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Head of HR Policy, Pay and ALB HR - Maternity Cover

Job details
Posting date: 25 February 2026
Salary: £62,203 to £72,686 per year
Additional salary information: plus up to £4,200 HR Allowance, depending on level of CIPD qualification
Hours: Full time
Closing date: 08 March 2026
Location: M2 3AW
Company: Government Recruitment Service
Job type: Temporary
Job reference: 450206/1

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Summary

DCMS People and Workplace Directorate is looking for an experienced HR leader to take on a maternity cover heading up our teams delivering HR Policy, Pay, Employee Relations, Complex Casework and HR governance and partnering of our Arm’s Length Bodies.

This team is a centre of expertise working closely with internal and cross-government stakeholders to support delivery of the DCMS People Strategy and Ministerial priorities. You will lead a team of 8, each with specialist knowledge and experience in their work areas.

You will have a broad awareness of wider Pay & Reward, HR Policy and Employee

Relations matters within the Civil Service and externally, and provide consultancy and deliver to meet customer needs. You will use your expertise in these areas to inform and influence senior leadership groups within the department and in our ALBs, and engage with staff networks across DCMS and Trade Union representatives.

Key responsibilities

  • Lead a team of experts to deliver high quality, specialist advice and services to stakeholders
  • Provide leadership across the Directorate, contributing to the delivery of the People Strategy and modelling the DCMS values.
  • Support delivery of the upcoming Matrix project, working closely with the Matrix team, the other departments within our cluster and internal stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition to the new system.
  • Build flexible and integrated Policy and Employee Relations strategies/plans to support departmental strategy and transformation.
  • Ensure DMCS pay and reward strategy is aligned with and responsive to organisational strategy and provide analysis and advice to Senior Leaders as required.
  • Drive and lead delivery of annual pay awards and any pay flexibility business cases required to respond to organisational and workforce strategies.
  • Support ALBs to understand and navigate the central controls on pay and exits that apply to them, ensuring compliance.
  • Provide an escalation point for particularly complex or high risk HR Casework.
  • Lead the team to maintain constructive engagement and negotiation with Trades Unions.
  • Lead and embed an inclusive, diverse culture in your team, nurturing talent and managing performance.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

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