Employee Relations and Policy Manager

Transport for Greater Manchester; Manchester; On-site; GBP 62,000 - 69,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 28 days

Free bus travel across Greater Manch

Rail/Metrolink travel for commute

LG pension scheme with life cover

Flexible and hybrid working

Job summary

Transport for Greater Manchester is seeking an experienced Employee Relations and Policy Manager to lead the centre of excellence for employee relations, people policy and trade union engagement. This senior, hands‑on role combines oversight of high‑risk casework with policy governance and compliance.

You will lead a team, develop manager capability and maintain strong relationships with unions, while ensuring fair and lawful people practices.

Qualifications

• Senior-level experience in employee relations within a large, unionised organisation.
• Expert knowledge of UK employment law and ACAS guidance.
• Proven track record leading complex and high‑risk cases.
• Experience developing organisation-wide people policies and governance.
• Evidence-based advisory capability to senior leaders.

Responsibilities

• Lead TfGM’s centre of excellence for employee relations, policy and trade union engagement.
• Oversee complex casework and ensure quality and consistency of proceedings.
• Own TfGM’s people policy framework and review programme.
• Build constructive relationships with recognised trade unions.
• Improve case-management processes and identify organisational risks and priorities.

Skills

Employee relations leadership

Policy governance

Trade union engagement

People management

UK employment law knowledge

Education

Chartered CIPD membership or equivalent

Job description

Are you an experienced employee relations leader who can bring together complex casework, employment policy and trade union engagement to deliver a fair, consistent and trusted service?

We are looking for an Employee Relations and Policy Manager to lead TfGM’s centre of excellence for employee relations, People policy and trade union engagement. This is a senior, hands‑on leadership role combining oversight of complex and high‑risk casework with policy governance, employment‑law compliance, service improvement and the development of manager capability.

Your Role

Reporting to the Head of People Operations and Business Partnering, you will lead and develop a team of Senior People Advisors and People Advisors, setting clear standards for the quality, pace and consistency of employee relations casework.

You will maintain oversight of the case portfolio and intervene directly in the most complex, sensitive or precedent‑setting matters, including disciplinary, grievance, capability, attendance, dignity‑at‑work and whistleblowing. You will also own TfGM’s People policy framework and review programme, build constructive relationships with recognised trade unions, improve case‑management processes and use employee relations insight to identify organisational risks and priorities.

For more information, please see the Job Profile.

Who are we?

You will work across TfGM with senior leaders, managers, Strategic People Business Partners, People Shared Services, Legal Services and recognised trade unions. The role sits at the centre of our approach to fair and lawful people management, ensuring responsibilities and escalation routes are clear, managers are well equipped and learning from casework informs policy, leadership and organisational improvement.

What you’ll bring

What you do and how you do it is important. At TfGM, our behaviours bring to life our values of Deliver, Care and Adapt.

You will bring significant senior‑level experience in employee relations, employment policy or industrial relations within a large, complex and unionised organisation. You will have expert and current knowledge of UK employment law, ACAS guidance and equality obligations, with a strong track record of leading complex and high‑risk cases, developing organisation‑wide People policies and building effective trade union relationships.

You will also be an experienced people leader who can set standards, manage competing priorities, analyse risk and provide clear, evidence‑based advice to senior leaders. Chartered CIPD membership, or an equivalent recognised professional qualification, is essential.

What we can offer you

This is an opportunity to shape and lead TfGM’s employee relations and policy service at an important time for the organisation. You will have the scope to strengthen governance, improve the experience of managers and colleagues, develop a specialist team and ensure our policies, processes and decisions remain fair, practical and legally sound.

This is a permanent role and comes with a salary of £61,586 - £69,319 per annum depending on experience

Our benefits include:

• Generous annual leave starting at 28 days (plus bank holidays), increasing with service, with options to buy more.
• Free travel on buses across Greater Manchester, plus rail or Metrolink travel for your commute, and access to our Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme.
• Local Government defined pension scheme with life cover of 3x salary and options to boost your contributions.
• Enhanced family‑friendly leave policies, including those supporting fertility treatment, alongside flexible and hybrid working and a special leave policy to support a range of unexpected events. Please note that qualification criteria may apply, including a requirement to have been employed with the organisation for a minimum specified period of time.
• Discover more benefits including wellbeing support, Personal and Career Development, Flexible working, financial support and more on our website

What's next?

Please note we may close the advert early if we receive a high volume of applications.

NOTE TO AGENCIES – we will be accepting direct applications only for this role. No fee will be paid if a candidate is hired for this position as a result of an unsolicited agency or search firm referral CV.

TfGM is proud to be an equal opportunities employer that encourages and celebrates diversity. We want to recruit and retain a workforce that reflects the communities we serve and welcome individuals from all backgrounds by committing to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We will offer support and reasonable adjustments if required, and we also have a Guaranteed Assessment Scheme.

For this opportunity, you must be able to prove you have the right to work in the UK. Please note that TfGM is not a licensed sponsor.