Head of Organisational Development and Employee Experience

12 month fixed term or secondment opportunity

About us

The LGA is the national representative body for local government in England. Working on behalf of councils to support, promote and improve local government. We also represent Welsh councils through a corporate membership arrangement with the Welsh LGA. 

We are a politically led, cross-party organisation that works on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice with national government. We influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils to help them deliver local solutions to national problems.  We also provide councils with the tools and resources to respond to challenges present and emerging, and support improvement across the sector. 

There has been a lot of external change, the political environment in which we operate, following the outcome of the general election, has created new priorities and new opportunities for our members. As a result the LGA is already on an exciting journey of transformation and needs to create capacity at a senior level in our HR team.

About the role 

Reporting to our Head of HR & Payroll, this is a key management position in the HR & Payroll team, bringing together some existing functions (EDI, Learning & Development) and building a broader team to lead on our approach to management & leadership development and reward, recognition & benefits.

Working with your team, the wider HR & Payroll team, and the LGA’s strategic management team, you will lead on the alignment of our current people strategies ensuring that they are fit for the future LGA as a modern employer. Your role will be pivotal in shaping our approach to EDI, performance management, developing our organisational culture and enhancing the overall employee experience at the LGA.

We have recently launched a new learning & development strategy, have an EDI strategy ready to be refreshed (the current one runs until the end of 2024) and a desire to engage and develop our managers, and staff more broadly, to be the best they can both for the LGA, the councils we represent and the residents they serve. We need to ensure that our approach to performance and development links to our organisational goals and ambitions as we move forwards.

About you 

You will be a seasoned, credible and qualified (academically or by experience) HR and OD professional. Alongside your wide-ranging experience the ideal candidate will bring experience of EDI, culture change and reward in order to support our wider objectives. You will be able to quickly gain the trust and respect of your direct reports, the wider HR & payroll team, as well as colleagues across the organisation. You will be able to work at pace and not afraid to roll up your sleeves when needed.

For an informal discussion about the role please contact Chris Harding, the current post-holder, at Chris.Harding@local.gov.uk

You must have the right to work in the UK, the LGA are unfortunately unable to offer sponsorship visas. Evidence for the right to work in the UK will be requested at the interview stage. 

To apply

If you would like to be considered for the role, please add your CV and include a supporting statement detailing how you meet the criteria of the role before the closing date. 

We use anonymous recruitment, which is the practice of hiding candidates’ identities. This process involves removing any identifying information from candidates’ applications which includes names. Please remove your name from your CV.

Closing Date:         5pm, 19 September 2024
Interview Date:     TBC

At the LGA we celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Our recruitment decisions are based on fair, open competition, with appointment on merit. The LGA are proud to be awarded a “Disability Confident Leader”.  If you are require  an reasonable adjustment, which is a change to the format or conditions of the recruitment process to accommodate any disability-related needs you may have. Please contact us via Recruitment@local.gov.uk 

Our benefits

• LGA annual leave entitlement is 29 days, rising to 31 days after three years’ service and to 33 days after five years’ service, plus all UK public holidays (pro rata for fixed term and part time contracts).*
• Flexible & agile working – office-based staff are required to work in the LGA’s London office two days per week as a minimum, subject to business need and this may vary significantly between different roles and from week to week.
• Future development – face-to-face and virtual courses are scheduled in line with developmental goals
• The LGA offers 24/7 access to a free, confidential employee assistance programme managed by Health Assured. This service is also available for Dependants.
• Family friendly policies

For more of LGA’s benefits and working with us, please view our webpage https://www.local.gov.uk/benefits-and-working-lga

Our values & behaviours 

Our Values and Behaviours are there to give us an understanding of who we are as an organisation and who we want to be. They are a framework to help us understand:

• how we work with each other 
• how we work with our members and stakeholders
• our expectations for ourselves and each other 

Our values are:

Inclusive - We ensure that our work is inclusive of all voices. 

Ambitious - We are ambitious for councils and their communities and are committed to striving for excellence in all that we do to support our colleagues, our membership and the sector to deliver the best possible outcomes.

Collaborative - We bring together the expertise and skills needed, working as one team.