Assistant Director of People Strategy and OD

Job Description

The salary range for this role is £81,877 - £92,278 per annum, based on working 36-hours per week. At Surrey County Council we have big ambitions to do things better than we ever have before and to ensure no one who lives, works, and spends time in our County is left behind. By 2030 we want Surrey to be a uniquely special place, where everyone not onlyenjoys life to the full but positively thrives. To support this ambition we need a thriving workforce and are looking for an Assistant Director of People Strategy and OD to lead on the delivery of our ambitious People Strategy and Delivery Plan to help usachieve this.You will take the helm in driving and supporting the delivery of the strategy, to support the achievement of our desired cultural outcomes, and behaviours. Your strategic acumen will empower you to foster shared ownership of our workforce ambitions, fromour senior leadership to every individual within the organisation. You will also play a lead role in strengthening the diversity of our workforce and creating an inclusive culture that values difference, where all staff feel they belong and have opportunitiesto succeed.Collaborating with our dedicated colleagues across People and Change, you will forge strong partnerships both within the service and across the organisation to align workforce ambitions with our organisational strategy, known as The Surrey Way. Together,we will identify growth opportunities and foster collaboration.Drawing upon your technical and professional knowledge, you will serve as the expert advisor, guiding and influencing organisational design and development. You will champion the Employee Experience and Organisational Development and Learning functions,including nurturing our Early Careers and Apprenticeships programmes, and the vitally important work to drive our ambitious Equality, Diversity and Inclusion plans. With your leadership we will establish high-performing functions that seamlessly coalesce aroundour People Strategy ambitions, breathing life into our workforce vision and embedding The Surrey Way into everything we do. Together, we will create an environment where innovation flourishes, diversity thrives, and excellence becomes the norm.This role will work closely alongside our Director of People and Change, Shella Smith, who was appointed in January and shared these reflections on her first few months with Surrey County Council:"I joined the council in January as Director of People and Change and so far its been amazing! The organisation has great ambitions and truly understands that our workforce is crucial to delivering our ambitions as a council for the benefitof the customer and communities we are here to serve. We need to make sure our guiding principle of no one left behind applies to our staff as well as our residents and this role will play a crucial part in empowering our people to reach their full potential.About you: We are looking for people who can evidence previous experience of successfully delivering at scale in a complex work environment within the People and Change space. This will be combined with a robust understanding of the statutory Local Government framework,policies and services and a natural flare for collaborative partnership working and proven ability of designing, deploying and delivering a people/workforce strategy aligned to the operational needs of a complex organisation. You will be a leader who can quicklyestablish both gravitas and trust, bringing cohesion and understanding to complex issues with both internal and, where required, external stakeholders. Our values are important to us, and as a leader within our organisation, we would look to you to be a rolemodel and custodian of all that we care about.To apply you will need to upload your CV and answer the following application questions:

1. What has motivated you to apply
2. Your experience of designing, deploying and delivering a people/workforce strategy aligned to the operational needs of a complex organisation.
3. Evidence of your communication skills and ability to influence and engage high level internal and external stakeholders effectively.
4. How you stay on top of best practice/innovation and use this to drive high performance in the teams you lead.

The job advert closes at 23:59 on 13/07/2023Interviews will take place on 21/07/2023.This post has been designated as a politically restricted post in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.We look forward to receiving your application, please click on the apply online button below to submit.BenefitsFrom flexible working to job sharing (where possible) we are committed to providing a healthy work life balance. A laptop and mobile will be supplied if applicable to your role. You will benefit from 26 days annual leave, rising to 28 days after 2 yearsservice, a generous local government salary related pension, as well as the option to join our car lease scheme. For more information about the wide variety of benefits you can take advantage of please visit our website.Our CommitmentSurrey County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. A guaranteed interview will be offered to all disabled applications where:

• The candidate has evidenced the minimum criteria for the role through their application
• The candidate has chosen to share that they have a disability on the application form

Our application form and onboarding process will provide an opportunity to request any reasonable adjustments for the interview and/or the role. We want to be an inclusive and diverse employer reflecting the community we serve and particularly welcome applications from all underrepresented groups.