Equality and Diversity and Inclusion Business Partner

Cambridge County Council; Alconbury; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government council in Alconbury is looking for an EDI Business Partner to lead the implementation of their equality, diversity and inclusion strategy. This role involves coordinating internal activities, analysing workforce data, and collaborating with various corporate teams. Ideal candidates should have extensive experience in cultural change, the ability to influence senior leaders, and a passion for fostering an inclusive environment. This position supports hybrid working and flexible hours.

Benefits

Comprehensive wellbeing package

Flexible bank holidays

Paid volunteering hours

Employee Recognition Awards

Qualifications

• Extensive experience leading organisation-wide cultural change.
• Proven ability to act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders.
• Demonstrated success in leading EDI strategies.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team to embed EDI in all Council operations.
• Analyse workforce data and report progress to key committees.
• Collaborate widely across corporate teams to drive EDI initiatives.

Skills

Strategic planning

Programme management

Interpersonal skills

Influencing skills

Evidence-based decision-making

Job description

At Cambridgeshire County Council we are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), as set out in our EDI Strategy. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment and proud that this attracts and retains diverse people who feel valued, respected, and empowered.

We have an excellent fixed term opportunity for an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Business Partner based in the People and Culture Service. We are recruiting for an maternity cover to deliver our EDI strategy and action plan, ensuring it is embedded across the Council with support and accountability through Senior Managers and Council Members.

The role is hybrid in nature, with an expected mix of weekly office attendance and remote working.

The role is currently funded for 30 hours per week, however we support flexible working requests from day one, so we’re happy to discuss how different working patterns or hours could be supported.

For more information or to chat about this opportunity please contact Faye McCarthy, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Business Partner at [e-mail].

Our benefits

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage.

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family.
• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro‑rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances.
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings.
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth.
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day.
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards.
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in‑store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes.

Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.

What will you be doing?

As the EDI Business Partner, you will lead a small team and act as a critical friend, coordinating internal activity and leveraging partnerships so that we challenge people across the organisation to embed EDI in all aspects of the Council’s operations. You will ensure inclusion by design across all activities, making EDI relevant and meaningful to everyone in our organisation.

The role requires strong strategic planning and programme management capability as you will have responsibility for analysing workforce and community data, identifying risks and opportunities, and reporting progress to key committees and groups. You will collaborate widely across corporate teams—such as People Services, Workforce Policy and Wellbeing, Communities, Learning and Development and Communications.

About you

The EDI Business Partner is a dynamic and influential EDI specialist with extensive experience leading organisation‑wide cultural change, embedding inclusive practice and driving strategic EDI programmes.

Proven ability to act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, shape policy and governance, and translate complex EDI legislation and data insights into meaningful organisational action.

Demonstrated success in leading EDI strategies, chairing working groups, strengthening employee networks, and building partnerships that enhance workforce diversity and community cohesion.

Brings strong programme management capability, excellent interpersonal and influencing skills, and a commitment to evidence‑based decision‑making, inclusive leadership development, and continuous improvement.

Passionate about ensuring EDI is integrated by design across services, processes and organisational culture.

They lead by example, demonstrating a thorough understanding of intersectionality, community cohesion and equality legislation, and championing inclusive cultural change that benefits both employees and communities.

About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network "IDEAL" and self‑organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. On your application form you can indicate you are disabled. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers