Assistant Director of People, Inclusion & Culture
| Posting date: | 19 February 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | Not specified |
| Additional salary information: | Competitive |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 21 March 2026 |
| Location: | Bury, BL9 0SW |
| Company: | inploi |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 75787547 |
Summary
People, Inclusion & Culture
About the role
Bury Council is on an ambitious journey of place-based transformation. Halfway through our ten-year “Let’s Do It!” strategy, we are reshaping how we work, how we lead and how we support our communities to thrive. This is not incremental change; it is a bold, values-led programme founded on community empowerment, inclusion and a strengths-based approach. To help drive this agenda, we are seeking an exceptional Assistant Director of People and Inclusion to provide strategic leadership at the heart of our organisation.
This is the Council’s most senior workforce professional, offering a rare opportunity to shape the culture of a modern local authority at a pivotal moment in its journey. Reporting to the Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation, you will play a key role in the Council’s senior leadership team, working collaboratively with peers to shape strategic direction and organisational culture. You will be trusted to influence at the highest levels, providing confident, independent professional advice to elected members, the Chief Executive and corporate directors on complex, high-impact workforce and inclusion matters.
You will lead a broad and influential people function, encompassing HR operations, business partnering, organisational development, payroll and pensions, health and safety, as well as equality, diversity and inclusion. Your remit is both strategic and pragmatic, combining long-term workforce planning and cultural transformation with the operational credibility required to navigate complex employee relations in a large, unionised public sector environment. Through your leadership, the people function will enable delivery of the Council’s most ambitious priorities, supporting improvement in critical services and ensuring Bury has the skills, behaviours and capacity required for the future.
In Bury, inclusion is not a bolt-on; it is fundamental to how we lead and how we serve. You will shape, iterate and deliver our people and inclusion strategies ensuring our workforce reflects the rich diversity of Bury’s communities so that every colleague feels valued, supported and able to thrive. As an inclusive employer, we are committed to tackling inequality, building opportunity and embedding fairness and respect throughout everything we do.
This role will suit an experienced HR leader, who has experience of working with local government, or similarly challenging public services, and thrives in complexity bringing the calm confidence to challenge, influence and inspire. You will combine political awareness with sound judgement, strong professional credibility and a genuine commitment to developing people and empowering resilient, high-performing teams.
About Bury
The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment. Appointment may be subject to a satisfactory disclosure at the appropriate level under the Disclosure and Barring Service.
In line with safer recruitment, please ensure that your application/CV covers your full employment history and there is a reason noted for any gaps in employment. Successful candidates will be asked to provide relevant references for the past ten years and character references will not be accepted.
Please note we are unable to support with sponsorship at this time.
As a Corporate Parent, ensure that the work and services you deliver considers our care experienced young people, promotes their life chances empowers them to influence the policies, services, and decisions that affect them, champions their rights, and ensure they grow up in the best possible way
Benefits of working for Bury Council
To hear about the benefits for working with Bury Council, please visit Bury - Home | greater.jobs
We support employees to work with agility, where appropriate for the post and service requirements.
We are committed to Bury being an equal society that recognises values and embraces all people, regardless of any difference, for the skills, abilities and experiences they bring into the workforce and the wider community. Therefore we guarantee an interview for disabled people, looked after children/ care leavers, armed forces personnel (including reservists and veterans) and carers of adults or disabled children if they meet the essential criteria.
If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the ‘About You’ or ‘Supporting Statement’ section of your application.
Next steps
For more information and to apply, please visit Welcome | Bury Council | Hays UK or contact Simon Winspear (Hays) on 07525 466357 or simon.winspear@hays.com
Supporting Documents
↗ Privacy NoticeCalculate your take home pay. Use this service to estimate how much Income Tax and National Insurance you should pay for the current tax year.
Employment could affect your benefits, find out more here. Turn2us Benefits Calculator.