Strategic HR and OD Business Partner (Workforce Transformation Programme)

Job Title: Strategic HR and OD Business Partner (Workforce Transformation Programme)

Language: UK

Company:

Job Location:

Location:

Region: London

Country: United Kingdom

Organisation: Hackney Council Anonymous Apps > Chief Executive's

Job Number: HCAA02646

Service: OD

DBS Required: No

Organisation Logo: Hackney Council

Salary: per Min Max In

Agreement Type: Fixed Term / Secondment

Work Pattern: Full Time

Contracted Hours: 36

Grade: PO8

SCP Range: £63,816 - £64,938

18 Months Fixed Term Contract / Secondment Opportunity

Are you a highly strategic, expert-level HR and Organisational Development (OD) professional ready to partner with senior leaders to drive significant workforce change?

Hackney Council, one of the UK's most diverse and highest-performing local authorities, is seeking a Strategic HR & OD Business Partner to shape the future of our workforce through the Workforce Transformation Programme!

At Hackney, we don't just talk about change, we live it. We are Open, Inclusive, Ambitious, Pioneering, Proactive, and Proud of our borough and our work. We believe our staff is what makes Hackney Council great, and we thrive on challenge and change. This is your opportunity to step into a high-impact role and make a meaningful, tangible contribution to the lives of our residents.

Why Choose Hackney Council?

Working for Hackney Council offers a unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to one of London's most dynamic and diverse boroughs

A Place to Succeed: We are dedicated to fostering an open, collaborative, and creative culture for you to succeed. As a Strategic HR & OD Business Partner, you will be a supportive, objective-focused coach/critical friend to local leaders, ensuring every corner of the organisation gets the best out of their people.

Invested in You: We continually invest in making sure staff have the right tools to do the job and the best working environments. We encourage managers toward management independence by streamlining processes, creating toolkits, and maximising ICT functionality.

Strategic Impact: Your role is a chance to move beyond transactional HR. You will be a Change Ambassador, challenging conventional thinking, and influencing the planning and approaches to service design to help shape and adapt operating models. You'll use people analytics data to provide robust evidence that supports leadership decision-making.

Growth and Development: Hackney Council is a place where you can grow and develop. You will be working at a highly developed and complex level of knowledge, leading and contributing to the continuous development of HR and OD provision and corporate planning

As a Strategic HR & OD Business Partner, you are the lead conduit between the business and the wider HR & OD teams. You will be responsible for partnering with specific council departments to provide strategic leadership with a people/HR & OD focus.

Your main accountabilities include:

Strategic Partnership: Working in partnership with local leaders, you will provide advice, guidance, and support on the full range of HR and OD activities

Workforce Transformation: Lead on and support the people implications of change, including supporting managers with restructures and business re-engineering, and providing guidance for local change projects to ensure corporate strategies are adopted and embedded.

Professional Leadership: Lead on HR-wide strategic projects,contributing to strategic thinking and planning across the HR and OD service. You may also be required to plan the workload of a Change Consultant

Data-Driven Decisions: Share workforce data through a dashboard to help inform Directorate level people plans and actively advise services on their performance against key HR Metrics

What You'll Need to Succeed

We are looking for a highly credible and experienced HR professional with the ability to inspire, motivate, and influence at the most senior levels.

Experience: You'll need significant experience in advising all levels of management on HR and/or OD disciplines, including applying judgment to non-standard employee relations cases. Proven experience in building strong partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders, including working effectively with Trade Unions is essential

Knowledge: You will possess a highly developed, in-depth understanding of employee relations, people management, and organisational development and its contribution to managing and developing the workforce. An excellent working knowledge of legislation, statutory guidance, and the ability to identify areas of risk is a must

Skills: Strong analytical skills are required to interpret complex data and legislation, and develop creative and workable solutions. You must be able to work quickly and accurately, prioritising work with conflicting deadlines, and adapting quickly to changing circumstances.

If you possess a Master’s degree, MCIPD, or equivalent experience, and are ready to be a role model for good management practices, we encourage you to apply!

Ready to use your strategic expertise to drive organisational transformation? Apply today!

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV’s.

To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application.

As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency based questions. These questions allow you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and provide examples of your skills, knowledge and experience outlined in the job description.

We understand the benefits of using AI in the workplace. However, if you are thinking of using this tool to submit your application, we ask you to think about what value it will add. AI tools tend to lack the personal touch and authenticity we value in candidates. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice.

This application process replaces a supporting statement.

Prior to applying for a vacancy for a secondment opportunity, please liaise with your line manager and inform them of your interest in applying for the role.

Closing date for applications: 05 November 2025 (22:59)

Interview date: 20 November 2025

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: hackneyworks@hackney.gov.uk