About the role

Working closely with the Employee Relations Manager and Consultants, the Employee Relations (ER) & Policy Specialist will guide and coach managers through a wide range of employee relations matters, ensuring they can confidently interpret and apply the organisation’s policies, frameworks and tools. As the first point of contact for ER enquiries, they will triage cases, determine the appropriate level of support, and manage their own caseload with a focus on ownership, resolution and maintaining a positive working culture.

The person in post will provide timely, legally sound and commercially minded advice to managers on matters such as performance management, sickness absence, probation, disciplinary and grievance. They will foster strong relationships across the business, offering constructive challenge where needed and empowering leaders to resolve issues effectively and at an early stage. With a commitment to fairness, consistency and compliance, they will ensure processes align with employment legislation, uphold the organisation’s values and contribute to the development of management capability.

A key part of the role involves maintaining accurate ER data, identifying trends and supporting the creation of meaningful insights. The postholder will work closely with internal and external stakeholders, including Occupational Health, to ensure effective case management and the mitigation of people-related risks. Acting as a champion of the Group culture and People Strategy, they will help drive accountability in people management practices, support proactive interventions and contribute to a positive and productive workplace environment.

We operate on a team ledhybrid approach with at least 1 day each week in the office - alternative weeks between the Coventry and Manchester offices.

Our benefits include: *28 days holiday a year plus bank holidays and a holiday buy/sell scheme
*Annual discretionary bonus scheme
*Personal pension with matched contributions
*Life assurance (6 times annual salary
We reserve the right to close this advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications

About you

You’ll be passionate about contributing to an organisation that values the experience of its members, customers and colleagues, and you’ll communicate clearly and pragmatically while building strong, trusting relationships with stakeholders. Approachable and able to put managers at ease with sensitive or confidential issues, you’ll bring strong commercial awareness, sound employee relations knowledge and a good grasp of UK employment law.

For this role you’ll need to have:*Strong understanding of UK employment legislation and HR best practice, with experience of applying this pragmatically to achieve business outcomes.
*Proven experience of managing volume employee relations cases.
*Experience of working in a fast-paced environment
*Good problem solving and decision-making skills with natural curiosity to get to the root of issues and fully understand the situation.
*High attention to detail, and a high degree of discretion and confidentiality.
*Experience of supporting managers on ER issues and/or policy interpretation/implementation.
Experience in these areas would be helpful:
*Have familiarity with employee relations case management systems
*Be CIPD qualified
*Experience of working in financial services, banking or insurance sector or in a regulated business.
About us

In 2025, Coventry Building Society purchased The Co-operative Bank. Bringing together our purpose-led building society with the UK’s original ethical bank was the start of an exciting journey.

Trusted by over four million people, we’re a mutually owned business free from shareholders, and with our combined experience of almost 300 years, our ethics and dedication will continue to guide us. Together, we have shared values and an ethical approach towards our members, customers and colleagues.

We’re officially recognised as a ’Great Place to Work’ and our benefits go beyond basic pay, with a discretionary bonus scheme, a culture of reward and recognition and comprehensive support for wellbeing. 

We’re serious about equality, of race, age, faith, disability, and sexual orientation and we celebrate diversity. By working together, we know you’ll build more than just a career with us.

Flexibility and why it matters

We understand the need for flexibility, so wherever possible, we’ll consider alternative working patterns. Have a chat with us before you apply to see what the possibilities are for this role.                   

Proud to be a Disability Confident Committed Employer

We’re proud to offer an interview or assessment to every disabled applicant who meet the minimum criteria for our vacancies. As part of the application process, disabled applicants can opt in for the Disability Confident Interview Scheme. If there are ever occasions where it is not practicable to interview all candidates that meet the essential criteria, such as when we receive a high number of applications, we commit to interviewing disabled candidates who best meet the minimum essential and desirable criteria.