Director of Human Resources
Reports to
Chief Executive
Salary
£97,200 to £108,000
Job
purpose

To lead the HR Organisation Development and Health &
Safety strategy for the City Council, providing strategic
insight, workforce intelligence and capability to officers of the
City Council, senior leaders, Elected Members and the
school community as well as the management and
leadership of the HR, OD and H&S functions serving 14,000
employees.

To oversee the delivery of the Council’s workforce strategy
underpinning its future operating model.

To ensure the delivery of robust, consistent and effective HR
services across the organisation and lead the Council’s
employment relations with the Trade Unions.

To take an active role in shaping the future People Strategy
for the organisation, acting as the senior professional lead
and advisor to the Council’s leadership.

To lead the HR OD change agenda identified in the Kerslake
Report including the redesign of the HR OD service, culture
change across the organisation and repositioning of the
service as a strategic partner supporting and enabling
service delivery and the delivery of outcomes for Birmingham
citizens.

To be a lead member of the Integrated Support Services
leadership team delivering those services across the City
Council.

To build, develop and lead the HR function for the City
Council in line with the identified and agreed requirements.

To develop, implement and continually monitor the integrated
workforce strategy delivering improved services against an
agreed set of demanding key performance indicators.

To develop strategies to progressively balance workforce
demographics to better reflect the communities the Council
serves.
Duties and
responsibilities
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
To effectively partner with the leadership across Directorates
to ensure that all front line services have the people
resource, strategies and policies required to ensure they can
deliver services and outcomes for citizens, businesses and
schools of Birmingham.

To continually develop the HR management systems and
operating model, reducing bureaucracy and streamlining
processes including the improvement of “self-service”.

To lead the HR function in developing and delivering
strategies, policies, tools and interventions for:

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
Health and Safety and Employee Wellbeing

Resourcing and Retention

Pay and Reward

HR Policy and Employee Relations
To lead the collection of workforce data and intelligence to
inform corporate planning and workforce strategy
development

Workforce Modelling and Planning, The Employment
Model and Terms and Conditions

Organisation Development

Talent and Succession Management

Learning and Development

Organisational Change

Cultural Change and Development

To ensure HR policies and processes are streamlined with
the minimum of bureaucracy to maintain effective
governance whilst being straightforward, consistent and easy
for managers and the workforce to follow and use.

To provide clear and demonstrable leadership to HR and
across the Council as it goes through the transformational
change required to deliver the future model for the ”Future
Council”.

To ensure that workforce data and intelligence is specified,
collected, interpreted and used to both drive forward and
improve strategic planning and HR and OD decision making
and service across the Council.
Budget and
Resources

As required, to provide strategic support, advice and services
for “emergent organisations”.

To manage the departmental budget and deliver savings
targets as required without detriment to the delivery of HR
and OD.

To provide high level strategic advice and support to the
Council’s Leadership Team and Cabinet to shape corporate
policy and drive forward the change agenda including the
Future Council Programme.

To act as an exemplar of change across the organisation
and to lead in delivering the new culture across the Council,
acting as a role model for the Council’s values and
behaviours.

To continually seek new, innovative and improved ways of
providing HR thinking and service to the Council.

To work across Integrated Support Services to ensure
effective, efficient and easy to use services are delivered
across the Council through contributing specialist knowledge
and broader management and leadership expertise.

