AD - Human Resources

Job Description

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: AD £94,811.07 - £107,171.54

Contract Type: Full-time/Permanent

Working hours per week: 36

Application Deadline: 18/03/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): w/c 30/03/2026 and 07/04/2026

Reference: 2042

About Us:

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.

We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London’s Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council’s preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.

About the role:

In this role you will lead a range of HR teams including HR strategic business partnering, HR Operations and Administration, Recruitment and payroll. You will provide strategic direction on all Human Resources (HR) matters across the Council and be the Council’s deputy strategic advisor on all issues relating to Human Resources and all staffing matters.

You will lead the programme of strategic HR and workforce change management associated with the Council’s corporate strategic plan (Mission Waltham Forest) whilst also leading on all other high level human resources and people related projects that deliver required outcomes; such as transformation savings, effective employee relations, delivering on equality objectives such as closing of pay gaps, business change and service improvements.

You will be required to work closely with Senior and Extended Leaderships teams and colleagues across the council to develop and deliver the Human Resources strategy that enables the council to deliver in this key area. You will manage complex political relationships with key stakeholders and delivery partners including the negotiation of complex political / strategic / commercial issues.

As Assistant Director of Human Resources you will provide leadership, vision and strategic direction to relevant programmes ensuring that they are business orientated, fit for purpose, value for money and focused on performance improvement for the council, and make a significant contribution to the development and implementation of the strategic agenda and corporate aims of the council.

You will deputise for the Corporate Director of Culture and workforce development on all HR and people / staffing related matters and in supporting the vision and strategic direction to relevant programmes. You will act as a liaison between the directorate and the board ensuring transparency clear distribution of board priorities and Councils vision.

Additionally, you will proactively promote the council’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion strategies and programmes of work.

>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<

Key Responsibilities:

Effectively lead the full range of HR services.

Lead, design and Implement the HR elements of the Culture & Workforce Development transformation by setting the strategy for the service and taking a lead role within the organisation to delivery successful solutions and outcomes.

Lead the delivery of seamless and successful HR and HR admin services that align with the overall corporate plan.

Produce and contribute towards agreed reports for management board, senior councillor, trade union and officer stakeholders.

Provide team leadership that attracts and develops a highly skilled team (insourced and outsourced).

Establish excellent relationships with senior political leadership, slt member, Trade Unions, staff at all levels, peers, external bodies and all stakeholders.

To lead the HR teams and provide strategic and operational direction, leadership and management.

To lead the programme of strategic HR and workforce change management associated with the Council’s corporate strategic plan (Mission Waltham Forest), on all human resources and people related projects that deliver required outcomes; such as transformation savings, effective employee relations, delivering on equality objectives such as closing of pay gaps, business change and service improvements.

Play an active role as part of the Chief Executive Management Team and the Council’s extended Leadership team in the development and delivery of the People / workforce agenda in collaboration with key stakeholders across the Council and supporting the Chief Executive and senior leadership team in the achievement of the Council’s priorities.

Working in partnership with Trade Unions, meeting regularly to share information and develop the Employee Experience agenda.

Management of the Budget related to the HR and HR Admin Teams to ensure value for money and delivery.

Qualifications and Requirements:

To be considered for this position, you should meet the following requirements:

Educated to degree level and/or relevant work experience.

Relevant HR qualification (e.g. CIPD) or appropriate HR Generalist experience.

Substantial experience working at a senior level in Generalist HR roles in large and complex organisations.

Ability to provide visionary leadership, promoting and articulating the key priorities of the council’s workforce agenda and translating strategy and objectives into real actions that individual staff can identify with.

Excellent interpersonal and team working skills, and a proven ability to motivate, enthuse and drive individuals.

Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to communicate ideas, issues, systems and procedures successfully at all levels to a variety of audiences

Highly organised, able to prioritise and handle change,and to lead a team to work calmly and effectively under pressure and to meet deadlines.

Experience of delivering HR Services in a collaborative and inclusive way.

Understanding of the Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion agenda and able to turn this into positive delivery and outcomes.

Experience of reviewing strategies, policies and procedures and aligning them with corporate priorities.

Experience of analysing complex data and communicating your findings to a variety of audiences.

Experience of writing reports and communications for a variety of audiences, demonstrating numeracy and literacy and applying expert knowledge.

Evidence of successfully dealing with a range of complex and contentious matters requiring a consistently high degree of support, persuasion and advocacy and an awareness of major policy objectives.

Terms and conditions:

The below terms and conditions apply to this role:

Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks.

Satisfactory declaration of interest.

How to Apply:

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the ‘Apply’ button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.

Contact Information:

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact: Lee Witham, Corporate Director of Culture and Workforce development – Lee.Witham@walthamforest.gov.uk

If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.

Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.