Head of Employee Relations in Northampton

Hybrid / Full time / 37.50 hours per week. Some travel required to our offices in London and Northampton. Salary £doe plus car allowance. Closing Date: 20th February 2026.

Purpose Of Role

To lead the strategic development and operational delivery of employment relations across Bright Horizons. Responsible for delivering a high impact, ER service through expert guidance, policy innovation, and operational excellence whilst mitigating risk, and empowering managers to lead inclusively and effectively. This is a high-profile role and is pivotal in ensuring timely and insightful interactions while driving leadership capability to foster a high performance, ensuring alignment with our HEART values and safeguarding commitments. The role also includes direct line management of the HR Advisors and partnering with the HR Business Partners ensuring consistent, expert support across all employee relations matters.

Key Tasks And Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement a forward-thinking employment relations strategy aligned with organisational values and objectives.
• Employee Relations Advisory: Provide subject matter expert guidance on complex employee relations issues including grievances, disciplinaries, and disputes. Collaborate with business stakeholders, in-house counsel (when required) and external third parties on conciliation, mediation, and dispute resolution to mitigate risk and embed learnings. Responsible for ACAS preclaims and ET claims and agreed financial parameters.
• Suitability Capability: Govern the end-to-end suitability and health declaration process, integrating with SME and external providers to ensure a robust, fair, and compliant process.
• Policy and Process Development: Develop and maintain forward thinking HR policies and procedures and draft and update employment contracts, and handbooks ensuring legal compliance while enhancing operational excellence. Monitor legal developments and best practice trends to inform continuous policy improvement. Represent HR on the Policy Advisory Group. Review and maintain content on Bright Flex as user friendly, informative and engaging.
• Operational Excellence: Champion ongoing enhancement of internal workflows and standardisation of tools and templates to enable best in class delivery and maximise operational efficiency. Ensure seamless case management and vendor partnership excellence.
• Compliance and Risk Management: Ensure adherence to employment law and mitigate legal risks through proactive case management and training.
• Change Management: Support stakeholders with organisational change initiatives including restructures, divestments, acquisitions, and workforce transitions. Project lead on all HR due diligence.
• Data and Insights: Monitor ER trends, analyse data, and report on key metrics to inform decision-making. Identify trends and carry out deep dive analysis into root causes and influence continuous improvements and operational efficiency.
• Systems and Processes: Lead cross-functional business process reviews impacting HR systems and policies (e.g., Payroll, Safeguarding, Convercent, Whistleblowing). Recommend system enhancements aligned with HR strategy and service delivery goals.
• Team Leadership: Lead and develop a high-performing employment relations and employee suitability team, ensuring professional development, and fostering a culture of excellence and collaboration.
• Build Manager Capability: Empower managers with the necessary tools and training to lead effectively and uphold our values. Conduct post-case reviews to extract lessons learned and inform future strategy.

Responsible For

• Contributing to shape and drive the People Strategy to meet the organisational strategic objectives.
• Acting as a subject matter expert and trusted advisor to business leaders.
• Collaborating with business leaders and SMEs on suitability and safeguarding matters.
• Leading and developing the ER Advisor team.
• Conducting internal quality reviews to ensure SLA and KPI compliance.

Essential Experience

• Proven experience in a senior "Head of" ER or HR role managing high-volume, complex employee relations caseloads.
• Strong knowledge of policy development, and UK Employment Law and legislative compliance. Law Qualification or Degree Desirable.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and coach teams in a fast-paced, service-oriented environment.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Demonstratable excellence in decision-making, prioritisation, and time management skills.
• Evidence strategic influence and explain results.

Education

• Relevant Degree in HR Management CIPD L7 Essential.
• Law Qualification / Degree Desirable.

Desirable Experience

• Working in childcare or early years settings or in sectors with high regulatory / safeguarding requirements.
• Demonstratable experience of having set up or transformed an existing ER function.

Bright Horizons is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This post is subject to safer recruitment practice and pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check, which will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all backgrounds to apply. We will consider reasonable adjustments required by applicants. If you share our passion, values, and have most of the skills listed, we encourage you to apply – as you may be just what we are looking for. We look forward to receiving your application. If you experience any problems, please email and we will be happy to help.