HOW TO APPLY

The BBC has engaged an executive search firm, Mullwood Partnership, to manage the selection process for this role. Please be aware that your application will be managed by Mullwood Partnership, who will have access to your CV and personal details for the purpose of this vacancy only.

Should you want any further information about the role, or to speak with someone, please contact Sharon Mullen or Jo Sellwood-Taylor of Mullwood Partnership, at the following email address: bbc@mullwood.com

OVERVIEW & CONTEXT

The BBC is a world-renowned public service broadcaster. With a mission to inform, educate, and entertain, it has grown to become one of the most respected and influential media organisations globally. The BBC is dedicated to delivering exceptional content that enriches people's lives and with a commitment to public service, innovation, and diversity, continues to be a trusted source of information and entertainment for millions of people around the world.

The BBC operates across the UK and in 60 countries globally. It has an annual income of £5bn, primarily made up of the licence fee paid by UK households, along with other sources of revenue, such as commercial operations through BBC Studios, a global producer and distributor. This unique funding model allows the BBC to maintain editorial independence, pursuing truth with no agenda, backing the best homegrown storytelling by investing in talent both on and off screen, and delivering unmissable content that serves the public interest and that brings people together.

The BBC is the home for a diverse range of content across multiple platforms, including iPlayer, BBC Sounds, television, radio, online, and mobile. Its television channels, including BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC News, provide an eclectic and all-encompassing range of news, drama, documentaries, and entertainment. At the same time, BBC Radio brings music, talk shows, and cultural programming to audiences. Across the UK, the BBC provides bespoke programming and services across each of the Nations and Regions. Globally, the BBC reaches 418 million people on average every week, providing services in 41 different languages.

In 2024, the BBC grew market share more than any other broadcaster or streamer; BBC iPlayer is now the fastest growing streaming platform in the UK, BBC Sounds is the second biggest audio platform in the UK, and the BBC is the home to the most popular radio stations in the UK for both speech and music.

The BBC is committed to innovation and staying at the forefront of the media industry. It invests in cutting-edge technology and digital transformation to enhance the user experience and reach new audiences.

CURRENT OPPORTUNITY

In April 2025 the BBC said it would take action to improve workplace culture, after publishing a comprehensive independent Culture Review.

The Review made recommendations to invest in HR roles which will improve the BBC's approach to resolution of employee relations issues and grievances. To support this a new Resolution Centre is being established which will provide a framework for case management of people-related issues, with a strong focus on delivering measurable improvements for colleagues in the workplace.

Reporting to the Chief People Officer, this role sits on the HR leadership team and will be responsible for evolving and delivering a world-class employee relations function. The HR Director, Employee Relations will drive improvement to processes, build a high-performing team, and provide robust governance; timely, expert complex case management; and a technology-driven, insights-based approach. This will improve the experience of resolving issues for staff and instil confidence at all levels throughout the organisation for how cases are managed. The role will help safeguard the rights and wellbeing of individuals involved in such cases.

JOB DESCRIPTION: MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

JOB BAND: Senior Leader
CONTRACT TYPE: Permanent
LOCATION: The role can be based in any of the following BBC hubs: Birmingham, London, Salford or Cardiff, with travel as required.
REPORTING TO: Uzair Qadeer, Chief People Officer

