Head of Employee Relations

I’m pleased to share that we are currently partnering with a market leading Investment firm to appoint a Head of Employee Relations. This is a fantastic opportunity to join a business that has undergone significant transformation and is continuing to evolve its people strategy within a highly regulated environment.

The organisation is seeking an experienced Employee Relations leader who combines technical excellence with commercial judgement and can build strong credibility with senior stakeholders across the business. The role sits at the heart of the People function, leading Employee Relations while partnering closely with HR Business Partners, Executive leadership and Legal to deliver pragmatic, commercially focused people solutions.

The business has recently repositioned Employee Relations as a strategic function within HR Business Partnering, bringing ER much closer to the business and enabling a more holistic, proactive approach to people risk and organisational change.

The Role

You will lead the Employee Relations function, managing a small team while taking ownership of complex and high-profile employee matters across the organisation.

Responsibilities include:

• Leading and developing the Employee Relations team.
• Providing strategic Employee Relations advice to senior leaders and Executive stakeholders.
• Managing complex Employee Relations matters including conduct, capability, performance, grievances, disciplinaries, discrimination, whistleblowing, sickness absence, settlements and organisational change.
• Supporting business transformation and change programmes.
• Preparing governance papers and contributing to Board-level discussions where appropriate.
• Developing and embedding Employee Relations policies, ensuring alignment with employment legislation and regulatory requirements.
• Partnering closely with HR Business Partners, Risk, Legal and senior business leaders to deliver commercially focused outcomes.
• Driving consistent, fair and pragmatic Employee Relations practices across the organisation.
• Coaching managers through complex people challenges while balancing commercial and regulatory considerations.

About You

We’re keen to speak with individuals who can demonstrate:

• Significant Employee Relations leadership experience within a regulated Financial Services environment.
• Strong understanding of UK Employment Law and complex case management.
• Excellent knowledge of SMCR and wider regulatory requirements.
• Experience partnering with senior executives and front-office stakeholders.
• A commercial, pragmatic approach to balancing business risk with employee outcomes.
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing Employee Relations teams.

Experience gained within Asset Management, Wealth Management, Investment Management, Private Markets, Banking or Hedge Funds would be particularly advantageous.

Qualified Employment Lawyers are encouraged to apply, although this is not essential. We are equally interested in experienced HR and Employee Relations professionals with a strong track record in regulated Financial Services.

Opportunity

The business is open to a range of hiring solutions and would welcome conversations with candidates interested in:

• Interim assignments (day rate consulting)
• Fixed-term contracts
• Temp-to-perm opportunities
• Permanent appointments

There is an immediate requirement to secure overlap with the current postholder, making availability over the coming weeks highly advantageous.

If you have the commercial mindset, technical expertise and credibility to operate at senior leadership level within a fast-paced regulated environment, we would be delighted to arrange a confidential conversation.