Head of Employee Relations

HEAD OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS & EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE Hybrid with presence 2 days a week in Leeds Office (LS25) Travel across the business to our homes and schools Salary up to £70K with annual bonus Lead with Purpose. Build a People-First Culture. We're looking for a dynamic, values-led Head of Employee Relations & Employee Experience (ER & EX) to shape and lead a high-performing HR function that truly puts people at the heart of everything we do. As part of our senior People Team, you'll ensure our employees feel supported, empowered, and inspired — so they can deliver life-changing care and education to children and young people across our residential children's homes and SEND schools. Reporting to the Chief People Officer and working closely with the Head of Talent Acquisition and Development, you'll drive collaboration across HR and operational leadership — ensuring every stage of the employee journey is consistent, positive, and purpose-driven. What You'll Do Lead HR Business Partnering: Deliver a proactive, high-quality, and solution-focused HR service aligned to business needs. Champion Fairness & Integrity: Oversee all employee relations activity, ensuring consistency, compliance, and compassion in every decision. Elevate Employee Experience: Drive initiatives that enhance well-being, engagement, inclusion, and recognition across all teams. Safeguard & Govern: Ensure HR operations meet employment law, Ofsted and safeguarding standards — with robust data, DBS and compliance oversight. Inspire Culture & Collaboration: Champion our values, promote a positive, inclusive culture, and role model ethical leadership. About You You're an experienced, credible HR leader who thrives in a fast-paced, purpose-driven environment. You know how to balance strategy with hands-on delivery — and you're passionate about creating great workplaces where people feel they belong. You'll Bring Proven experience leading an HR business partnering or ER function in a multi-site or complex organisation. Strong expertise in UK employment law and HR best practice. A track record of handling complex employee relations cases with fairness and confidence. Experience driving employee engagement, wellbeing, or culture change. Excellent relationship-building and influencing skills at all levels. CIPD Level 7 (or equivalent). Desirable Experience in children's services, education, or safeguarding-focused environments. Familiarity with trauma-informed or values-led cultures. #J-18808-Ljbffr