Job Introduction
Working for the Bradford Children and Families Trust offers the opportunity to work with some great people who are passionate about delivering change in a city whose culture offers as much diversity as it’s geography. You can make a real difference to families and children and be an active part in delivering the service Bradford families should receive.
We are fully committed to equal opportunities and we welcome applications from all backgrounds.
About the Role
We are working with Bradford Council who is delivering a major transformation programme to replace its legacy SAP ERP system with a modern, cloud-based solution. This strategic initiative will standardise processes, improve reporting, and enhance user experience across HR, Payroll, Finance, and Procurement.
We are seeking an experienced People Business Partner with extensive ERP/ Systems knowledge to lead the Trust aspect of the HR & Payroll workstream through the Prepare, Procurement, and Implementation phases. This role is critical to ensuring HR and Payroll requirements are captured, validated, and delivered in alignment with programme objectives.
Our strategic vision and values are upheld across the Trust, fostering a reliable and supportive environment for both staff and the children in our care.
Our approach is rooted in restorative and relational practice, fostering trust, mutual respect, and meaningful relationships with children, families, and professionals.
You’ll also:
- Own the Trust elements of HR & Payroll workstream planning, deliverables, and milestones, working alongside the Council Lead.
- Attend and influence validation workshops for HR and Payroll (recruitment, core HR, absence, time & attendance, learning, performance, payroll).
- Support the management of a traceability matrix linking requirements to design decisions, test cases, and acceptance criteria.
- Engage with relevant leaders, within the trust, to capture needs, understand dependencies and communicate requirements into the ERP project group.
- Oversee HR and Payroll data quality assessment, cleansing, and migration planning, within the Trust.
- Ensure compliance with statutory requirements (HMRC, pensions, GDPR) and segregation of duties (SoD).
- Support the maintenance and ensure timely completion of RAID logs for the HR workstream and implement mitigation strategies.
- Build strong working relationships with senior leaders and line managers. Quickly understand their business needs and HR priorities in order to provide strategic and operational support.
- Handle complex employee relations issues, including disciplinary and grievance procedures. Investigate issues thoroughly while maintaining confidentiality. Make recommendations and ensure proper procedures are followed.
- Support management in employee performance management, including probation, performance appraisals and performance improvement plans. Provide guidance on having effective performance conversations.
- Support long term organisational capability by identifying skills gaps and offering solutions to managers.
- Analyse workforce data to forecast future staffing needs.
- Support the pay and grading review and job evaluation process and contribute to benchmarking.
- Promote the collective work with the unions and staff representative groups, lead on consultation processes and union negotiations.
- Keep up to date with changes in HR legislation and best practices. Maintain knowledge of HR policy and guidance. Ensure managers and employees understand the impact of any changes.
- Promote continuous improvement to enhance HR services throughout the organisation
- Undertake ad hoc projects and provide HR reports and data analysis as required.
To be successful in this role you will need:
- Relevant professional qualifications e.g. CIPD Level 7 and associated/chartered Membership of professional body
- Proven experience managing HR workstreams in ERP implementations (SAP, Oracle, or similar).
- Strong understanding of HR and Payroll processes, statutory compliance, and best practice.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build relationships with partners and stakeholders in an effective and constructive way, negotiating and consulting as required.
- Ability to manage complex dependencies across HR, Finance, and Procurement.
- Experience in local government or public sector ERP programmes.
- Knowledge of HR self-service, recruitment systems (ATS), and payroll integrations.
- Comprehensive knowledge and understanding of strategic and operational HR, employment legislation, onboarding legislative compliance and reward and recognition.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to research, interpret, and present complex information.
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically and develop practical solutions.
- Proven experience in project management, with the ability to oversee the management of multiple activities.
- Commitment to fairness, equity, diversity, equality, and inclusion.
- High level of integrity and confidentiality in handling sensitive information.
You’ll also be joining an organisation that truly values its people, offering a range of benefits designed to support your wellbeing, growth, and work-life balance, including:
- Generous annual leave - 31 days rising to 34 with service, plus bank holidays
- Excellent Local Government pension
- Family-friendly policies and enhanced parental leave
- Health & wellbeing support, including Occupational Health and counselling
- Professional development and career progression opportunities
- We are a National Living Wage employer
For full details of our benefits, please see the attached ‘Our Benefits’ brochure.
Bradford Children and Families Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all employees to share this commitment.
If shortlisted, you will be required to disclose relevant information regarding criminal history prior to interview.
A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check including a check against the Children’s barred list, will be carried out on preferred candidates.
To arrange an informal discussion, please contact Angela Dyer, Head of HR angela.dyer@bradfdcft.org.uk.
Closing Date: Sunday 8th March 2026
Interviews: Friday 27th March 2026
