About us

We are the Equality and Human Rights Commission. We are Great Britain’s national equality body and a United Nations accredited National Human Rights Institution. We were established by the Equality Act 2006 and our role is to protect and promote equality and human rights across England, Scotland and Wales. As a statutory non-departmental public body, we are funded by HM Treasury via the Cabinet Office, but we operate independently of governments.

We pride ourselves on being a flexible and inclusive employer. We celebrate difference, embrace diversity and support all our people to thrive at work.

Our Vacancy

This is an exciting time to join the people team in a new role supporting project and transformation delivery. Over the next few years, the Commission will deliver a programme of transformational work, which will ensure we are able to effectively deliver our new strategic plan and fulfil our role as a modern day regulator. The programme is supported by four pillars: Strategy and Mission; Culture and Leadership; Processes and ways of working and Professionalism and Expertise. This role sits within the Professionalism and Expertise pillar.

Working closely with our Senior People Team, HR Business Partners and Senior Leadership team, the post holder will initially perform a key role in the development of a three-year strategic workforce plan for the Commission, supporting our new strategic plan and spending review. In addition and following on from this, the post holder will undertake a key project to review our grade profiles, job families and professions across the Commission. Ensuring that the way we describe our roles and the skills that we need enable the Commission to deliver its new strategic plan, are fit for purpose for our future ways of working (hybrid working), support high performance and are cross aligned to a common set of principles.

The postholder will work with a range of stakeholders across the Commission including our Senior Leadership team, Trade Unions, People team colleagues, staff and third party suppliers. They will draft a range of reports, guidance document, and other tools, as well as analyse a range of datasets and information, in order to ensure the success of their projects/areas of work.

This fixed term position offers an exciting opportunity to get involved in a high profile and high impact project transforming the Commission. Reporting to our Principal – HR Corporate Improvement, and matrix working with the Principal – Transformation Programme Manager, the successful candidate will perform an integral role in the successful delivery of our transformation programme and future ways of working.

The role- key highlights

Some of the key responsibilities of the role are outlined below however, more are included in the candidate pack and this is an overview and not an exhaustive list. The team works flexibly and closely, often stepping outside of their areas of responsibility, to ensure the objectives of the wider team are met and respond to emerging priorities.

• Working closely with our Senior People Team members, to manage and co-ordinate the development of a 3-year strategic workforce plan, delivering against milestones and effectively managing risks throughout.

• Working closely with our HR Business Partners to carry out strategic workforce planning conversations with our senior leadership team;

• Manage a project reviewing our role descriptions, with a view to implementing job families, professions and the creation of descriptions that will provide individuals with clarity on their role and will empower them to carry out their work with flexibility and innovation, whilst also ensuring that the Commission is able to attract and retain the talent it needs to deliver its aims;

• Work closely with our Reward Partner and internally qualified job evaluators to ensure that our new role descriptions are supported by robust job evaluation and support our grading and pay structures.

What we are looking for

You will be an experienced HR professional with a successful background in strategic workforce planning/organisation design. You'll be experienced in managing change and be comfortable working in a project environment. Stakeholder management and facilitation skills are essential to this role, and you must be able to confidently influence outcomes at senior levels. You'll enjoy both strategic and hands on working and are comfortable with ambiguity. Regularly understanding the bigger picture, you'll be able to consider the wider factors and long-term implications on decisions.

You will also be:

• Pro-active and organised working in a fast-paced environment
• Positive and inspiring in leading and supporting others through change
• Resilient and comfortable dealing with challenge

In return, you will join a team where collaboration counts, and have opportunities to get involved in a wide range of work.

How to apply

If this sounds like the role for you, please review the Candidate Pack for more information and submit your application today!

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an accredited Disability Confident Leader and operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) for candidates with a disability.

Should you wish to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme or request a reasonable adjustment, please indicate this in your application.  

If you require an alternative accessible version of the application form or wish to discuss your application or reasonable adjustment  – please contact us by email at recruitment@equalityhumanrights.com or by telephone on 0161 829 8100.

Diversity in our workforce

At the Commission, we are proud of our inclusive workplace where we celebrate difference, value everyone’s contribution and where people of all backgrounds can thrive.  We do not accept discrimination or harassment, and all our recruitment decisions are based on fair and open competition, with appointment on merit. We are committed to further growing our workplace by making sure that the talent pipelines for our most senior roles are as diverse and inclusive as they can be. We welcome applications from everyone and encourage disabled people and people from an ethnic minority background to apply. This is to ensure we are taking positive action in order to achieve our legitimate aim of a balanced representation in our workforce at senior grades.