Restructure, Redeployment and Redundancy lead

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA); Warrington; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Defra Group HR is seeking a fixed-term HR professional to support specialist advisory capability for restructuring, redeployment and redundancy across the Defra Group. You will work in Specialist Employment Services with HRBPs and senior leaders to deliver lawful, high-quality employee experience.

Shared services, legal advisors and project teams will collaborate to operationalise activity, mitigate risks and ensure timely resourcing and governance throughout transformation initiatives.

Qualifications

• Experience in HR transformation and change management.
• Strong ability to advise on restructuring, redeployment and redundancy within a public sector context.
• Proven capability to design and oversee TU consultation processes.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead a dedicated Restructuring, Redeployment and Redundancy (RRR) delivery team with clear objectives and timelines.
• Provide expert technical guidance on RRR requirements and ensure processes are legally compliant and high quality.
• Design and deliver employee and trade union consultation processes with RRR input and engagement strategy.
• Lead a small operational HR team to ensure smooth delivery of RRR interventions.
• Identify risks and dependencies and escalate or resolve them through governance channels.
• Produce high-quality briefings, reports and progress updates for senior stakeholders.
• Benchmark processes against best practice and cross-government standards to ensure compliant and supportive employee experiences.

Skills

Restructuring expertise

Stakeholder management

Project governance

Legal/compliance advisory

Job description

Defra Group is undergoing a period of transformation and as part of this, HR are appointing a fixed term HR professional to support the specialist advisory capability to support restructuring, redeployment, redundancy. This role will sit within Specialist Employment Services team in HR acting as a central source of expertise on Restructuring, Redeployment and Redundancy (RRR) and related workforce transformation activity for the wider Defra Group. The role will also work closely with HR Business Partners (HRBPs), senior leaders, project professionals and external suppliers to operationalise and transformation activity, ensuring it is delivered lawfully, consistently, and with a high-quality employee experience. Using a structured approach you will work closely with HR Business Partners (HRBPs), HR Expert Services, legal advisors, programme leads, the HR Senior Leadership Team and our shared services partners to:

• Establish and lead a dedicated RRR operational delivery team, with responsibility for defining clear objectives, deliverables, and timelines. This team will provide the core operational capability required to deliver restructuring-related activities.
• This will include the provision of expert and technical advice and guidance on any determined RRR requirements, and assurance that all necessary processes and complex individual cases are handled with due care and legal compliance.
• Support the design and delivery of employee and trade union consultation processes with expert RRR advice and input, helping to design a communication and engagement strategy and having a close involvement in TU consultation.
• Lead a small but expert operational HR team to ensure smooth delivery of all processes required under an RRR intervention.
• Identify risks, issues, and dependencies related RRR activity and escalate or resolve them through appropriate governance channels.
• Produce high-quality briefings, reports, and progress updates for senior stakeholders, ensuring visibility of milestones, risks, and resourcing needs.
• Benchmark processes and outputs against best practice and cross government standards, ensuring the transfer meets compliance expectations and delivers a consistent and supportive experience for employees.