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work closely with the Chief People Officer to deliver and lead the new operating model for proactive management and resolution of employee relations issues through the newly formed 'Resolution Centre'.
• Improve People's Experience of Case Management and Governance: Deliver measurable improvement for colleagues by embedding robust governance and accelerating case resolution; ensure resolution times and colleague satisfaction are key success measures.
• Strengthen Employee Relations Capability: Build team capability for all employee relations work (encompassing BBC staff and extended workforce) including complex and high-profile cases with a single triage point and contact for all casework, supported by specialists in data, legal, corporate investigations, and communications.
• Data Driven Decision Making: Champion the use, quality, and accuracy of people data, enabling swift, correct decisions and continuous improvement across all aspects of Employee Relations and people's experience of how cases are managed.
• Work seamlessly across specialist teams - data, legal, corporate investigations, and communications - especially in managing serious or high-profile cases.
• Own and evolve employee relations policies and governance frameworks, ensuring they are robust, consistently applied, and aligned with BBC values and legal standards.
• Evolve all practices in line with recommendations from the 2025 BBC Workplace Culture Review, proactively leveraging insights and mediation to shape a collaborative, inclusive workplace.
• Play a lead role in coaching team leaders and building their capability in identifying and handling people-related issues quickly.
• Build a culture around informal resolution, using the BBC's Resolution First framework.
• Oversee the full spectrum of employee relations: managing attendance, underperformance, misconduct/gross misconduct, grievance, and B&H, all governed by a framework to assess risk and complexity.
• Accountable for the ownership and governance of employee relations policies, ensuring they are up-to-date, compliant, and aligned with organisational values and strategy.
• Manage risks associated with employee relations, influencing appetite to take risks, where appropriate.
• Personally lead and be accountable for high-profile cases, demonstrating resilience and empowering decision making - offering expert advice and reassurance to senior stakeholders in challenging situations, ensuring the utmost confidentiality.
• Provide strong functional leadership, setting a constructive, positive tone for the team and wider organisation; lead with credibility, emotional intelligence, and an unwavering commitment to collaborative innovation, while acting as a role model to the team and colleagues.
• Anticipate and proactively address challenges to organisational resilience.
• Be a trusted partner, building strong, high-impact relationships with executives, governance bodies, external stakeholders, and unions to ensure best practice and compliance.
• Overall accountability of decisions around HR case strategy and case direction, ensuring HR investigators deliver comprehensive fact-finding reports, working with a multi-disciplinary team to determine the strategic direction of each case.
• Responsible for managing the associated budget to ensure strategic and operational objectives are met.
• Oversees complex high-profile cases, ensuring cases are appropriately assessed and managed from the outset.
• Accountable for stakeholder engagement with Executive/Board on employee relations cases, ensuring clear communication, strategic alignment, and informed decision making.
• Accountable for the oversight of reporting and data related to employee relations cases, ensuring accuracy, insight, and alignment with organisational priorities.

ARE YOU THE RIGHT CANDIDATE?

This role is central to building a best-in-class Resolution Centre - empowering people, providing proactive solutions, and driving an innovative and collaborative culture through data, governance, specialist expertise, and inspiring leadership.

CORE CANDIDATE CRITERIA

• Significant experience as an expert in this field, including having led and delivered a world class service provision across ER and culture transformation in large, global, matrixed organisations, including law and employee relations.

• Demonstrable experience of operating as a senior leader, adept at managing numerous diverse senior and executive-level stakeholders and multiple competing priorities.

• A convincing and persuasive communicator, capable of championing new ways of thinking at all levels, with clear ability to establish effective and collaborative relationships across the BBC, and with external agencies/stakeholders.

• A deep functional/technical expert with broad and comprehensive understanding of theories, systems, and practices relevant to their functional area.

• Strong business acumen and understanding of governance, risk, and compliance, with extensive experience in managing significant budgets and understanding key financial drivers.

• Experience in leading Industrial Relations is an advantage.

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Candidate Behaviours will encompass:

• Inspirational leader who can role model behaviour in line with BBC Values, acts with real gravitas, pragmatism, and resilience, and can build trust and credibility quickly with senior leaders and stakeholders.
• Champion a speak up culture, giving individuals the confidence to speak up - and both those individuals, as well as wider stakeholders, assurance in the processes which will be undertaken.
• Organisationally astute, able to understand the dynamics of a broad, diverse, large complex global organisation with an alignment to the BBC's public service values.
• Sophisticated communicator, both written and verbally, with clear ability to analyse complex situations and evaluate solutions with practical delivery, and a sound judgement for risk management.
• Courageous challenger and influencer at all levels, articulate, engaging, and with a highly inclusive approach.
• Agile intellect, bringing confidence with humility, and the self-awareness to communicate with clarity, empathy, and impact.
• Pragmatic with high integrity, solution-oriented, committed to high standards and continuous improvement, a clear role model to coach and lead teams to raise performance levels.
• Innovative, strategic long-term thinker with clear foresight, coupled with attention to detail for immediate challenges and situations.

Above all, the successful candidate will be passionate about the BBC's public service mission and capable of aligning people strategy with the bold future of the organisation.