Union Relationship Specialist

As the Union Relationship Specialist you are responsible for supporting the creation and delivery of effective Employee and Industrial Relations with our Unions across the business, providing support to line managers to ensure union related matters are dealt with in a timely and appropriate manner in line with our Employee Relations strategy. You will be responsible for developing & activating the union relationship strategy.

What I am accountable for

• Accountable for developing strong working relationships with Union representatives, including at senior level (e.g. National Officers) by understanding the complexities that may exist, establishing credibility and gaining a reputation as a trusted advisor with a detailed working knowledge of the tactical aspects of both Employee Relations (ER) and Industrial Relations (IR) issues
• Design and develop the ER/IR strategy to ensure ER/IR risks are identified, monitored and mitigated to enable the objectives of the business to be delivered
• Responsible for the daily implementation of the ER/IR and Union Relationship strategy which will include daily/weekly liaison with Union officials
• Responsible for drafting reports and papers providing insight and recommendations for the impact of change on the ER/IR climate with limited direction
• Ensure that a cross divisional view of the pay negotiations process and also any ER/IR risks across all in-house and external third parties are known and guided to minimise union unrest/action
• Proactively keep all key stakeholders informed of key Union activity
• Support and guide the relevant change teams and wider business with regard to a broad and wide range of Union consultation or negotiation processes or considerations associated with business change, in line with the respective National Agreements
• Utilise broad, detailed and specialist ER/IR experience to support with the resolution of day to day queries relating to ER/IR matters across the business demonstrating exemplary judgement to ensure provision of balanced advice that manages risk but which drives commercially suitable end results
• Manage PIR activity as required to ensure both successes and opportunities are captured in an honest and robust way that reflects the success of ER/IR initiatives and wage negotiation strategies and approaches to gain greater consistency and engagement of future programmes
• Identify and interpret current and future ER/IR legislation working collaboratively with a variety of stakeholders to provide relevant and up to date guidance and support
• Utilise broad, detailed and specialist ER/IR experience to support with the resolution of day to day queries relating to ER/IR matters across the business
• Support, coach and up skill managers and business leaders on a broad range of ER/IR matters and in particular with regard to existing Union agreements and ways of working
• Manage all budgetary matters relating to Union spend, as required
• Develop robust communication plans, including writing appropriate communications for external use, to proactively engage with Unions where required to help maintain a stable ER/IR landscape
• Provide advice and recommendations on ER/IR tactics/approach to the respective leadership teams

What I need to know

• Proven hands-on experience of working with Unions, preferably in both a Retail and Logistics environment
• Specialist working knowledge and experience of advising senior leaders on the handling and mitigation of union activity which may impact the business
• Extensive experience of planning and delivering ER/IR initiatives with a high level of discretion and confidentiality
• Ability to build great relationships and influence both internal customers and external Union officials at a National level
• Experience of working at a strategic and operational level with a high level of PC literacy, numeracy, language and attention to detail
• Proven ability to organise and prioritise workload and to work on own initiative with confidence
• Ability to produce, analyse and interpret data identifying opportunities and forming well considered recommendations
• An engaging and articulate communicator with the experience and ability to inspire and provide confidence both in verbally and in written communications.
• A broad and thorough understanding of employment legislation with proven extensive experience in dealing with complex employee relations cases, influencing at a senior level
• Extensive experience of working in an efficient change environment with the ability to coach and support line managers through transition
• Play a leading role in the design and implementation of an effective ER/IR strategy
• Actively supporting the delivery of comprehensive business change by mitigating the ER/IR risks
• Displays confidence in the presence of senior people, responding in an appropriate manner to challenge and influence, remaining optimistic in the face of obstacles
• Commercially aware with extensive business and wider industry ER/IR knowledge
• Understands the relevant importance of issues, can balance risk and make judgements on dealing with the urgent verses the important

At Argos, we’re a digital-led UK retailer that keeps pushing boundaries to meet every generation with what they want, how and when they want it. As a market leader in general merchandise, serving millions of customers through our website, app, same-day delivery and Click & Collect services, we offer real opportunities to learn, grow and shape your career. With roles spanning Commercial, Buying, Merchandising, Design and Supply Chain, through to Digital, Operations, Customer Experience, Marketing, and People and Transformation, you will work with brilliant colleagues and directly shape how we serve our customers every day. From enabling inspiring choice across our owned brands, including Habitat, Chad Valley and Bush, alongside the world’s biggest brands like Apple, Lego, Xbox and Samsung, to making shopping effortlessly convenient, championing trusted value and accelerating our strategy - Argos is an exciting place to build your future.

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer so you’ll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there’s always the chance to try something new — whether that’s as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business - and we take development seriously and promise to support you. We also recognise and celebrate colleagues when they go the extra mile and, where possible, offer flexible working. When you join our team, we’ll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to save 10% on your shopping online and instore at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat, and we regularly increase the discount to 15% at points during the year. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 20% of salary, depending on how we perform.

Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy up to an additional week's holiday, and we provide private healthcare. We also offer other benefits that will help your money go further such as season ticket loans, interest free car loan of up to £10k, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, salary advance (where you can access some of your pay before pay day) as well access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers. And if you ever need it there is also an Employee Assistance Programme.

Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave.

Please see www.sainsburys.jobs for a range of our benefits (note, length of service and eligibility criteria may apply).