Head of HR - The Fair Work Agency

Job summary

The Fair Work Agency (FWA), launching in April 2026, is a central part of the Government’s Make Work Pay programme.

It brings together the enforcement of key employment rights into one organisation, creating a single place where workers and employers can get clear support and action when needed.

The Agency will oversee protections such as the National Minimum Wage, holiday pay, statutory sick pay and wider labour exploitation safeguards, and will have strong powers to inspect workplaces, review records and take action on behalf of staff.

Joining the FWA now means stepping into an organisation at the moment it is being built. You will help shape how it operates, influence its culture and make a real difference to improving fairness and raising standards across the UK workforce.

Job description

This is an exceptional opportunity to join the Fair Work Agency at a formative stage as our Head of Human Resources. Reporting to the Director of Corporate Services, you will lead the development of the Agency’s People Strategy and the underpinning plans that shape every aspect of our people services.

As we build a new organisation with a new strategy, you will play a pivotal role in creating a modern, progressive HR function that enables our workforce to thrive and aligns fully with the FWA’s strategic ambitions.

You will ensure our people are recognised and developed as our most valuable asset, embedding a culture that supports high performance, inclusion, wellbeing and organisational capability. Working collaboratively across the FWA, you will design and deliver innovative people strategies, policies, services and frameworks that strengthen the employee experience and support organisational growth.

This role offers an exciting platform to influence the future shape of the FWA and to build the foundations of a People function that is strategic, trusted and impactful. Working closely with senior leaders, you will define long‑term people priorities, design organisational capabilities needed for the future and ensure HR services support a positive colleague experience and organisational performance.

Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of 30 hours over 4 days per week.

The Fair Work Agency is looking for an inspiring and forward‑thinking Head of Human Resources to shape the people culture of a new organisation. This is a rare and exciting opportunity to join the FWA at the very beginning of its journey and build a modern, people‑centred HR function from the ground up.

Reporting to the Director of Corporate Services, you will lead the development of an ambitious People Strategy and the underpinning plans that will define how we attract, develop, reward and support our people.

You will create an inclusive and engaging employee experience, and ensure all people services are high‑quality, future‑focused and fit for purpose. Working closely with senior leaders, you will help shape the Agency’s culture, build organisational capability, and position our people as our most valuable asset.

You will lead all employee relations matters, working with our recognised trade unions and key stakeholders to address issues and ensure effective engagement and consultation across HR policies and projects.

This is an exceptional chance to make a lasting impact, influence the growth of a new public body, and champion the people who will deliver the FWA’s mission across the UK.

Strategic People Leadership

• Operating as an active ambassador for the FWA; exploring new and innovative ways to solving challenges and seeking new opportunities in the way we work and how we can do things differently
• Develop and deliver a long-term People Strategy aligned to organisational priorities.
• Shape the strategic workforce plan, assessing future skills needs and organisational capability.
• Provide thought leadership on operating models, spans and layers, job design and workforce transformation.

Resourcing & Talent Strategy

• Lead the organisation’s resourcing strategy, attracting, engaging and retaining a diverse workforce.
• Supporting talent management initiatives that develop the pipeline into all levels of the organisation.
• Oversee recruitment, talent pipelines, secondments, redeployment and contingent labour.
• Develop recruitment models tailored to specialist roles and organisational needs.

People Operations

• Oversee People Operations, including HR advisory services and lifecycle processes.
• Drive improvements to HR workflows, processes and systems.
• Lead implementation of HR technologies and digital improvements.

Learning and Development

• Develop learning and development strategies and interventions to support organisational capability
• Assess skills-based vs. job-based workforce models and implications for systems, career pathways and workforce planning.
• Partner across HR disciplines and change programmes to embed people-centred improvements.

Data, Insight & Improvement

• Use people data and analytics to inform decision-making and improve HR services.
• Identify workforce risks, trends and opportunities and present evidence-based recommendations.
• Drive a culture of continuous improvement across all HR functions.

Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead high-performing teams across People Strategy, Resourcing and People Operations.
• Influence and advise senior leaders, shaping people-related decision-making.
• Build strong partnerships across HR, organisational leadership and external bodies.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.

• Strong HR leadership experience in a complex environment.
• Proven experience in people strategy, workforce transformation or organisational design.
• Experience overseeing resourcing, HR operations or people systems.
• Skilled at leading teams and managing cross-functional workstreams. Excellent communication, influencing and analytical skills.
• Chartered CIPD status or willingness to work towards.

Qualifications

• Chartered Membership of CIPD or willingness to work towards

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,185, Department for Business and Trade contributes £20,042 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

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 and Experience.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages.
• A Personal Statement of up to 1000 words, explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential criteria.

Your application will be sifted against the Experience criteria of the Civil Service Success Profiles.

We aim to sift both the CV and the Personal Statement but, in the event of a large number of applicants, an initial short sift may be conducted on the CV only. Candidates who pass the initial sift of the CV will either progressed to a full sift where the Personal statement is then assessed, or progressed straight to further assessment/interview.

Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to interview, where we will assess you on the Success Profiles elements of Behaviours and Experience.

The following behaviours will be assessed at interview:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership

As part of your interview, you will be asked to deliver a short presentation, details will be provided 5-days prior to your interview.

It is likely that the sift will take place 1-2 weeks after the closing date and interviews 3-5 weeks after the closing date, though this is subject to change.

Reasonable Adjustments

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process. In order to request an adjustment:

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.

Alternatively contact the Government Recruitment Service at DBTrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

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

Please see attached Candidate Pack for further information on: Diversity and Inclusion; Benefits; Learning and Development; Working Patterns and what we deliver as a department.

Further Information:

• A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve Lists will be for each location and appointments made in merit order based on location preferences.
• Any move to the Department for Business and Trade from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments.
• The Department will not consider sponsoring a visa or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship. We are unable to offer advice on any Visa and Immigration cases.
• New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
• 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. Any applicant who has 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.
• Terms and Conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
• Please note – the successful candidate will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before being released for another role.
• Candidates that do not quite meet the standard for this role may be offered a position at a lower grade.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland/Access NI on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

For further information on the Access NI confidential checking service telephone: the Access NI Helpline on 0300 200 7888 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email accessni@ani.x.gsi.gov.uk

Vetting

The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5-years. Failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected.

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 : ERD People Team
• Email : erdpeopleteam@businessandtrade.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DBT by email: Resourcing@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.
For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.

Attachments

DBT candidate pack July 2024 (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 943kB)DBT T&Cs 2025-08-18 Opens in new window (doc, 46kB)