Senior Manager Industrial Relations

Senior Manager Industrial RelationsCountry: United Kingdom

IT STARTS HERE

Santander (www.santander.com) is evolving from a global, high-impact brand into a technology-driven organisation, and our people are at the heart of this journey. Together, we are driving a customer-centric transformation that values bold thinking, innovation, and the courage to challenge what’s possible.

This is more than a strategic shift. It’s a chance for driven professionals to grow, learn, and make a real difference.

Our mission is to contribute to help more people and businesses prosper. We embrace a robust risk culture and all our professionals at all levels are expected to take a proactive and responsible approach toward risk management.

Retail & Commercial Banking is a global business integrating all our retail and commercial banking activities to better serve our customers, improve efficiency and drive value creation.

The Wealth Management & Insurance division covers three businesses in all Santander Group countries: Insurance, Asset Management and Private Banking. We work to provide the best solutions to our clients in these three businesses in the 10 countries where we are present.

Santander Digital Services is the team of technology and operations at Santander. We are convinced of the importance of technology that is aligned with the requirements of the business and that out work not only brings value to users, people and communities but also fosters individual creativity. Our team of over 7,000 people in 8 countries (Spain, Portugal, Poland, UK, USA, Mexico, Chile and Brazil) develops and/or implements financial solutions across a broad spectrum of technologies (including Blockchain, Big Data and Angular among others) on all kinds of on-premise and cloud-based platforms.

THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAKE

Santander is looking for a Senior Industrial Relations Manager based out of Milton Keynes, Unity Place.

The role is responsible for delivering the Bank’s industrial relations agenda as the principal interface in our strategic relationship with our recognised trade unions.

The successful incumbent will provide expert leadership on matters relating to collective industrial relations, partnering with senior leaders and colleagues across the People Culture and Organisation team to integrate the IR agenda and raise IR awareness.

They will lead collective consultation and negotiation, anticipate and manage industrial relations risk, and build constructive and sustainable relationships with our recognised Trade Unions. They will also be responsible for leading and delivering the ongoing evolution and transformation of industrial relations at Santander, and the transition to a modern and progressive relationship.

They will ensure Santander’s IR practices and procedures remain in compliance with statutory/regulatory requirements

We’re shaping the way we work through innovation, cutting-edge technology, collaboration and the freedom to explore new ideas. To succeed in this role, you will be responsible for:

• Lead the industrial relations agenda, developing and delivering a proactive industrial relations strategy aligned to the bank’s people strategy, business priorities and risk appetite. First port of call for senior Union representatives and leaders.
• Own and develop relationships with recognised trade unions, building on our existing partnerships while appropriately representing the interests of the organisation.
• Chair the Santander Framework of information sharing meetings, the foundations of our partnership approach - acting as a trusted adviser to senior stakeholders
• Act as the principal adviser on industrial relations, providing expert advice to senior HR and business leaders on managing in a collective environment, and mitigating emerging industrial relations risks.
• Lead collective consultation in respect of working practices and other areas covered by collective agreements, developing strategies and engagement plans ahead of formal discussions – including documentation, implementation and post-implementation support.
• Anticipate and manage industrial relations risk, identifying emerging areas of union concern and developing strategies to prevent issues escalating into collective disputes or industrial action.
• Lead the management and resolution of collective disputes, including establishing resolution strategies.
• Maintain effective industrial relations governance, ensuring that collective agreements, recognition arrangements, consultation frameworks and established ways of working with unions remain clear, effective and fit for purpose.
• Provide strategic insight on the external employee relations environment, monitoring developments in UK employment law, trade union legislation, regulatory expectations and broader industrial relations trends and translating these into implications for the bank.
• Partner closely with Employment Legal, Reward, Strategic Value Partners, Communications and senior business leaders to develop coordinated positions on complex or sensitive employee relations matters.
• Develop senior leadership capability in industrial relations, coaching executives and HR leaders on union engagement, negotiation, consultation, employee communications and handling challenging employment relations situations.
• Use industrial relations data and insight to identify trends, hotspots and emerging risks, bringing together indicators such as grievances, disputes, absence, attrition, employee sentiment and union feedback to inform preventative interventions.
• Promote a culture of constructive dialogue and partnership working, ensuring that union engagement is viewed not simply as a compliance requirement but as an important component of effective organisational change and colleague engagement.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

Our people are our greatest strength. Every individual contributes unique perspectives that make us greater as a team and as an organisation. We’re enabling teams to go beyond by valuing who they are and empowering what they bring. The following requirements represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities essential for success in this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. What do we put in for Bank wide central functions.

