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About Network Rail

🌟 Join Our Team at Network Rail! 🌟

Are you ready to make a difference in people's lives? At Network Rail, we connect passengers and freight customers, ensuring safe and efficient transportation across the country. We're an organisation where people truly matter, and when you join us, you matter to us and millions of others. Click here to watch our inspiring video to learn more about us!

We're dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that reflects the passengers we serve. To achieve this, we're committed to becoming an open, diverse, and inclusive workplace, leveraging the skills and expertise of our talented workforce. Together, we strive to create a safe and accessible railway for everyone. Discover more about the importance of Diversity and Inclusion at Network Rail by clicking here..

Investing in our people is key to enhancing the safety, reliability, and efficiency of our railway system. If you're passionate about making a meaningful impact, then this opportunity is for you!

 We're also a Disability Confident Leader employer and we'll try our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply and interview for roles.

About the function…

This is a unique function of true employee relations subject matter experts. We provide support, guidance, documents to our HR colleagues across the regions and functions and to our employee relations third party supplier. It is varied, fast paced and rewarding. We are a small team that work closely together and seek to provide the highest service standards.

Brief Description

Who are we looking for?

We are looking for a Employee Relations Services Manager to fill a 12 month FTC/Secondment opportunity. The role is based in Milton Keynes, flexibility for some working from home is available. The role manages the contractual performance and business relationship on behalf of Network Rail with our internal employee relations teams and external third party service provider to optimise the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of our employee relations service. Our goal is to maximise the experience of all our employees at work.  

About the role (External)

What does the average day look like? 

The role of Employee Relations Services Manager is a multifaceted role in that you will undertake various duties including (but not limited to):

·     Lead service delivery management on behalf of Network Rail HR with the assigned third party service provider/s to deliver the service as agreed in the contract, to the required level of performance and quality. 

·     Act as the key interface between Network Rail and the assigned internal and external third party service provider/s.

·     Establish and manage an effective and clearly understood communication framework to include communication flows between Network Rail and the assigned third party service provider/s incorporating proactive business communication, service review, continuous improvement and clear complaint and escalation routes.

·     Proactively manage the relationship between the assigned service provider/s and Network Rail HR, identifying, recording and resolving any problems or tensions in addition to establishing and managing procedures for raising issues and handling problems across the broader business and HR Function.

·     Manage all relevant contract administration working with Strategic Sourcing linked to the assigned service provision, to include management of the formal governance of the contract, including ownership of business rules, SLA’s, specification, change control, charges and cost monitoring processes, contract renewal, re-tender or exit, within appropriate timeframes and with appropriate stakeholders to ensure business continuity.

·     Establish suitable baselines from which to track performance relating to service delivery and service improvement.

·     Manage and monitor performance, establish and deliver a regular and structured review of service delivery against quality measures, SLA’s and contract performance metrics incorporating communication of performance with both internal and third party stakeholders through use of management reporting, to include both quantitative and qualitative measurement.

·     Maintain business continuity plans to reflect current requirements, contract changes and new service provision.

·     Proactively manage ongoing communication of changes to policy or process and business change and the effect on the relationship and provision of service by the third party provider/s.

·     Establish and manage mechanisms for measuring the achievement of benefits set out in the business case.

·     Improve the employee relations service across Network Rail by creating and managing a pool of trained mediators and investigators. 

·     Manage a team of Employee Relations Advisers to support complex ER/IR Cases across Network Rail including Employment Tribunals working with Legal/Business Partners.

What essential skills and experiences are required?

The successful candidate for this role will be required to be/have: -

1.   Experience of managing a third party contract for the provision of services and associated relationship management responsibility.

2.   Experience of monitoring, measuring and reporting quality measures and performance metrics.

3.   Strong technical employment law skills

4.   Strong commercial acumen and awareness.

5.   Passionate about customer service with ability to articulate previous achievements through business deliverables.

6.   Proven stakeholder and relationship management skills.

7.   Excellent communication skills

8.   Team management experience

9.   MCIPD qualification or relevant HR experience.

For a full list of the key accountabilities and essential/desirable criteria, please click apply and you will be taken to the network rail external site where you can see the attached Network Rail Job Description.

