Assistant Director of People, Inclusion & Culture

Bury Council is on an ambitious journey of place-based transformation. Halfway through our ten-year “Let’s Do It!” strategy, we are reshaping how we work, how we lead and how we support our communities to thrive. This is not incremental change; it is a bold, values-led programme founded on community empowerment, inclusion and a strengths-based approach.

To help drive this agenda, we are seeking an exceptional Assistant Director of People and Inclusion to provide strategic leadership at the heart of our organisation. This is the Council’s most senior workforce professional, offering a rare opportunity to shape the culture of a modern local authority at a pivotal moment in its journey.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation, you will play a key role in the Council’s senior leadership team, working collaboratively with peers to shape strategic direction and organisational culture. You will be trusted to influence at the highest levels, providing confident, independent professional advice to elected members, the Chief Executive and corporate directors on complex, high-impact workforce and inclusion matters.

You will lead a broad and influential people function, encompassing HR operations, business partnering, organisational development, payroll and pensions, health and safety, as well as equality, diversity and inclusion. Your remit is both strategic and pragmatic, combining long-term workforce planning and cultural transformation with the operational credibility required to navigate complex employee relations in a large, unionised public sector environment.

Through your leadership, the people function will enable delivery of the Council’s most ambitious priorities, supporting improvement in critical services and ensuring Bury has the skills, behaviours and capacity required for the future. In Bury, inclusion is not a bolt-on; it is fundamental to how we lead and how we serve. You will shape, iterate and deliver our people and inclusion strategies ensuring our workforce reflects the rich diversity of Bury’s communities so that every colleague feels valued, supported and able to thrive.

As an inclusive employer, we are committed to tackling inequality, building opportunity and embedding fairness and respect throughout everything we do. This role will suit an experienced HR leader, who has experience of working with local government, or similarly challenging public services, and thrives in complexity bringing the calm confidence to challenge, influence and inspire. You will combine political awareness with sound judgement, strong professional credibility and a genuine commitment to developing people and empowering resilient, high-performing teams.

Bury Council is proud to be a good employer. We support flexible and agile working, recognising that people perform at their best when they are trusted, and able to balance commitments. We are striving to create a positive, inclusive working environment where wellbeing is prioritised and leaders role-model the behaviours we expect across the organisation.

Bury Council is working in partnership with Hays Executive to recruit to this pivotal role. For a confidential and informal discussion, please contact Simon Winspear on 07525 466 357. To apply, please visit this link to submit your CV and supporting information. Applications close at 23:59 on 9th March 2026.