Head of Colleague Relations in Glasgow

Salary: £81,000.00 GBP Annual

Pension: A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%. Please refer to the Civil Service Pensions website for more information.

Type: Full time

SLC offer a blended working model which will typically be 2 days in the office and 3 days from home.

Student Loans Company is a non-profit making Government-owned organisation to provide loans and grants to students in universities and colleges in the UK. Since 1989, we have enabled our customers to invest in their futures by delivering secure, accurate and efficient assessment, payment and repayment services.

Our Values

• Honesty: We act with integrity and transparency, sharing information openly and addressing challenges with courage.
• Empowerment: We enable people to take initiative, make impactful decisions, and continuously learn and grow.
• Accountability: We deliver on commitments, own our successes and mistakes, and strive for quality outcomes.
• Respect: We value diverse perspectives, actively listen, and create an inclusive environment where everyone belongs.
• Trust: We collaborate across teams, build dependable relationships, and work as one to deliver for our customers.

These values are more than words—they guide our decisions, shape our collaborations, and strengthen our impact on the students we serve.

About the Role

This newly created role will lead SLC's Colleague Relations function, setting strategic direction and guiding a 15‑strong team to deliver consistent, high‑quality advisory, partnering, and policy support across the organisation. You will shape how SLC navigates complex employee relations, organisational change, and workforce risk, ensuring decisions are fair, legally compliant, and aligned with our values.

Working closely with senior leaders, you will influence organisation design, workforce planning, and cultural initiatives, while steering enterprise‑wide projects that modernise processes and enhance colleague experience. Through data‑driven insight and preventative action, you will strengthen colleague engagement and operational outcomes, building a high‑performing, collaborative team environment with clear priorities and accountability.

As a senior leader within the People Directorate, you will play a key role in driving SLC's People evolution – helping us to step into the future of a modern, strategic and digitally enabled Directorate.

What You Bring:

• Deep expertise across core HR disciplines including people policy, strategic partnering, and advisory services, with a clear track record of improving business performance and colleague experience.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment legislation, case law, and best‑practice application, including experience managing complex ER issues up to Employment Tribunal level.
• Strong judgement and decision‑making capability, with the ability to balance legal risk, organisational values, and practical business needs.
• Evidence of driving continuous improvement and modernisation across people processes, systems, or services.
• Strong capability in analysing complex people data, case trends, and workforce insights to inform strategic recommendations and/or preventative interventions for different audiences.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience preparing board‑level papers, presenting complex issues, and influencing diverse stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to apply a pragmatic, solutions‑focused approach to complex people challenges while maintaining fairness, consistency, and organisational values.
• Proven ability to build and sustain strategic relationships across HR, senior leadership, and external providers to influence outcomes at scale.
• Significant experience operating in complex organisations, ideally across both public‑sector environments and large, multi‑stakeholder settings.
• Extensive experience leading specialist HR teams, with clear evidence of developing capability, setting strategic direction, and creating a high‑performing, engaged team culture.
• Proven experience leading senior‑level discussions and influencing Executive leaders on sensitive, high‑impact people matters.
• Experience managing constructive relationships with trade unions, including navigating consultation, negotiation and dispute‑resolution.
• Experience shaping and implementing organisation‑wide people strategies, frameworks and policies that support organisational transformation, cultural consistency and workforce resilience.
• CIPD or equivalent experience, with a commitment to ongoing professional development.
• Deep experience applying HR expertise across multiple people specialisms, including policy, partnering, and colleague relations.

You can expect more from a career with SLC. We support colleagues to unlock their potential through our Career Pathways development programme and offer an excellent benefit and rewards package that includes:

• 28 days annual leave plus 8 public holidays.
• Option to buy/sell annual leave.
• Flexi-time and enhanced flexible working options available.
• Option to join the Civil Service pension scheme.
• Life insurance cover for 4 x annual salary.
• Enhanced company sick pay and family leave including maternity, paternity and adoption.
• Contributory lifestyle benefit options including discounts at hundreds of retailers, cycle to work scheme, access to the Civil Service Sports and Leisure Club for discounted gym memberships, and an optional dental insurance scheme.

The Legal Bits: We'll need you to confirm you have the right to work in the UK. If we offer you a job and you accept, there are some background checks we need to complete before you can start with us. This will include employment history, criminal record check, credit reference check and fraud check.

SLC are committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are inclusive for all candidates and will make reasonable adjustments for those who consider themselves to have a disability or long-term condition in line with the Equality Act 2010. Our application process provides candidates with the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments.