Head of HR in York

Birmingham, Leeds, Swansea, York
Job Summary
Do you have extensive HR leadership experience and a passion for shaping people strategy in a growing organisation?
Would you like to play a key role in influencing the future of HR in a new and evolving public sector agency?
Have you led organisation-wide change while maintaining employee engagement and driving cultural transformation?
If so, we’d love to hear from you!
The Operations Directorate is responsible for the effective delivery of Corporate Services to Active Travel England (ATE). Operations include Communications, Finance, Human Resources, Programme Management Office and Investments.
Human Resources is a key enabling function responsible for the planning and delivery of the ATE\'s People Strategy and a full range of HR services including Organisational Design and Development, Talent Management and HR Operations. The Head of HR works with senior managers to plan, develop, and deliver organisational objectives. In addition, this role is part of the Department for Transport (DfT) HR Leadership
Joining Our Department Comes With Many Benefits, Including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.
  

Read more in the Benefits section below!
Find out more about what it\'s like working at Active Travel England:
Active Travel England roles: Active Travel England - Department for Transport Careers
Job Description
As the Head of HR, you will report to the Chief Operating Officer and be responsible for developing and delivering the ATE people agenda, which will enable the ATE to achieve its objectives. Building leadership and people management skills throughout the Agency and providing a modern and flexible HR service to the business. Providing insightful leadership to effectively deliver a HR function that embraces innovation, appropriate risk taking, organisational governance, individual accountability and responsibility at all levels.
Your Responsibilities Will Include, But Aren’t Limited To:

• Lead and inspire the Human Resources (HR) team and wider Senior Leadership Team to drive forward the People Strategy and People related deliverables within the ATE Strategy and Business Plan to include cultural change, leadership development, talent management, workforce planning, performance management and wellbeing.
• Responsible for the successful delivery of HR services to the business, including pay, reward, employee relations, casework (including litigation), wellbeing, resourcing, policy, talent and development.
• Work in partnership with DfT Group HR, senior leaders and the HR Team to take forward cross Group and cross-Government initiatives and apply them within ATE. This includes shared services, recruitment, policy, culture and wellbeing, employee relations, pay and pensions, learning and development.
• Provides strategic support and guidance to the Executive Team and Senior Leaders in people matters driving organisational people priorities.
• Take a lead role in change and transformation programmes, coaching senior managers in inclusive organisational design and development. Facilitating change and ensuring adherence to employment legislation, managing the Trade Union relationships throughout.
• Line management of between 1-2 individuals
  

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.
For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.
As the Head of HR, you will report to the Chief Operating Officer and be responsible for developing and delivering the ATE people agenda, which will enable the ATE to achieve its objectives. Building leadership and people management skills throughout the Agency and providing a modern and flexible HR service to the business. Providing insightful leadership to effectively deliver a HR function that embraces innovation, appropriate risk taking, organisational governance, individual accountability and responsibility at all levels.
Your Responsibilities Will Include, But Aren’t Limited To:

• Lead and inspire the Human Resources (HR) team and wider Senior Leadership Team to drive forward the People Strategy and People related deliverables within the ATE Strategy and Business Plan to include cultural change, leadership development, talent management, workforce planning, performance management and wellbeing.
• Responsible for the successful delivery of HR services to the business, including pay, reward, employee relations, casework (including litigation), wellbeing, resourcing, policy, talent and development.
• Work in partnership with DfT Group HR, senior leaders and the HR Team to take forward cross Group and cross-Government initiatives and apply them within ATE. This includes shared services, recruitment, policy, culture and wellbeing, employee relations, pay and pensions, learning and development.
• Provides strategic support and guidance to the Executive Team and Senior Leaders in people matters driving organisational people priorities.
• Take a lead role in change and transformation programmes, coaching senior managers in inclusive organisational design and development. Facilitating change and ensuring adherence to employment legislation, managing the Trade Union relationships throughout.
• Line management of between 1-2 individuals
  

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills they need. We aim to empower line managers to create teams where people can flourish and deliver excellent outcomes for the public.
For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.
Person specification
Essential Qualifications/licenses:

• Relevant professional qualification or knowledge - Full or part-qualified member (Level 7) of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) or willing to work towards this, or equivalent professional qualification or HR knowledge.
  

