RQ1680284 – People Relationship Advisor

The role will support the people relationship issues of a portfolio or group of services, providing expert HR advice and support. It will work in partnership with service areas to develop and maintain positive employee relationships, increasing engagement and creating a positive organisational culture. The role will support services to develop and maintain impactful service delivery focused on positive outcomes for our residents. The role will have specific services to support but will be expected to work flexibly to support other areas and priorities as required.

Key Outcomes and Objectives

• Ensure expert, consistent advice and decision making in employment practice, including employment legislation. This includes managing and supporting complex cases such as Employment Tribunals, large-scale and complex organisational change, organisational development, workforce planning and resourcing, pay and reward, job evaluations, learning and development.
• Ensure employment practices adopt inclusive, relational, and restorative approaches.
• Provide expert advice and guidance, with hands-on involvement where required, on individual cases, dispute resolution, and de-risking people management issues.
• Ensure service areas have access to people data, insight, research, and best practice information to support evidence-based decision making.
• Support the management and strengthening of the council’s relationships with recognised Trade Unions, staff networks, partners, and stakeholders.
• Support the design and delivery of service-based people projects and People and Inclusion projects, including working in multi-disciplinary teams where required.
• Support and coach managers in people management practices, including training and workshops.
• Support the design, development, and implementation of people management policies, procedures, and good practice guidelines that are robust, relevant, and aligned to relational and restorative approaches.
• Attend meetings on behalf of the People Relationship Lead as required and act as a point of contact in their absence.

People Management Responsibilities

• No line management responsibility.
• From time to time, the role may be required to coach and mentor other HR colleagues, including temporary agency staff, those on work experience, or apprentices. This may include allocating tasks, overseeing delivery, and providing feedback.

Relationships

• The role will build and maintain effective relationships with Directors, Heads of Service, Managers, Supervisors, Members, and staff.
• Partners, Head Teachers, Bursars, Governors, and statutory bodies.
• People and Inclusion colleagues, including learning and development federated services.
• Other support services such as Legal, Finance, ICT, Procurement, and Strategy.
• Trade Unions and representatives from self-organised staff network groups.

Work Environment

Hybrid working arrangement, based either from a Camden administrative base or home. Staff are expected to spend an average of two days per week working in Camden.

Technical Knowledge and Experience

• Detailed knowledge of employment legislation and current trends.
• A strong understanding of inclusive, relational, and restorative practices.
• Detailed knowledge of professional HR practice and procedures, typically gained through a recognised professional qualification (e.g. CIPD).
• A collaborative approach built on mutual trust and support.
• Strong communication and influencing skills.
• The ability to analyse problems, identify root causes, and develop value-adding solutions.
• A customer-focused, innovative, and creative mindset, open to challenge and continuous learning.
• Evidence of short- to medium-term planning and contribution to project deliverables.
• The ability to build effective working relationships at all organisational levels to influence and deliver outcomes.

Camden’s Organisational Approach

Camden is on a journey from bureaucratic processes to relational working based on trust, partnerships, and empathy. The People and Inclusion division plays a key role in supporting this transformation. Being relational means putting people at the centre of what we do, building trust, showing empathy, and focusing on strong relationships. It involves balancing freedom with responsibility, guided by shared principles, and ensuring alignment between values and actions, while coaching managers to lead with compassion.

People and Inclusion Division Vision

The division aims to support the organisation to imagine and deliver a different future by:

• Building strong, human-centred relationships.
• Empowering people to experiment and create change safely, supported by strong data and insight.
• Inspiring continuous learning and embedding a learning culture.
• Connecting the human element with organisational change.
• Demonstrating resilience, flexibility, shared power, openness, and kindness.

Commitment

All staff within the People and Inclusion division are expected to work in this way and support others across the organisation to do the same.