• A strong understanding of employee engagement practice and the relationship between employee experience and organisational performance.
• Experience of developing and implementing strategies, programmes, and service improvements in a complex organisation.
• Excellent leadership and people-management skills, with the ability to set clear direction, build capability, and create an inclusive team culture.
• The ability to analyse and interpret workforce data, trends, and organisational intelligence and turn insight into practical action.
• Strong project, performance, and stakeholder-management skills, with sound judgement and a focus on outcomes.
• A track record of building credible relationships, influencing senior leaders, and working collaboratively across organisational boundaries.
• A visible commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion and to the Council’s values: people are at the heart of what we do; openness and honesty are important to us; and together we get things done.

Why join us?

This is a high-impact role with the scope to shape how colleagues connect with the Council, contribute their ideas, and feel recognised for the difference they make. You will help bring employee voice to life by demonstrating that we listen, act, and respond, while driving engagement with the Council’s employee benefits package and wider offer. You will join a supportive, multidisciplinary team and work across the organisation to create a more inclusive, engaged, and high-performing workplace.

Interested?

For an informal 20-minute conversation about the role, please contact James Jackson, Head of Employee Engagement, Inclusion, and Wellbeing: James.Jackson@sheffield.gov.uk 07901223246

We welcome applications from internal and external candidates and are committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. If you share our commitment to listening to, recognising, and supporting employees, we would be pleased to hear from you.

We are investing in our workforce and are promoting opportunities to our under-represented groups. We value equality, diversity, and inclusion and are focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce, particularly the number of Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic, Disabled, and LGBTQ+ people, so that our teams reflect the communities in the city we serve. We are also supporting staff with unpaid caring responsibilities to work flexibly.

It is a great time to join us, and we welcome your application.

Under the Guaranteed Interview scheme, applicants who are disabled, care leavers, or armed forces veterans will be guaranteed an interview if they meet the essential criteria and indicate their eligibility on the application form. Sometimes, if lots of people apply, we might not be able to interview everyone who qualifies for the Guarantee. In these cases, we’ll interview the candidates who best meet the essential criteria for the job.

Full-time employees work 37 hours for 52 weeks of the year, and we offer a generous holiday entitlement. We are open to discussions about a wide range of flexible working opportunities which benefit you and the Council, including reduced hour contracts, working part-time, or as a job share.

If you are appointed to this role, your starting salary will be at the bottom of the grade. If you provide payslip evidence that your basic pay is greater than the bottom of the grade, we will consider starting you at the point of minimum advantage within the grade.

Equality of pay is extremely important to us. All roles at Sheffield City Council are going through an evaluation process, which may result in changes to some pay arrangements from 2026. Find out more on our Sheff news page.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all individuals, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for everyone, and where appropriate to the role, the successful applicant will be required to undertake relevant safeguarding checks.