Senior Organisational Development Advisor

Kingston Council
Kingston, Sutton
Permanent
Part Time
H
18
£39,264 - £44,019
Per annum, pro rata'd to part-time working hours
£18,519 - £20,826
30 days

29/01/2023, 23:55

7th February 2023 at Sutton Civic Offices

Joining us, you get to work for not just one high performing London Borough, but two.

Sutton and Kingston councils have a number of shared services serving both authorities, with some teams and  roles more focussed on one Council than the other, but the majority are shared across both, meaning you get multiple opportunities to learn from a wider pool of activities and two different political bodies. 

We work flexibly in both Sutton and Kingston offices, and support working at home or flexible working patterns that enable you to tailor your working life to everything else in your life. We provide the equipment and tools to enable you to work flexibly, and in return ask you to use that flexibility to be creative and ambitious in the services we deliver.

There are some really exciting things happening in both Sutton and Kingston. We are developing the London Cancer Hub, a world leading cancer research and treatment hub that will bring together professionals from across different sectors to identify and test new treatments and therapies. We are undertaking the largest housing regeneration programme ever delivered in Kingston, building new energy efficient housing that will transform some of our oldest Council owned housing. Both boroughs have publicly committed to doing what they can to tackle the climate emergency and are investing in new technologies and societal change that will help bring carbon emissions down and improve our climate impact.

We work flexibly in both Sutton and Kingston offices, providing the equipment and tools to support hybrid working patterns that enable your working life;  in return we ask you to use this to be creative and ambitious in the services we deliver. You should choose Sutton and Kingston if you are looking for an opportunity that will challenge you to deliver more, support you to achieve personal ambitions, and expect you to put borough residents at the heart of what you do.

Sutton is a well connected attractive part of London that has a reputation for excellent schools, green and leafy open spaces, and a history that drives a thriving heritage and culture offer through our museums and libraries. The Council is controlled by a long established Liberal Democrat Administration and has high ambitions set out in its corporate plan “Ambitious for Sutton”, that will ensure Sutton remains a great place to live, work and raise a family. The Council plays a leading role in a number of local partnerships and places great emphasis on engaging effectively with its residents, listening to local voices and making their message heard across London Government.

Kingston is a beautiful Royal borough with a historic setting on the banks of the Thames with excellent schools and a bustling retail centre, all surrounded by open green spaces such as RIchmond Park and Bushey Park, former recreation grounds for Tudor kings and queens. The Council is controlled by a Liberal Democrat Administration and has a corporate plan “Making Kingston Better Together” that sets out a vision to be a vibrant, diverse and inclusive borough where residents are active, empowered, engaged and able to remain independent and resilient. The Council engages with residents through a number of forums and events through the year, and like Sutton plays a leading role in developing the South West Region of London.

We are recruiting for a part time role 18 hours a week over Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

As a member of the Organisational and Workforce Development team you be working closely with the Strategic Lead for OD, Workforce Development Managers and OD Associate. You will have a vital role in the team advice and guidance to managers on the commissioning and organisational development and workforce learning and development activities, interventions and projects, to motivate employees, improve capability and drive a customer focus and performance culture. Influence the delivery of key workstreams, creating approaches, templates and methodologies and ensure these reflect good practice to proactively deliver organisational objectives that engage employees, embed change and secure the best outcomes and deliver value for money.

You will also be required to undertake assigned projects within the spectrum of OD streams such as:

  • A range of employee engagement initiatives 
  • Coordinate development programmes for all for managers and staff at all levels
  • Support adoption of the values, behaviours and culture required
  • Support the delivery of the workforce learning and performance management and development cycle
  • Coordinate Early careers and Talent management
  • Learning & Development system - to engage the workforce and maximise self service functionality
  • Utilise employee engagement information to improve employee experience
  • Work with employee staff networks 
  • Support the delivery of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Plan
  • Support the delivery of the Wellbeing Plan 

The role reports to the Workforce Development Lead.

  • Fast track development programmes for high potential employees
  • Graduate recruitment and development activities (including the National Graduate Development Programme for the LGA)
  • Recruitment and development of apprenticeships

Although we are a shared service with both Kingston and Sutton councils, this role is Sutton focussed. Whilst this role is mostly a working from home post, the post holder would be expected to come into the office once a week.

