Senior Operations Lead in Chelmsford

Your new organisation Southend on Sea City Council is a Unitary local authority, providing vital services to meet the needs of the local community. We employ around 1,800 staff who are working alongside our partners and local communities to deliver the city vision and make lives better for the people of Southend. Southend itself is a vibrant place to live and work, offering coastal living alongside excellent and fast transport links into London.

Working for Southend-on-Sea City Council offers a challenging and rewarding career in local government within a collaborative and innovative environment. As a Unitary Authority we are responsible for all local government functions ranging from regulatory services, transport, public health, and parks through to planning, social services, community safety and education, so we offer a wide range of career opportunities. The diversity of our economy, communities and investment in several exciting regeneration projects makes our Council a great place to work, learn and make a difference.

Your New Role Southend-on-Sea City Council is embarking on an exciting period of transformation, and we are seeking an experienced and forward-thinking Operations Shared Service Lead to play a pivotal role in shaping our newly formed People & Culture Operations Shared Service. This is a rare opportunity to lead the design, establishment and continuous evolution of a centralised HR Operations function acting as the strategic Front Door for all core people and administrative services across the Council. In this permanent, full-time role with a hybrid working arrangement, you will lead the development and delivery of a modern shared service at the heart of the People & Culture directorate.

You will shape and embed the new operating model, transforming traditional HR processes into a more efficient, consistent and digitally enabled service. You will oversee the creation and management of a centralised HR service desk, ensuring smooth, standardised processes across payroll, contracts, compliance and wider workforce transactions. As a trusted adviser, you will support managers with people-related matters, oversee routine casework and partner on more complex issues when required. You will lead and develop a team of HR and Data professionals, building capability and fostering a high-performance, customer-focused culture. You will also drive improvements in the use of people data and systems, support the development of dashboards and insights, and contribute to wider transformation through key projects such as the Council's ERP (Business World) programme. You will also play a key role in resourcing strategy and workforce planning, ensuring an excellent experience for candidates and hiring managers. You will manage the Council's resourcing strategy covering permanent and agency resource to include delivery and client leadership of improvements with the current provider or any future delivery partner.

What You Need to Succeed To succeed in this role, you will bring significant experience in HR operations, shared services or service transformation, along with the confidence to lead teams and drive change across a complex organisation. You will be an influential leader who can build capability, support colleagues through new ways of working and champion a customer-focused, values-led approach. You will have excellent knowledge of employment law, including EU and UK legislation and case law, supported by a strong understanding of HR policies, procedures and good practice. You should be confident using people data, digital tools and system insights to identify trends, support decision-making and drive continuous improvement. Strong organisational skills, resilience and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment are also crucial. Above all, you will be proactive, solution-oriented and committed to delivering consistent, high-quality HR services. It is vital that you are CIPD qualified (Lvl 5 minimum) or possess equivalent in-depth HR experience.

What you'll get in return If you join the Council, you will enjoy a range of benefits including flexible working (with a blended approach to office and home working), salary sacrifice schemes, 25 days holiday in a full-time contract.