Workforce Recruitment and Retention Advisor

Reading Borough Council is looking for a Workforce Recruitment and Retention Advisor to play a key role in helping us build and retain a high-performing workforce.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone with experience in recruitment, HR, workforce planning, service improvement or project coordination who enjoys working collaboratively, building relationships and making things happen. You'll work at the heart of Children's Services, supporting recruitment, onboarding, retention initiatives and agency reduction activity to help ensure we have the right people in the right roles delivering the best outcomes for children and families.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

As Workforce Recruitment and Retention Advisor, you'll coordinate and support a wide range of workforce activities across Children's Services. Working closely with operational managers, Corporate Resourcing, HR and other stakeholders, you'll help deliver workforce plans, improve the candidate and employee experience, and support initiatives that strengthen workforce stability and reduce agency reliance.

You'll be responsible for monitoring workforce data, coordinating projects and maintaining momentum across a variety of recruitment and retention initiatives that directly contribute to service improvement.

• Support recruitment campaigns and attraction activities across Children's Services.
• Act as a key point of contact to help progress recruitment activity and resolve issues or delays.
• Coordinate recruitment events, careers fairs and outreach activities.
• Support the development of recruitment materials and promotional content.
• Provide candidates with a positive experience throughout the recruitment and onboarding journey.
• Coordinate onboarding and induction activity for new starters.
• Gather feedback from new employees and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Support the delivery of retention initiatives, stay interviews and workforce surveys.
• Monitor and coordinate agency reduction and conversion activities.
• Produce workforce reports covering recruitment, vacancies, turnover, onboarding and retention.
• Analyse workforce information to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Support workforce improvement projects and service development initiatives.
• Build effective relationships with managers, corporate services and external partners

You'll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you'll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.

Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:

• Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do
• Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential
• Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance - striving to be even better - and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way
• Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at…