The Royal Borough of Kingston and the London Borough of Sutton employ nearly 500 staff across its shared services in HR, Finance, Customer Service, Neighbourhoods, Environment and ICT. This is a highly rewarding way of working that will help you develop new skills as you manage relationships and provide a consistent service across multiple partners. 

This is an exciting opportunity to join a progressive HR and Organisational Development (OD) Shared Service that focuses on our customers’ needs across Kingston Council, Sutton Council and our traded services. We are building a strategically focused OD service that is responsive to our internal customer needs and enables them to provide the services needed for the communities we work with. This is a great place to be a HR and OD Professional. 

We are an award winning HR Shared Service, because people are at the heart of everything we do and our Service is very proud to have won the MJ Award for community diversity and inclusion, 2022.

To be a successful Senior OD Adviser:

  • Evidenced by Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) level 3 qualified or part qualified, equivalent qualification and/or evidence of equivalent knowledge and experience.
  • Successful track record in the delivery of organisational change and learning and development projects, initiatives and interventions.
  • Knowledge of talent and succession planning, including  ‘grow our own talent’ (i.e.. Apprenticeships; Work Experience; Professional Schemes e.g. Graduate programmes).
  • Experience of managing OD related projects and initiatives and co-ordinating the activity of others to deliver results
  • Good interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences both within and outside the Council. 
  • Able to focus efforts to deliver work and projects on time and to a high professional standard that enhances the reputation of the service and meets organisational objectives.
  • Able to work flexibly as part of a team and wider service and adapt to changing circumstances and act as a role model for the council’s values and behaviours

As an organisation that values and nurtures talent, we’re committed to helping you fulfil your potential and will offer you a supportive, friendly and collaborative environment to grow and develop your career and skills. We’re constantly striving to improve our ways of working so putting your ideas across however big or small; will be fully encouraged and supported by your colleagues and our dynamic and experienced management team.

In addition we offer a modern and flexible working environment for our staff supported by our IT infrastructure, Google Chromebooks and Google Apps, which have acted as a key enabler for collaborative and streamlined working. The COVID-19 pandemic has required us to be even more flexible in how we work and manage staff workloads, ensuring they have the correct equipment and resources to be able to maximise their talents and looking after their wellbeing.

Employees have access to a wide range of benefits, some of which include:

  • Generous annual leave entitlement plus bank holidays (pro-rata if part-time working hours apply)
  • Three volunteering days per year
  • Flexible and agile working arrangements
  • Comprehensive learning and development programme
  • Discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres
  • Interest free season ticket loans
  • Local Government Pension Scheme
  • Bicycle loan facilities and cycle to work scheme
  • Zip car scheme
  • Free eye tests and contribution towards glasses
  • Confidential wellbeing and counselling support
  • Subsidised gym membership
Please apply online outlining what skills, abilities and experience you can bring which makes you an ideal candidate for this role. Please ensure you refer to the requirements outlined in the job profile when completing your application.

The closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

We pride ourselves on being a diverse, tolerant and welcoming Borough and we aim to create a workforce which reflects the community we serve. We are respectful of difference and realise the positive value of diversity in our workforce. We welcome and encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds and particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates and disabled candidates as these groups are currently under-represented in our workforce.

We are proud to be recognised as a Disability Confident employer, and are committed to thinking differently about disability and taking action to improve how we recruit, retain and develop disabled people. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.   

We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement forums, and inclusive staff networks who help drive our diversity agenda.

We are an accredited London Living Wage Employer and this means that everyone working at the Royal Borough of Kingston, regardless of whether they are permanent employees or third-party contractors and suppliers receive the London Living Wage. The real Living Wage is higher than the government’s minimum, or National Living Wage, and is an independently calculated hourly rate of pay that is based on the actual cost of living.

The UK has introduced a new points-based immigration system affecting EU and Non-EU workers and sponsorship requirements. We advise checking the GOV.UK website for right to work guidance.

Good Business Charter

This opportunity is closed to applications.