To be a member of the Integrated Support Services
management team playing a full role in delivering the work of
that team.
The HR budget for 2015-2016 is £9m, with a savings target of
£1.8m (c.40 fte posts).
HR numbers c160, with an additional c60 in schools HR.
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Director of Human Resources
Person Specification
Method of Assessment (MOA) –
AF – APPLICATION FORM; I – INTERVIEW; T – TEST OR EXERCISE; P – PRESENTATION
Criteria
Essential
Diversity
All BCC employees are expected to understand and be committed to
equal opportunities and diversity in employment and service delivery.
Experience
(Relevant work
and other
experience)
Proven record of successful delivery of strategic HR in a large, complex
and diverse organisation.
Skills & Ability
e.g. written
communication
skills, dealing
with the public
etc.
Proven record of leading and delivering HR OD transformation in a large,
complex and diverse organisation.
I, P
AF & I
AF, I & P
Thorough understanding of local government and the associated HR
challenges.
AF & I
In depth understanding and expertise across the broad range of HR
strategies, policies, processes, tools and practices.
AF & I
In depth understanding and expertise of HR systems and broadening their
scope and utilisation across organisations.
AF & I
Experience of successfully working with senior teams through
transformational change, and ensuring change is sustainable and
embedded.
AF, I & P
Proven track record of driving quality and service improvements.
AF & I
Successful experience of managing large and complex budgets.
AF & I
Experience of operating in a political environment, recognising and
managing where differences may exist between Elected Members and
Officers.
AF & I
Proven experience of contributing to Boards and Senior Management
teams outside of being the HR specialist.
AF & I
Strong and demonstrable leadership skills in managing large teams
successfully.
AF & I
Highly developed and pragmatic influencing and negotiating skills.
AF & I
Strong analytical and interpretative skills practically applied.
AF & P
Demonstrable ability to manage ambiguity whilst pursuing certainty.
AF & I
Ability to build a customer focused team that reflects the diverse needs of
the Future Council model.
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MOA
AF, I & P
Education/
Qualifications
NB: Full regard
must be paid to
overseas
qualification
Values and
Behaviours
Professionally qualified to FCIPD level or equivalent.
AF & C
Committed to continual professional development for themselves and their
team.
AF & I
We are true to our word: When we make promises we keep them.
AF/T/I/P
Makes time to build trusting relationships
Makes sure people who are affected are involved and kept well - informed
Gives people ongoing feedback that helps them improve their performance
Shows s/he believes in what they say
Promptly addresses any problems
We act courageously: We lead, we manage and we tackle the difficult
issues: every day, every one of us.
AF/T/I/P
Unafraid to ask challenging questions
Courage to speak out on difficult issues
Uses h/her initiative to do something different
Has difficult conversations when necessary
Embraces new ways of working to encourage change
We put citizens first: We are empathetic and respectful in everything
we do.
AF/T/I/P
Makes time to listen carefully to people to understand their needs
Treats all people with complete respect and understanding
Puts themselves in the shoes of the residents to deal with their issues
Is a patient and helpful person
Always treats people with kindness - 'the human touch'
We achieve excellence: We get things right. First time every time.
He/she give's their very best every day
Looks for ways to keep doing his/her job better
Helps other people achieve and celebrate their goals
Recognises mistakes and does something to put it right Asks for feedback
to improve his or her performance
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AF/T/I/P
Asks for feedback to improve his or her performance
Leadership
Drivers
Behaviours for
360
Shaping the Future: We all share and communicate the same vision
for the future council.
AF/T/I/P
Ensures people have a clear, shared understanding of the vision for the
service
Searches for great practices and ideas from outside the council to make
BCC even better
Ensures people know what steps they'll need to take, to achieve the future
vision, achieve outcomes and make a difference
Achieves a good balance between short-term operational issues and
longer term strategic goals
Encourages people to try out new ways and ideas to improve things
Positive Leadership: We create a climate of positivity that inspires
people to do their best work.
AF/T/I/P
Inspires people to act in the public interest of Birmingham
Makes people feel valued
Is visible and accessible to all staff at all levels
Recognises and celebrates progress
Focuses on solutions, rather than problems
Promoting Collaboration: We work across and outside the council, to
share knowledge and skills, and jointly solve problems.
AF/T/I/P
Proactively supports and promotes working with people and teams outside
his/her own area and council where appropriate
Readily collaborates and co-creates with communities, internal & external
partners and all staff , to achieve better public outcomes
Looks for feedback from others and ways to improve his/her performance
Looks for way to create common goals with others outside his/her own
area
Actively builds networks across and outside of the council
Raising Performance: We create the environment to enable people to
be the best they can be.
Gives people ongoing feedback and coaching that helps them improve
their performance
Makes sure people are clear about what he/she expects from them (what
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AF/T/I/P
"good" or "excellent" looks like)
Is clear he/she expects high performance. Will not tolerate average or poor
performance
Promptly addresses under performance, when needed
Identifies, attracts, develops and retains exceptional talent
Driving Innovation and Improvement: We are relentlessly curious and
open to new ways of working to improve the council.
Welcomes change and responds quickly to changing situations
Rigorously focuses resources on the priorities that make the biggest
contribution to the future council vision
Creates a climate where constructive challenge and new ideas are
encouraged
Always questions if we could do things differently to get better
Is open to new ideas, whoever or wherever they come from
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AF/T/I/P