Vacancy Introduction

To help us on our journey to become a top 10 UK co-operative we are working to grow our business, focusing on inspiring others and simplifying how we do things, whilst all the time striving to elevate ourselves through building on our strengths and improving our capabilities.  We are best known for our Food business, but we have a portfolio of other businesses including Funeral, Property, Stonemasonry and Travel.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Colleague Relations Manager to join the People Team and support us on this journey. Leading a small team of advisory and support colleagues, they will be responsible for the timely and effective delivery of ER support to our diverse family of businesses, with a strong focus on empowering line manager through coaching, as well as establishing a culture of continuous improvement (both in our own ways of working as a Colleague Relations Team, but also through the people-related policies and procedures we create which impact all colleagues at our co-op). 

Role Responsibility

The role of Colleague Relations Manager is instrumental in helping our line managers effectively lead their teams and address complex people queries within their team, by them and their team providing coaching and advice on our policies, legal requirements, processes and best practice. They will also lead key initiatives relating to colleague relations in the business including information and consultation processes, identifying recommendations to elevate our people policies, procedures and ways of working, as well as managing relevant 3^rd party relationships.

Further details about the role can be viewed in the Job Description at the bottom of our careers webpage (through which applications should be made to be considered).

We recognise the challenges people face trying to balance commitments both in and our of work – perhaps studying, caring commitments or other employment. We aim to be as flexible as possible and create working arrangements that suit both our co-op and our colleagues. Whilst a full-time position, we are open to considering this role on a job-share basis. Please note that the role is based at our offices in Ipswich but is a hybrid-working position which will require you to balance time in our office and working from home (for which you will need a suitable workspace and broadband facilities) or from other sites.

The Ideal Candidate

• Significant knowledge and experience of supporting complex people / ER processes.
• An excellent knowledge of current UK employment legislation; and experience of applying this practically in accordance with organisational policies and ethos.
• Skills to lead, develop, coach and motivate a team.
• The ability to coach line managers to empower them to make effective people decisions which consider our ethos on wellbeing, DEI, fairness as well as commercial considerations; and to coach own team to deliver the same.
• Effective planning and organising skills to manage own projects, as well as the team’s work volumes to support a timely and efficient service to the business.
• Comfortable to challenge the status quo and make change happen, driving a continuous improvement culture.
• Able to use data insight and other feedback to measure performance and identify opportunities for improvement, developing and delivering effective solutions (i.e. processes and ways of working) for both the team and line managers to operate to.
• A commitment to building a positive colleague relations environment through pro-active collaboration with stakeholders within the business; and strong relationship management with 3^rd parties, including our trade union partners and suppliers.
• Can flex personal style to different people and circumstances including influencing and negotiation tactics.
• Confident with IT systems and able to explore the capability of technology in realising efficiencies.

Experience in a Retail or other FMCG environment and of working with Trade Unions would be advantageous though not essential.

Package Description

What’s in it for you

At the East of England Co-op, we strive to be the best place to work. We invest in our colleagues to help them to progress in their careers and achieve their full potential. How do we do this?  

• Competitive rates of pay
• 20% discount in our food stores, along with other discounts across our family of businesses
• 25 days holiday (plus bank holiday entitlement) which increases with service
• 5% employer pension contribution
• Death in service benefit
• Access to our colleague communications app, The Loop
• Enhanced* family leave and pay arrangements
• Opportunities to grow, with award-winning training and apprenticeship programmes
• Great deals and discounts across 100’s of high street and online retailers
• Financial wellbeing support, including Wagestream®

Check out the detail of all our colleague benefits here.

* Enhanced on statutory terms, subject to service criteria.

About the Company

The East of England Co-op is the largest independent retailer in East Anglia, with over 230 stores and branches across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Owned by over 260,000 members – including our colleagues – our vision is to be the most valued organisation in our region, by being a better kind of business and using our profit to make a positive impact on our communities.

Our Community Cares Fund provides hundreds of thousands of pounds to support groups and good causes, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing, food justice for all and creating community spaces. 

With a focus on environmental sustainability, we’re proud to have led the way on reducing food waste, being the first major retailer to sell food past its Best Before date for just 10p. 

At the East of England Co-op, we strive to be the best place to work. We invest in our colleagues to help them to progress in their careers and achieve their full potential, whether in food retail, funeral services, property investment, travel, security, stonemasonry, events, or our support functions. 

Find out more at www.eastofengland.coop

Our Recruitment Process

If this is the job for you, simply click ‘apply’. You will be required to register a profile on our careers page. To do this simply click apply. The good news is you’ll only have to register once – after this, it’ll be easier and quicker to apply for any roles in the future too.

Please note that any advertised working patterns are non-contractual. Any advertised working pattern represents the normal working pattern for the role at time of advertisement and is subject to change.

East of England Co-op