Shape the people strategy, culture and organisational capability of Northern LGPS as it enters the next phase of its development.

Northern LGPS is entering an important period of development, creating an FCA authorised investment management company and establishing the leadership, governance and operating capabilities required for the future.

As Head of People & Culture, you’ll have the opportunity to shape the people agenda at a formative stage in Northern’s development. You’ll lead the development of people strategies, policies and programmes that support the organisation’s culture, workforce needs, regulatory obligations and public-sector values.

Working closely with senior leaders and stakeholders across Northern LGPS, you’ll provide strategic people advice while establishing robust approaches to workforce planning, recruitment, performance, reward, learning and development, employee relations and people governance. It is a role with broad organisational reach and the opportunity to help create the culture, capabilities and people practices Northern needs for the long term.

About Northern LGPS

Northern LGPS is a c£70bn pooled investment partnership for the Local Government Pension Scheme, bringing together the investments of Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Merseyside Pension Fund and West Yorkshire Pension Fund.

Building on the foundations of its collaboration over several years, Northern LGPS is now entering the next phase of its development. This phase focuses on establishing an FCA authorised investment management company with a dedicated senior leadership team; strengthening governance and creating a clear operating model to support long-term investment outcomes.

For those joining at this stage, the opportunity is exceptional. These roles offer the chance to shape strategy, set standards and build leadership capability for the long term, working closely with the partner funds, who are both shareholders and clients, Boards and regulators to ensure Northern LGPS continues to evolve as a well-governed, resilient investment organisation.

Our culture

As Northern LGPS continues to evolve, we are building a collaborative, open and trusting organisation where people can do their best work.

We believe strong outcomes come from working together, sharing knowledge and supporting one another. Our flexible and hybrid working arrangements give colleagues greater flexibility in how they manage their time, while supporting collaboration and colleague wellbeing.

We are developing a supportive learning culture where people are encouraged to grow, contribute ideas and help shape how the organisation works. Our ambition is to build a resilient and sustainable organisation that delivers for its Partner Funds over the long term.

The main responsibilities of this role

As Head of People & Culture, you’ll lead Northern’s people agenda, ensuring its HR strategy, policies, processes and controls support both organisational priorities and regulatory requirements.

You will:

• Develop and implement people strategies, policies and procedures aligned with Northern’s organisational strategy, business goals and regulatory requirements.
• Act as a strategic adviser to senior management and key stakeholders, providing guidance across a broad range of people and organisational matters.
• Lead workforce planning, recruitment and onboarding, working with managers to understand future staffing needs and attract and retain high-calibre talent.
• Shape performance management across the organisation, including performance reviews, feedback approaches and development planning, with a focus on engagement and productivity.
• Identify organisational learning needs and oversee learning and development programmes, monitoring their effectiveness and adapting them where required.
• Manage compensation structures and benefits programmes, including regular reviews and recommendations, and support remuneration and benefits processes in line with policy, governance and applicable remuneration codes.
• Provide leadership on complex employee relations matters, supporting fair, consistent and lawful approaches to grievances, disputes and other workplace issues.
• Help foster an inclusive and positive working environment through proactive communication, employee engagement, wellbeing initiatives and forums, and a culture of continuous improvement.
• Use people metrics and analytics to inform decision-making and provide senior management and governance forums with meaningful management information, trends and insights.
• Maintain effective HR records and data privacy controls, ensuring right-to-work and background checks are completed.
• Ensure compliance with employment law, regulatory obligations and internal policies, escalating breaches where required.
• Develop, maintain and embed HR policies and procedures, ensuring colleagues understand relevant changes.
• Centralise people policy, process and control standards across locations, with robust governance over recruitment, performance and remuneration.
• Lead and develop the People team, initially including one HR Generalist, while helping establish the capability required to support Northern as it evolves.

What we're looking for

You’ll bring the breadth of people leadership needed to operate strategically while remaining close enough to delivery to establish effective policies, processes and organisational practices.

You’ll need to be able to:

• Develop and implement people strategies and policies aligned with organisational priorities and regulatory requirements.
• Advise senior leaders and stakeholders on strategic and complex people matters.
• Lead workforce planning, talent acquisition and onboarding activities.
• Shape effective approaches to performance management, employee engagement and development.
• Oversee learning and development programmes and assess their effectiveness.
• Manage compensation and benefits processes within appropriate policy, governance and remuneration frameworks.
• Navigate complex employee relations matters with fair, consistent and lawful judgement.
• Use HR metrics, analytics and management information to support informed decision-making.
• Maintain effective people governance, records, data privacy controls and compliance processes.
• Build productive relationships across the organisation and with relevant external service providers, regulators, industry bodies and auditors.
• Create consistent people policies, processes and control standards across multiple locations.

Location

You can be based at any of our offices in Bradford, Manchester or Liverpool.

Flexible and hybrid working

Northern LGPS offers flexible and hybrid working arrangements, alongside a commitment to colleague wellbeing.

Sponsorship

We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Equal opportunities

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates, regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race (including colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and able to thrive. If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process to support your application, please let us know, and we will work with you to meet your needs.

 

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a sufficient volume of suitable applications.