Employee Relations Operations Lead

Liverpool City Council; Liverpool; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

31 days holiday

Flexible working (Agile)

LGPS pension scheme

Learning & development opportunities

Health and wellbeing programme

Cycle to Work

Employee volunteering

Medicash

Job summary

Liverpool City Council seeks an Employee Relations Operations Lead to steer a high‑quality service across a major local authority. You will lead Senior Employee Relations Partners and ER Partners, delivering strategic and operational guidance to managers on complex employment matters.

You will collaborate with senior leaders, Legal Services and Trade Unions to drive policy improvements and reduce risk while developing a skilled ER team and ensuring customer‑focused service delivery.

Qualifications

• Significant experience leading employee relations services and managing complex, sensitive and high-risk employment matters.
• Experience of leading, developing and motivating HR or employee relations teams.
• Extensive knowledge of employment law, employee relations practice and local government employment issues.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Employee Relations professionals with direction, coaching and oversight.
• Provide strategic and operational leadership across disciplinary, grievance, attendance, capability, performance, flexible working, redeployment and organisational change matters.
• Drive continuous improvement using performance data and casework intelligence to inform policy and service delivery.

Skills

Employee relations leadership

Stakeholder management

Employment law knowledge

People management

Performance data analysis

Job description

Job title: Employee Relations Operations Lead

A bit about us: Liverpool is home to vibrant, energetic, and engaged communities, people who take real ownership of their local area and are passionate about making our city a better place. We've got ambitious targets to meet and we need people who are driven, dynamic and ready to deliver the very best for our communities. Public service is more important than ever, and this role represents a real opportunity to make a difference to our communities by transforming the way we work and placing our residents at the heart of everything we do. Working at Liverpool City Council provides an opportunity to contribute to your community and make a positive impact on the lives of residents. Our values shape how we work to deliver public services, and how we communicate with the residents we serve. We care about the best outcomes for local people, through our public services.We are proud of our world-famous thriving city with its rich culture, as well as affordable housing, good schools, beautiful green spaces – there’s really something for everyone!

The role:

Are you an experienced Employee Relations leader looking to take the next step in your career? Liverpool City Council is seeking an Employee Relations Operations Lead to lead and develop our Employee Relations Service. This is an exciting opportunity to manage a team of Senior Employee Relations Partners and Employee Relations Partners whilst overseeing the delivery of a high-quality, professional, and customer-focused employee relations service across one of the UK's largest local authorities. As the Employee Relations Operations Lead, you will provide strategic and operational leadership across a broad range of employee relations activity, including disciplinary, grievance, attendance, capability, performance, flexible working, redeployment and organisational change matters. You will ensure the consistent delivery of high-quality advice and support, enabling managers to effectively manage people issues whilst reducing organisational risk. You will lead and develop a team of employee relations professionals, providing direction, coaching and oversight to ensure excellent service delivery. Working closely with senior leaders, HR colleagues, Legal Services, Trade Unions and other key stakeholders, you will use performance information, casework intelligence and operational insight to drive continuous improvement, inform policy development and enhance employee relations practice across the organisation.

We’re looking for someone with:

• Significant experience leading employee relations services and managing complex, sensitive and high-risk employment matters.
• Experience of leading, developing and motivating HR or employee relations teams.
• Extensive knowledge of employment law, employee relations practice and local government employment issues.
• Strong leadership, coaching, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience of using management information, performance data and organisational insight to improve services and inform decision-making.
• The ability to balance strategic thinking with operational delivery in a fast-paced environment.

Our offer to you:

• At least 31 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 35 after 5 years’ service (pro rata if part time) - option to purchase further days
• Agile working (role dependent) - a “Flexibility First” approach to agile working, where flexibility is the norm rather than the exception
• Part of the Local Government Pension Scheme – option to join the AVC Scheme
• Progression - opportunities and training through a wide range of high quality learning
• Health and Wellbeing - offer including Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to Work and Travel Pass Schemes Drive Time – a salary sacrifice car lease scheme
• Family friendly policies with enhanced leave Discounted Gym Memberships
• Employee Volunteering Scheme
• Medicash

Next steps:

Closing date: midnight on Sunday 4 October 2026 Interview date: mid-to-late October 2026 (to be confirmed) Interview type: face-to-face

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early. Once the role has closed, you will not be able to submit an application, and we are unable to reopen the vacancy for you to complete it. We strongly recommend submitting your application well in advance of the closing date to avoid disappointment. If you would like any further information or an informal discussion, please contact Hiba Jangoan at [e-mail]. Watch our recruitment video and see what life is like working at Liverpool City Council: Liverpool City Council is committed to fostering a workforce representative of the communities we serve. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we believe in appointing candidates based on their skills, experience, qualifications, and abilities. To support this commitment, we guarantee an interview to candidates from under-represented groups who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. If you require any reasonable adjustments in line with the Equality Act 2010, such as an application form in a different format or additional time to complete your application, please contact us at [e-mail]. Although we advertise on Jobs Go Public, and other websites, your application process will be directed to our Tribepad system. Please note that all communication regarding your application for this post will be sent to the email address that you have registered on Tribepad, including your invite to interview if you are shortlisted. Please check your emails regularly, including Spam/Junk, after the closing dates for notifications. Please ensure you complete your full profile, work and education history in Tribepad. Eligibility to work in the UK will be verified in the final stages of the selection process. All candidates must either already have a right to work in the UK before commencing employment or meet the Home Office criteria for Visa sponsorship. Candidates who require sponsorship should evaluate the Home Office eligibility criteria for a Skilled Worker visa before applying. This is not legal advice, and we advise you to seek your own independent legal advice tailored to your own personal circumstances.