Professional Experience

• Significant senior-level industrial relations experience, ideally gained in a global, matrixed professional services, legal, financial services or similarly complex environment (Required)
• Working with multiple recognised Unions is desirable (Preferred)
• Great understanding of UK employment law as it pertains to working with unions, i.e. TULRCA (Required)
• Relevant work experience supported by appropriate professional certifications such as CIPD, Industrial and Employee Relations (Required)

Education

• Undergraduate degree in HR/Employment Law or equivalent related qualification (Preferred)

Hard Skills

• Experience of designing the strategy for, and leading consultation and negotiation processes (Required)
• Ability to interpret business proposals and translate them into robust consultation plans, IR risk assessments and implementation approaches. (Required)
• Commercial awareness and the ability to balance legal, operational, reputational and people considerations. (Required)
• Demonstrable knowledge and skills of the Industrial Relations agenda and its application within large, unionised environment (Required)
• Demonstrable knowledge/skills of risk management systems/processes (Preferred)
• Demonstrable knowledge/skills of collective bargaining, conflict/dispute resolution and leading successful formal/informal negotiation activities with management and trade unions (Required)
• Great written communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, legally informed and sensitive materials (Required)
• Ability to draw insight from data and to provide persuasive challenge to drive change & improvement (Preferred)

Soft Skills

• Credible senior stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to advise and challenge constructively (Required)
• Excellent judgement, discretion and sensitivity when handling complex, confidential and high-impact people matters (Required)
• Excellent people skills, and ability to work well under pressure Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, workstreams and jurisdictions at pace (Required)
• Analytical and solutions-focused, with excellent attention to detail and the ability to identify risk, options and practical mitigations (Required)

WE VALUE YOUR IMPACT

At Santander, your contribution matters. We recognise the difference you make every day, and we make sure you feel valued, supported and rewarded in return.
Here, recognition goes beyond pay. It’s about the pride you feel in your work, the impact you have on customers and communities, and the opportunities you have to grow and thrive — personally and professionally.

Salary Range:

£74,800.00 - £112,200.00 per annum (depending on experience)

This salary range represents the expected remuneration for the role. Annual salary is based on a standard 35-hour working week. Actual salary offered will depend on skills, experience, qualifications and location.

• Competitive rewards that reflect the real impact you make and the value you bring.
• Wellbeing that goes beyond work — we work with a range of wellbeing partners across our 4 pillars of wellbeing (physical, mental, social and financial) to give you access to a suite of apps, discounted gym and fitness access, weekly online classes, flexible healthcare and mental health support.
• Support for every life stage — from menopause and pregnancy to parenthood and beyond, with enhanced family leave, childcare options and tailored wellbeing support.
• Time to give back through volunteering opportunities that let you make a difference in the communities we serve.
• Global growth opportunities to shape your career, learn new skills and explore what’s possible across our international network.

Ready to be recognised? It starts with you.

LOCAL COMPLIANCE

At Santander, we’re proud to be an inclusive organisation that provides equal opportunities for everyone — regardless of age, gender, disability, civil status, race, religion or sexual orientation.

We’re committed to creating a recruitment experience that’s accessible, fair and welcoming for all candidates.

We want our people to thrive — at work and at home — while delivering the best outcomes for our customers and supporting each other to grow.

To make this possible, our roles are site-based with a hybrid working pattern, where colleagues are expected to attend the office at least 12 days per month (pro-rata for part-time roles).

When applying, please consider the travel distance, time and cost to your chosen office location(s).

We welcome applications on the understanding that, should you be offered this role, there may be no relocation package available. Santander will pay the employer mandatory government fees that are required to pay in connection with visa sponsorship. You may be liable for your own personal employee immigration and relocation costs.( Only applicable for roles that are eligible for sponsorship)

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR INTERNAL APPLICANTS:

PERMANENT ROLES:

• If you are currently employed by Santander UK plc on TSB Legacy terms or by TSB and choose to apply for this Santander vacancy, please be aware that, if successful, you will move onto full Santander terms and conditions of employment and will no longer be part of the TSB Legacy population with effect from the start date of your new role.

WHAT TO DO NEXT

If this sounds like a role you are interested in, then please apply.

For further Guidance please visit Internal Mobility - Candidate Guidance.

If you want to know more about the opportunity:

Please contact: Mark O'Callaghan – mark.ocallaghan@santander.co.uk

The Santander Way

Santander is evolving from a global, high-impact brand into a technology-driven organization, and our people are at the heart of this journey. Together, we are driving a customer-centric transformation that values bold thinking, innovation, and the courage to challenge what’s possible.

This is more than a strategic shift. It’s a chance for driven professionals to grow, learn, and make a real difference.

Our mission is to contribute to help more people and businesses prosper. We embrace a strong risk culture and all our professionals at all levels are expected to take a proactive and responsible approach toward risk management.

Ready to make it happen?

It starts with you. It starts here.