Global Head of Inclusion & Diversity

Global Head of Inclusion & Diversity
Location: Flexible (with travel to Bristol & London)
SF35858

Help us build an inclusive and diverse workplace so we can create a safe and more secure world.

This could be a once in a career opportunity to craft and deliver a narrative and people agenda that transforms a 30,000+ people business for the better

About Babcock

Babcock is an international aerospace, defence and security company. We have a world-leading naval business, and provide critical services across the UK, France, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Our purpose is to create a safe and secure world, together. Our vision for working here is that Babcock will be a place where everyone feels they belong; and where everyone feels respected, included and supported. We have a new Executive Team, a new HR Leadership Team, a new business strategy, operating model and we're embedding a more agile, collaborative and people-focused culture.

We want Babcock to be an inclusive place to work where difference is valued, where everyone can thrive, give their best and fulfil their potential. We want a workforce that reflects the rich diversity of wider society and to be a business that inspires and shapes the communities in which we operate. That's where you come in.

The purpose of the Head of Inclusion and Diversity role is to make our ambition a reality, globally. To attract and retain the best diverse talent and enable the embedding of new ways of working and behaving through inclusive practices, communications and experiences.

The role reports to the Group HR Director, Leadership & Culture Change, who is part of a newly refreshed and ambitious group HR Leadership Team, led by a new and ambitious CHRO. This small team is leading the internal revolution and transforming Babcock into a more innovative, modern and people-centred business.

The role is responsible for the strategy for and creation of all 'diversity and inclusion activities'; everything that affects the employee experience, and will collaborate closely with the business, HR and internal communications teams. This is a newly created role, because this is new work for Babcock.

Today we have very little disclosure (data) on our diversity, limited understanding of how to build diverse teams and narrow experience of how to create a truly inclusive culture. You will help shape the role and the priorities we set together.

But to give you a flavour, this is what could be in store;

• Leading change - creating a culture that enables inclusion and celebrates diversity, helping us to achieve our Environmental, Social and Governance goals - focusing on people and potential
• Setting standards - co-creating the I&D strategy and establishing the benchmarks and metrics we aspire to attain to achieve greater returns for shareholders, improved delivery for customers and create a better place to work for employees
• Transforming our people experience - collaborating with our HR and Leadership teams and external partners to develop key processes and policies, and deliver events and activities that help us to retain, develop and attract the best, diverse talent
• Providing insight and challenge - Offering a balance of support and challenge to achieve our ambition, harnessing data (measurement and reporting) to create awareness of the issues we face, and how to drive improvement.
• Collaborating with our employee resource/network groups - (Pride, Women, Neuro-diversity, Young Persons, Multi-Faith) to strengthen our employee voice, globally and increase engagement, enablement and improve our people experience
• Winning hearts and minds - meeting our employees where they are and finding the right ways to communicate the importance and benefits of inclusion and diversity and drive action
• Building key partnerships - working with external organisations and networks to develop and implement I&D activities and create a positive societal impact.

Who we're looking for:

If you're right for this role you'll enjoy working in a solutions-driven, people-focused manner. You'll have a can-do attitude and work well both independently and as part of a team and have the ability to influence and deliver better outcomes.

The 'how' you do things is just as important as 'what' you do here. We're keen to see courageous ideas and challenge, presented with kindness and generosity of spirit. Someone who's ambitious to create exceptional experiences, but able to navigate ambiguity to get there, because right now, there are a lot of unknowns and a lot to do. This is not a role for a perfectionist; we plan to iterate our way to excellence, as there's a need and a drive to make a positive impact, immediately. So you'll need to be able to use your judgement, at pace, to get things mostly right, most of the time.

We value difference and don't have a fixed idea when it comes to background or education, provided you can show the required level of experience and impact. You will need to demonstrate:

• Proven experience designing and executing D&I activities in global, complex organisations
• Commercial awareness and experience of the challenges of creating an inclusive and diverse workforce in a traditional or manufacturing environment
• A track record of successfully implementing new polices, processes and strategies, from conception through to design and implementation
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to flex style to engage and influence people from all backgrounds and at all levels
• Passion for building engaging, respectful and diverse workplace cultures
• Resilience and adaptability, able to roll with uncertainty in a complex, matrixed organisation
• That you're a problem solver, not just identifier. You're great at simplifying and prioritising and using data as well as good judgement to make decisions
• Brilliant planning and organisation skills, to manage different projects, priorities and deadlines
• Pragmatism - using your skills, knowledge and experience to best fit the context we are in and where we are going to (not hung up on best practice/theories that aren't relevant to our environment or are out of reach for our current reality)
• A thirst for learning and desire to take control of your own personal development

In return for your skill and passion, you'll get:

• Autonomy and trust to shape and implement a strategy that changes an organisation and improves thousands of people's working lives
• Agile and hybrid working; a grown up approach that takes into account where and when you'll do your best work for Babcock.
• Location: Flexible - there are significant 'Hubs' in Bristol, Rosyth, Plymouth and London but this role can work from anywhere (including remotely/from home). Face time is important though, so travel to either Bristol or London weekly should be expected. There's potential in the long term for international travel
• Hours: Flexible - full time (37.5 hours per week) or part time considered (minimum 25 hours).

As well as:

• Holiday entitlement: 25 days, plus bank holidays
• Pension scheme with employee pension contributions matched up to 8% of salary, with life assurance
• Our Babcock Rewards Platform allows you to choose from a range of benefits that best meet your needs, including: critical illness insurance, travel insurance, healthcare cash plan, dental insurance, shopping offers and discounts
• Employee Share Scheme
• Free, independent employee assistance programme, offering confidential information, support, advice
• and counselling, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
• Professional memberships, personal development training and opportunities
• If you are a reservist in the armed forces, we provide up to ten days special paid leave in support of your training commitments

Other need to knows:

• Successful candidates may need to satisfy Ministry of Defence security requirements (this may include obtaining security clearance (SC) level of security clearances).

Application Guidance

All applications should be made online using PC, Laptop or Mobile devices. If you experience difficulties please click here. Recruitment correspondence is normally by email so please check your email account and spam folder regularly.

We are committed to building an inclusive culture and strive to attract talent who thrive in an inclusive and flexible working environment. If you have a disability or need any reasonable adjustments during the application and selection stages please let us know and will respond in a way that best fits your specific needs.

Please follow the link to find out more about how COVID-19 is impacting Recruitment and On-boarding for applicants

Armed Forces Covenant

We are proud to support the Armed Forces community by honouring the Armed Forces Covenant. We recognise the value that Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reserves, Veterans, Uniformed Cadet Instructors and Service Families contribute to our business and the United Kingdom. As part of the Covenant, Babcock offers Reservists and Uniformed Cadet Instructors up to 2 week's special paid leave to help them meet their commitments. To find out more please check our career website for more information.