How to apply (External)

A message from our Chief Executive, Andrew Haines:

‘Our passengers and freight users are at the heart of everything we do. We help connect people to their friends and families and get goods to their destination safely and efficiently. We're an organisation where people matter.  Watch our video to find out more!

We're continuing to build a diverse organisation which is representative of the people we serve. We want to harness the skills and expertise of our people and attract the best talent, to enable a safe and accessible railway for everyone. To learn why inclusion is important to us, please click here.

Duration: 12-month FTC with the potential to become permanent

Location: This role is based at The Quadrant:MK. For roles based in the Quadrant:MK, you must live within 75/90 minutes of The Quadrant.

Closing date: 16th November 2023. Late applications will not be accepted.

Interviews will be held 24th, 27^th and 28^th November 2023

Band & Salary: Band 3C - £55,596 - £62,546

What can we offer you in return?

We have a range of benefits including:

·     28 days annual leave entitlement, plus Bank Holidays and five volunteer days

·     My Benefits – our discounted online shopping site

·     Flexible and family friendly policies and practices

·     A range of discounted offers including, Healthcare offers, cycle to work, healthcare club discounted membership and other benefits

·     Subsidies of up to 75% on rail and underground season tickets

·     A range of pension schemes

·     Two weeks paid reserve leave for our Armed Forces community

·     Training, development and employee assistance programme available

·     To learn about the benefits we offer please here.

What does our recruitment process look like?

1.        Once you have applied, our Recruitment Specialist will look at your CV.

2.        If your experience matches what we're looking for, you'll be invited to an interview /or complete a first interview using xxx a video interviewing platform, you can complete your interview anytime that works for you. /or complete an assessment.

3.        If you ace your video interview/or assessment, you'll be invited to face to face interview with the hiring manager.

About our people and the recruitment process… 

We're an inclusive employer of choice and we welcome applications from everyone! 

We encourage our colleagues to work flexibly, as we know traditional working patterns don't always fit. If you want to consider working flexibly, just let us know and we'll do our best to help and invest in your career with us, whilst you have a healthy work life balance. 

We're also a Disability Confident Leader employer and we'll try our best to adapt the process and offer a reasonable alternative to help support people with disabilities access, apply and interview for roles.’

Visit Evenbreak’s Career Hive should you need accessibility support to apply or should you require any reasonable adjustments/modifications, please contact iRecSupport@networkrail.co.uk and have your IRC number ready as this will be required.

As an arm’s length department of the UK Government, Network Rail is required to comply with a well-established pre-employment vetting process for all prospective employees. Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks require prospective employees of Network Rail to meet the following requirements.

• Provide eligibility to work in the UK and identity documentation

• Complete a satisfactory 3-year employment history check

• Complete a satisfactory unspent criminal conviction disclosure check for more information regarding BPSS pre-employment related checks, please visit the UK Government website for further information - UK Government - BPSS Checks

Network Rail welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, marital status (including civil partnerships), pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, transgender status, sex (or gender), employment status, trade union affiliation, or another factor.

We will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria.

Safe behaviour is a requirement of working for Network Rail. Applicants should be able to demonstrate their awareness of our Safety Vision

Network Rail positively embraces flexible working recognising that employees may wish to balance work and family/home life.

We’re delighted to have been named as one of The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality 2023.

Drugs and Alcohol Standard:

Our Drugs and Alcohol Standard is changing as of 16.01.2023. All prospective candidates who have not been offered a conditional role by 16.01.2023 will be required to undergo and pass a drugs and alcohol test. Your application will be rescinded if you record a positive test. All positive drugs and alcohol test results for prospective candidates will be securely held on Sentinel database and a 5 year suspension from applying for a safety critical role, a role which requires PTS certification or a Key Safety role on Network Rail Managed Infrastructure will be enforced.