limited to):

1. Lead the evolution of the industrial relations strategy, providing credible, pragmatic employee relations leadership aligned to the Bank's strategic ambitions.
2. Oversee the delivery of high-quality, commercially focused employee relations and people advisory services, including absence matters, workplace adjustments, and mediation, across a complex operational environment.
3. Lead the team to ensure fair, consistent, inclusive and legally compliant people policies, practices, processes and investigations, working with key partners to maintain quality and respond to legislative and technological change.
4. Lead a high-performing, insight-led People Advisory team, using data, technology, people development, and a focus on operational excellence to improve employee and line manager experience.
5. Help shape an inclusive leadership environment that supports organisational change, cultural transformation and the evolution of performance management to strengthen a high-performance culture.
6. Maintain rigour over third-party supplier relationships to ensure high-quality service delivery and strong value for money in line with the Bank's responsibilities.

This role works closely with senior leaders across the Bank including Central Services, Investigation Monitoring Team (IMT), Secretary's, Employment Legal, and Technology to shape strategic People Advisory services and develop people policies and frameworks that balance legal compliance, operational practicality and employee experience.

You will oversee systems and processes to manage the team's caseload and direct the management of complex and sensitive cases taking a risk-based approach. You will ensure high-quality and timely management of all employee relations matters, including grievances, disciplinaries, mediation, senior-level cases and organisational change programmes. As the Bank's subject matter expert (SME) for People Advisory, the Senior Manager applies expert judgment to embed high-quality, data-driven insight into people processes and strengthen data-informed decision-making across leadership and management.

The role requires strong data capability, sound stakeholder influence, people leadership, and the ability to engage effectively across the employee lifecycle. You will quickly identify business issues through a People lens, balancing business, people and data priorities and risks, while bringing strategic thinking and external insight to a fast-evolving internal and external environment.

This is a key people management role with both direct and indirect reports. The Senior Manager will lead and develop the team, deploy resources effectively against priorities, and manage performance, objectives, professional development and inclusion through both direct line management and leadership through managers.

As a member of the People Advisory Service & Operations senior leadership team, the role contributes to strategy and works closely with other Senior Managers to drive collaboration, prioritisation and delivery across teams. The role-holder will build productive relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels, particularly within the People Directorate, to integrate People Advisory insight into wider people policy and strategy.

The Senior Manager, People Advisory Services leads the Bank's Employee Relations function, Health and Adjustments Team, industrial relations partnership and people policy management, providing strategic and operational leadership on complex people matters.

The role ensures fair, consistent and legally compliant approaches across the Bank, resolving workplace matters effectively while strengthening organisational culture and capability.

Department overview

The People Directorate shapes the Bank's people strategy and provides expert advice, services and support to colleagues and leaders across the organisation.

The People Advisory Team plays a critical role in maintaining positive working relationships, supporting managers with complex cases, employment related change, people policy development and working in partnership with colleagues and trade unions.

Key responsibilities

• Strategic leadership
  • Set and deliver the Bank's People Advisory strategy aligned to People and organisational priorities
  • Identifying trends to inform policy, processes and cultural developments.
  • Develop and evolve the partnership with our trade union partners.
  • Provide expert advice to senior leaders on complex and sensitive people matters
  • Shape policy and practice ensuring fairness, consistency and compliance
• Operational delivery
  • Oversee the management of employment related change.
  • Oversee the management of complex ER cases (disciplinary, grievance, performance, etc.)
  • Ensure cases are handled efficiently, proportionately and in line with policy and legal requirements
  • Maintain strong governance, risk management and reporting across ER activity
  • Lead on drafting and presenting the annual ER Report to the Bank's Audit and Risk Committee.
• Leadership and capability building
  • Lead, develop and inspire the People Advisory team to deliver a high-quality, responsive service.
  • Build organisational capability by equipping leaders to manage people issues confidently.
  • Promote early intervention and proactive approaches to managing employee relations and industrial relations.
• Stakeholder and union engagement
  • Build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders across the Bank
  • Lead engagement with recognised trade unions to support constructive outcomes
  • Influence decision-making at senior levels on people-related risks and opportunities
• Insight and continuous improvement
  • Use data and insight to identify trends, risks and opportunities across the organisation.
  • Drive continuous improvement in people processes, policies and ways of working.
  • Contribute to wider People Directorate priorities, including diversity, inclusion and equity.
• Crisis Management:
  • Support the Head of Division in crisis management, delivering recommendations and counsel to senior leadership on internal and external headwind issues in a timely way.
• Budget Management:
  • Responsible for the People Advisory budget and ensuring effective use of resources.
• Change management/process improvements: - Drive the development and embedding of advanced Oracle products, tools and dashboards within the team.

Role requirements

Minimum criteria

• Significant experience leading employee relations and industrial relations in a complex organisation
• Strong experience working with trade unions, employee representatives and formal consultation processes.
• Proven ability to lead complex and reputationally sensitive people matters at senior level.
• Experience of using technology to run an efficient employee relations function.
• Proven experience leading, developing and managing diverse teams, while prioritising delivery across a broad portfolio of work.
• Demonstrable experience shaping fair, consistent and legally compliant people policies, practices and processes, with a strong understanding of inclusion and external developments.
• Experience using data, insight and continuous improvement to strengthen people services, decision-making and employee experience.

Essential criteria

• Strong judgement and the ability to balance risk, fairness and organisational priorities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to advise, influence and tailor messages for very senior audiences.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the ability to build trusted relationships and advise credibly at senior level.
• Able to provide thought leadership on People Advisory and People data to challenge constructively, shape strategic thinking and create synergies across the Bank.
• Leads proactively and applies strong analytical skills, using quantitative and qualitative data to solve problems, improve processes and deliver value.
• Able to lead diverse teams and stakeholders through uncertainty, change and transformation with clarity and resilience.
• Strong ability to manage and prioritise multiple projects, cases and resources to deliver outcomes on time and with impact.
• Highly effective interpersonal skills, including empathy, active listening and conflict resolution, with the ability to navigate sensitive issues and build consensus.
• Proven experience delivering inclusively through others, setting a clear vision and creating an outcome-focused environment with effective allocation of skills and resources.
• High levels of integrity, confidentiality and professionalism, with sound judgment when handling sensitive people matters and data.

This is a people management role with responsibility for day-to-day leadership of the team and clear definition of roles and accountabilities. You will build a high-performing, motivated and delivery-focused team through clear direction, effective communication, coaching and development, supported by the smart use of technology to improve productivity and ways of working. This includes setting stretching objectives aligned to team, division and directorate priorities, and managing performance, absence and other people matters effectively.

Number of direct reports: Between 3 to 5

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Our Approach to Inclusion

The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.

At the Bank of England, we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it's by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we'll continue to make the best decisions for the public.

We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.

For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.

Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the 'Candidate Personal Information' under the 'Disability Confident Scheme' section of the application.

Salary and Benefits Information

This role offers a salary of:

Leeds based: £81,600-£91,800

London based: £90.640-£101,970

In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:

• Currently a non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
• 26 days' annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

National Security Vetting Process

Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy Notice.

The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited. The Bank cannot guarantee that you and / or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful. Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis.

The Application Process

Important: Please ensure that you complete the 'work history' section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It's therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.

The assessment process will comprise of two interview stages.

This role closes on 30 June 2026

Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.