Required Experience:
To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Experience in leading a Human Resources function, shaping its direction, culture, values, and goals.
• Experience of a senior HR leadership role, in a regulatory context in public sector.
• Strong interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills, with the ability to establish relationships quickly and influence a wide range of senior leaders. stakeholders, staff representative groups and Trade Unions, as well as external partners.
• Experience of having led organisation wide transformation implementation, with a focus on maintaining delivery at pace, employee engagement and trust through significant change.
• A deep understanding and experience of how to foster an inclusive and positive workplace culture across a diverse and geographically distributed organisation.
• Expertise in the delivery and management of data and insight-led HR functions and services, supporting a distributed workforce.
  

Working Hours, Office Attendance And Travel Requirements
Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.
This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.
The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your principal workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, visiting stakeholders and colleagues, or carrying out detached duty in another DfT or agency workplace. The chosen principal workplace will be the designated place of work and any remote or home working arrangement does not constitute a change to the designated place of work or contractual terms and conditions. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.
For more information on how this works for this role, please contact the Vacancy Holder (see below for contact details).
Visa Sponsorship
Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.
Qualifications
Relevant professional qualification or knowledge - Full or part-qualified member (Level 7) of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) or willing to work towards this, or equivalent professional qualification or HR knowledge.
Behaviours
We\'ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
  

Alongside your salary of £67,313, Active Travel England contributes £19,500 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.
  

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies (opens in a new window).
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.
How To Apply
Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant\'s qualifications, skills, and potential fit within our organisation.
The Selection Process For This Role Will Be:
Stage 1: Sift of CV and personal statement
Stage 2: Interview
You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.
Stage 1: Sift
At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV and a 1000 word personal statement. Within your CV and personal statement please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:
• Strong interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills, with the ability to establish relationships quickly and influence a wide range of senior leaders, stakeholders, staff representative groups and Trade Unions, as well as external partners. – Lead criteria
• Experience of a senior HR leadership role, in in a regulatory context in public sector
• A deep understanding and experience of how to foster an inclusive and positive workplace culture across a diverse and geographically distributed organisation.
• Experience of having led organisation wide transformation implementation, with a focus on maintaining delivery at pace, employee engagement and trust through significant change.
  

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Success Profile element, experience . Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Please note: the sift will be completed on a rolling basis whilst the campaign is still live, so you may receive your sift scores before the advert closing date.
The sift will take place week commencing 07/07/2025
Stage 2: Interview
At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – (Communicating and Influencing, Seeing the Big Picture, Leadership)
• Experience –
• Strong interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills, with the ability to establish relationships quickly and influence a wide range of senior leaders, stakeholders, staff representative groups and Trade Unions, as well as external partners. – Lead criteria
• Experience of having led organisation wide transformation implementation, with a focus on maintaining delivery at pace, employee engagement and trust through significant change.
• Expertise in the delivery and management of data and insight-led HR functions and services, supporting a distributed workforce.
• Strengths
  

The interviews will take place week commencing 21/07/2025
This interview will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.
You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).
Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.
Further information on the selection process
Feedback on your application can only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
We will also hold a 12 -month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.
AI Tools and Platforms
During the application process candidates are allowed to utilise AI (artificial intelligence) tools and platforms to support them in writing their Behaviours, CVs and Personal Statements. However, you must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application or used during interview is truthful and factually accurate. Applications may be rejected if plagiarism is detected. Examples of plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or concepts generated by artificial intelligence, as your own. You can read more here.
Reasonable Adjustments
As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Document Accessibility
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the \'Contact point for applicants\' section.
This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email for assistance.
Further Information
For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit the How We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.
Pre-employment Checking
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
  

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission\'s recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission\'s recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact :

• Name : Vijay Sharma
• Email :
  

Recruitment team

• Email :
  

Further information
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email:
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here #J-18808-Ljbffr