Group Head of HR Policy and Employee Relations

Job summary

Do you want to take the lead and strategically partner with an organisation that is passionate about the delivery of a high quality, strategic people agenda overseeing the vital areas of HR Policy and Employee Relations?

Are you looking for a role where you can make a real difference to the performance and people agenda of a high-profile government department?

Do you pride yourself on your excellent communication skills and the ability to work in with senior leaders & stakeholders?

We are recruiting for a fixed-term maternity cover for the role of Group Head of HR Policy and Employee Relations, and we’d love to hear from you!

This is a unique opportunity as it has two parts:

• Firstly, operating as part of a job-share with another Grade 6 covering the core business as usual elements of the role, including management of the wider team.
• Secondly, we are looking for the post-holder to take responsibility for leading a temporary project, and discrete small team, to refresh and simplify our People Policies. The goal is to partner them with an AI tool to improve how our policies are presented and help our colleagues navigate them more effectively.

DfT is a high-profile department at the heart of UK government. We work with agencies and partners to support the transport network that helps businesses and gets people and goods travelling around the country. We plan and invest to make journeys better.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers

Job description

As part of the Department for Transport Group HR function, our team is committed to providing expert HR and employee relations guidance. We take a business-oriented approach to developing effective solutions across the DfT Group.

The Group HR team leads on HR policy and employee relations within the central department, as well as supporting five executive agencies: Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), and Active Travel England (ATE).

Responsibilities

You and your job-share partner will:

• Lead of a team of HR professionals to build flexible and integrated HR policy and employee relations strategies/plans to support departmental strategy.
• Manage the relationship with the Departmental Trade Union side and build strong and trusted relationships with key stakeholders across the DfT Group.
• Manage the work of the team using project techniques to enable the effective, tracking, monitoring, and reporting of workstreams and support prioritisation.
• Ensure the team act as a centre of expertise, providing professional advice and guidance to HR colleagues, shared services and key stakeholders that enable and support the successful implementation of our people policies.
• Act as the lead contact/s for the relationship with Civil Service HR Expert Services, feeding into central people policy development so that the specific requirements of DfT people are captured and that we can influence Civil Service wide approaches

Additionally, you will:

• Manage a temporary project team that will focus on reviewing, evaluating and delivering a complete refresh of our existing HR Policies.
• The team will then need to work with our HR Data, Technology & AI Lab to implement an AI solution that will support staff self-service and navigability of our policies.
• It is anticipated that this will be a 12-month project to match the length of the appointment.

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.

For further information on the role, please read the attached Role Profile.Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

We’re looking for an individual who is passionate about leading high performing teams, and will use this confidence and enthusiasm towards designing, analysing and implementing positive change within the organisation.

We are keen to talk to individuals who have experience of working collaboratively and engaging and influencing a range of stakeholders and advising leadership teams and senior managers on strategic business decisions relating to people policies including performance management and Employee Relations.

We also are looking for someone with a proven record of delivering projects to time and managing resources effectively, ideally drawing on multi-disciplinary teams or functions to do so. It would be of additional benefit-but not essential- if you have experience working with digital products or AI tools to deliver HR outcomes. You’ll be confident applying your knowledge to set your own direction, influence decisions and thrive whilst managing a dynamic and challenging workload, welcoming a level of autonomy to your role.

You’ll have exceptional interpersonal skills and be able to communicate complex information to others, with the capability to provide guidance and information to inform decisions at all levels of the business. This is a fantastic opportunity to work in a team who pride themselves on their ability to make a difference and an unrivalled level of collaboration within the wider business.

Additional Information

This post is offered on a Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) basis to complete a finite piece of work.

Permanent Civil Servants will be appointed on an inward loan and subject to the terms of the agreed inward loan. You must have your home departments approval to return to them at the end of the loan before you apply. Internal candidates will return to their previous post at the end of the loan period, which will need to be agreed with your line manager in advance. If your home department cannot agree to release you on loan, there is the opportunity for you to move across to the department on a fixed term appointment. In this instance the Department for Transport would become your home department and if there is no role available for you at the end of this appointment, you would be subject to the redeployment and redundancy process.

If you're employed by a non-departmental public body (NDPB) by moving jobs this will involve a change of employer and you may break the statutory rules on continuity of employment.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week over a minimum of 4 days.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

DfTc does not offer Visa Sponsorship for this role.

Qualifications

You will hold CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) at level 7 or have the appropriate level of equivalent experience to be able to gain this qualification when in post.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Leadership

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,501, Department for Transport contributes £20,134 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's experience, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – you will be asked to provide a 250-word statement on the following Behaviours: Leadership
• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (1250-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:
  • Providing visible leadership and experience motivating, engaging and building high-performing teams.
  • Experience of developing people policies for a complex organisation, working with key stakeholders and employee representatives to shape policy approaches.
  • Can successfully apply project management principles to manage team workflows with the personal resilience to lead a busy portfolio of activity.
  • Credible in dealing with a broad range of people, with the confidence to deliver clear, balanced advice to senior leaders and key stakeholder groups.
  • Able to work in a highly collaborative way with colleagues with the confidence to constructively challenge and influence, keeping work on track while maintaining good relationships.
  • Experience delivering a project or ambition from start to final delivery.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Success Profile element, leadership. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The sift will take place from 4th March 2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Leadership, Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Changing and Improving
• Experience
• Strengths

You will also be required to create and deliver a presentation. Guidance will be provided if you are invited to interview.

The interviews will take place week commencing 16th March 2026.

This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

All External applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour

Threats or acts of violence

Illegal activity or substance misuse

Sexually explicit material

Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public.

Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle—it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture.

If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Feedback

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Joanne White / Caroline Sibley
• Email : Sibley-white@dft.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here

Attachments

Role Profile - Group Head of HR Policy and Employee Relations Opens in new window (docx, 88kB)