Head of HR

Do you have the strategic vision and leadership skills to shape the future of Human Resources at Fareham Borough Council? Can you use those skills to identify, anticipate and provide pragmatic solutions to all HR related challenges? If your answer is yes, then we have an exciting opportunity as we look to recruit our new Head of HR.

As a Head of Service reporting to the Director of Corporate and Community Services, you will lead a dedicated HR team to deliver customer-focused, cost-effective services that support the Council's strategic priorities. You will be the Council's nominated expert in HR matters and will be the first point of contact for the Council's internal and external partners.

You will play a pivotal role in leading the people aspects of organisational change, particularly in response to the English Devolution White Paper and Local Government Reorganisation. This includes managing the safe and legal transition of staff and services to a new Unitary Council.

You will be responsible for:

• Leading the delivery of organisational change and transformation.
• Providing strategic HR advice to the Chief Executive and the Senior Leadership Team.
• Developing and implementing HR policies and plans aligned with corporate aims.
• Promoting a collaborative, one-team culture across the Council.
• Leading on the Council's Values & People Strategy, Learning & Development, and staff engagement.
• Ensuring compliance with employment legislation and corporate policies.
• Representing the Council externally and managing its reputation.
• Embedding safeguarding, equality, and diversity in all HR practices.
• Participating in Emergency Planning and Business Continuity.

It is vital that the right person can lead with confidence and empathy, inspiring high performance and continuous improvement across the HR function.

• Strategic leadership experience with a motivating and empowering style.
• Proven ability to lead teams through change and deliver results.
• In-depth knowledge of HR legislation, organisational design, and cultural change.
• Experience in staff transfer, harmonisation of terms, and union negotiations.
• A customer-focused approach with commercial awareness.
• Excellent influencing, negotiation, and communication skills.
• Political awareness and experience working with elected Members.
• Commitment to equality, diversity, and safeguarding.
• Ability to manage competing priorities under pressure.
• A degree-level qualification or equivalent experience.
• Membership of a relevant professional body and evidence of CPD.

The right person for Fareham will have all these attributes underpinned by a real sense of pride in doing a good job.

The Council has a reputation for delivering excellent services to our residents and businesses, thanks to our loyal and hard-working teams, who all share our pride in the borough. Having adopted systems thinking throughout the organisation, our teams understand what great service is, and strive daily to remain focussed on doing the right thing for our customers.

We also have a track record of achieving incredible things with our limited resources; from our recent investment of £20m in the award winning Fareham Live theatre and its car park, recently completed £7m investment in leisure and sport facilities, delivery of a thriving business park and airport centred around the Solent Enterprise Zone to 6,000 homes, new businesses and supporting infrastructure in one of the UK's only new Garden Villages at Welborne.

Fareham Borough Council is a great place to work. The low staff turnover and high number of employees that have worked here for 20 years or more is testament to this, and you would be joining an organisation that has a real family feel to it.

We take pride in receiving feedback from others who say we are a friendly and professional organisation. We aim to attract, develop and retain the very best people to carry out the work required.

In return, you would be joining a well-managed Council. We offer a great pension scheme, authorised parking, flexible working and a car lease scheme to name a few of the benefits of working for us.

Please note: - If you do choose to apply for this position you will be asked to submit a short video within the application detailing a little about yourself, what attracted you to the post and why you should be considered for shortlisting. You should "allow" any requests to access your device's camera and microphone to allow the recording to take place.

If you have any queries at all regarding the vacancy please email Tim Holling (HR Business Partner)