OD Consultant - Leadership and Management Development (Interim) Temporary (6 months), Full Time £350 per day PAYE/Umbrella Inside IR35 Location: Chelmsford (hybrid, 1-2 days per week in the office) Working Style: Anywhere worker Closing Date: 10th November 2024 The Role Essex County Council (ECC) is one of the largest and most dynamic local authorities in the UK, serving a population of 2 million residents, and has a very successful track record of delivering transformational change. ECC anticipated change was needed in the public sector and has worked to deliver better quality at lower cost. We have an ambitious transformation agenda – one with the scope to reach every part of the council. We are changing the way we think, the way we work, and the ways in which we deliver our services. We are committed to becoming a place where individuals, partners and communities feel proud to play their role and genuinely want to belong. We’re immensely proud of our flexible working options. The Opportunity The Council aspires to become a learning organisation and to be far more pioneering and agile than now – we want innovation and learning to take centre stage. Underpinning our workforce strategy is the recognition that we need to strengthen our leadership and management capabilities and significantly strengthen the capabilities required for what is needed now and for the future. This role will support the translation of current and future leadership and management development needs at all levels in the organisation (from executive development to early-career stages), into innovative, aligned, and practical programs and learning interventions to support the development of leaders and managers so they are ready to deliver the organisation strategy. Collaboration across the organisation is essential, working with organisational SME’s, People Leads and Business Partners to maximise the contribution, value and credibility this practice makes throughout the organisation, both through own efforts and by supporting the activities of other teams. Accountabilities Influence and drive the design, implementation, and evaluation of learning interventions and initiatives to enhance overall effectiveness and performance, applying the full consultancy cycle and model to provide a service which builds capability, facilitates effective talent management, creates capacity, supports delivery, enhances professionalism, and enables productivity. Identify, design and deliver people learning activities and interventions which integrate leading-edge approaches in learning and development, executed using a blended learning approach to enable the organisation to build critical skills and future capabilities, address skills gaps and enable professional growth and development aligning them with the business priorities, workforce strategy and the council’s transformation agenda. Proactively contribute to the management and development of the learning management system to increase utilisation, improve learner engagement and user experience and demonstrate measurable impact for individuals, teams and the organisation as a whole. Work collaboratively with key teams across People & Organisation Development to strengthen our approach to internal mobility (e.g., secondments, projects, short term assignments) to enable the development of talent and transfer of expertise across the organisation. Actively participate in the development and evaluation of programmes and initiatives that support talent development. Enhance organisational excellence by facilitating and delivering transformative Management and Leadership development courses. Cultivating a high-performing culture through expert facilitation and impactful delivery. Partner with People & OD teams to identify people learning solutions and approaches to learning and contribute to the ongoing discovery, development and delivery of scalable learning solutions across the organisation, conducting learning needs analysis where required to ensure delivery of a coherent, high quality and efficient learning and development work plan, that supports the Council in meeting its strategy. Evaluate the impact of learning initiatives, measuring key performance indicators and providing recommendations for continuous improvement and refinement of learning solutions. Regularly update knowledge and skills to meet the evolving standards set by the CIPD at standards level of Chartered Membership or above. Integrate the CIPD profession map and its framework into all actions, including participation in continuous professional development activities and ensuring that ECC’s HR practices and strategies are in accordance with the CIPD's professional standards and ethical guidelines. Actively participate in the development and continuation of communities of practice and networks to share best practices, ensuring a cohesive approach to learning, development and talent management at all levels across the organisation. Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework. The Experience You Will Bring Educated to degree level in a relevant professional field such as learning and development, Human Resources or equivalent by experience. Professional membership of CIPD at Chartered level or working towards this. Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area. Strong understanding of leading-edge learning and development theories and methods, with demonstrable experience of successful planning, designing, delivering and evaluating learning and development interventions in a large and complex organisation. Proven track record of creating learning solutions for a variety of different audiences, with a highly collaborative approach, co-creating with clients and learners. Experience in experiential learning, social learning, content curation and creation (authoring online content), interaction design, (learner) user journeys, user experience and testing. Strong working knowledge of current business technology with experience of learning management systems, learning content platforms or any other learning technology solution to improve learner engagement and experience. Excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to engage with a range of partners and stakeholders clearly articulate messages to a range of audiences with differing levels of understanding. Able to confidently manage multiple stakeholders’ expectations. Knowledge of organisational barriers and enablers for management and transfer of knowledge across teams, with experience in supporting organisations to strengthen their learning culture. Knowledge of design thinking and a good grasp of other modern learning design and delivery approaches with a genuine interest in the latest learning trends and technologies. Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage a demanding and diverse workload, remaining effective and credible under pressure. Demonstrable experience of developing capability, mitigating risks or delivering results through professional application of the consultancy model. Strong experience in managing business transformation and change programmes and projects, with the ability to develop business cases, identify risks and create appropriate mitigation plans. To read more about us please visit: People and Transformation Why Essex? Essex County Council has a location to be proud of. Our 1,300 square miles stretch from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary, from the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England’s oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest – Basildon and Harlow – are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. It means real choice and makes Essex the ideal place for your career. Read more about us. Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying. What you should do next If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website. Please note that Essex County Council has determined that the off-payroll working rules will apply to this assignment and where a worker elects to provide their services through an intermediary (such as a personal services company) then income tax and primary national insurance contributions will be deducted at source from any payments made to the intermediary. As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment. If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community. If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email Thea.Towers@essex.gov.uk
