Head of Individual Dispute Resolution Services

• Lead the development and delivery of the Acas Individual Dispute Resolution (IDR) function across Great Britain, ensuring effective delivery of highly professional IDR services in line with the Acas strategy. The Individual Dispute Resolution function includes Acas’ statutory individual conciliation service, statutory individual arbitration service and the non-statutory individual mediation service.
• Support and develop the vision and objectives for the IDR function in collaboration with the Director of Dispute Resolution (DDR) and lead teams to deliver on them, and on the core service KPIs.
• Lead all aspects of service improvement, including setting and maintaining high standards, the embedding of recent change and seeking, developing and leading delivery of opportunities to introduce innovation.
• Ensure that the right operational policies are in place and are adhered to, working in close collaboration with the DR Policy, Performance and Development team.
• Build a strong culture of continuous professional development, supported by appropriate learning and development interventions, so that the skills and knowledge needed for effective individual dispute resolution are continually developed and renewed throughout IDR.
• Build partnerships with external stakeholders and ensure effective stakeholder engagement by others within the directorate.
• Promote good employment relations practice with customers and stakeholders. This will include, developing and maintaining key relationships with Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Department for Business and Trade (BDT) and other government departments to support the service we provide; it will also include contributing to events such as talks and conferences.
• Ensure that the IDR function has appropriate capacity, capability and the right monitoring and accountability mechanisms in place to optimise performance.
• Grow Acas’ subject matter expertise in individual dispute resolution in order to strengthen performance and to promote externally to wider audiences.

The main accountabilities of this role are:

• Supporting and developing the vision – Accountable for working with the established vision in collaboration with the Director of Dispute Resolution & key stakeholders, and leading the changes and improvements needed to deliver the Acas Individual Dispute Resolution function.
• Leading Delivery – Accountable for the day-to-day delivery of Acas’ Individual Dispute Resolution function across all of Great Britain i.e. Early Conciliation (EC), Employment Tribunal Conciliation (ET) and Individual Mediation (IM) delivering impartial services which meet or exceed KPIs and fulfil the Acas statutory duty where it applies.
• Service Planning – Accountable for the development and delivery of the IDR service business plan, in alignment with the overarching Acas Strategy, including managing the plan and its progress and identifying and managing risks to its delivery.
• IDR Improvement – Accountable for continuous improvement of individual dispute services in collaboration with Director of Dispute Resolution and Head of Collective Dispute Resolution, developing and shaping the service to meet stakeholder needs.
• Operational Policy & Standards – Accountable for determination of IDR operational guidance and standards, and for working closely with colleagues in the Policy, Performance & Development Team to commission accurate production of the same e.g. the service handbook and other material to support delivery including the translation of law into internal policies and guidance.
• Performance management – Accountable for setting the IDR services performance standards including KPIs; reviewing performance data and insights, developing action plans based on that data, reporting on performance and plans to the Director and the wider Executive Board.
• Partnership and stakeholder management – Accountable for developing relationships with external partners in order to fulfil strategic ambitions and to seek to reduce the burden on the MoJ machinery of dispute resolution. To include for example DBT, HMCTS Employment Tribunal Service, Employment Lawyers Association and Central Arbitration Committee, and using those relationships where possible to influence opportunities for regulatory reform to support better service outcomes.
• Learning & development – Accountable for ensuring that an effective programme of learning and development is in place to meet the needs of the service, working in collaboration with L&D colleagues to ensure that requirements are delivered.
• Supporting Acas board – Accountability for developing IDR Service recommendations for Acas Executive Board, and for implementation and delivery of decisions made by the Acas Board.
• Accountable for preparing briefings, and content for briefings as required, including for use by the Chief Executive, Chair and colleagues in S&EA.

Responsibilities:

• Leading your function to achieve its aims and strategic responsibilities.
• Collaborating with others to achieve the goals of One Acas and supporting your team to collaborate effectively driving best practice and influencing throughout the Service.
• Representing your function at SLT and in other internal forums, Service areas and external stakeholders.
• Effective management of resources and budget for the Directorate.
• Role modelling Civil Service leadership behaviours to lead by example in cultural development.

Experience

The successful candidate will have the following -

Essential Criteria:

• Proven experience of senior leadership in the Individual Dispute Resolution (IDR) service (Lead).
• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of how individual dispute resolution contributes to Acas’ strategic ambitions.
• Able to manage multiple projects and priorities, identifying opportunities to collaborate with colleagues to increase success.
• An ability to interact with and influence a variety of people including internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to manage and to achieve success through others including colleagues and direct reports at all levels.
• Understanding of Acas’ wider service range, employment relations context and stakeholders.
• Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues across Acas to deliver on Acas’ business plan and ambitions.
• Experience and enthusiasm in leading and managing change.
• Experience in horizon scanning and contributing to strategic plans.

Desirable Criteria:

• Knowledge of and experience in the ‘Smarter Resolutions’ programme of works in IDR.

Offered Benefits

We are big believers in rewarding people for the amazing work they do. Take a look at some of the fantastic benefits we offer:

• Learning and Development
• Health and wellbeing
• Pension scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Volunteering opportunities

Could you ask for anymore?

You will have access to a Lifestyle website where you will be able to grab savings on a wide range of products, from holidays to your weekly shop.

To find out more, check out: Working for Acas

How to apply

Please navigate to the full advert on Civil Service Jobs and click on the 'Apply now' button.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• An evidence-based Personal Statement reflecting the essential and desirable Experience requirements as listed in the Person Specification section of this advert. Your Personal Statement should be no longer than 750 words. It should avoid generalised assertions, instead including specific examples of achievements, explaining the degree of challenge, what you did and the outcomes.

Should a high number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the:

• Lead Criteria: Proven experience of senior leadership in the individual dispute resolution (IDR) service.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift of all the above requirements or progressed straight to interview.

Desirable criteria will only be assessed in the event of a tiebreak scenario at interview.

If a high number of applications meet the minimum standard, an interview wait list may be created for this position. This means that if you have met the minimum requirements at sift, you may be placed at a ‘Hold’ status for up to 12 months, and if we are able to invite you to an interview, we will be in touch.

Interview Stage

If you have successfully passed sift, you will be invited to an interview via MS Teams which is likely to take place the week commencing 18 May 2026. The interview will be an Experience based interview. The following essential Experience criteria will be assessed:

• Proven experience of senior leadership in the individual dispute resolution (IDR) service.
• Able to manage multiple projects and priorities, identifying opportunities to collaborate with colleagues to increase success.
• An ability to interact with and influence a variety of people including internal and external stakeholders.
• Understanding of Acas’ wider service range, employment relations context and stakeholders.
• Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues across Acas to deliver on Acas’ business plan and ambitions.
• Experience and enthusiasm in leading and managing change.

A reserve list will be created for this position, this means that if you have passed the interview, but we couldn’t offer you this position, you’ll be on a reserve list for 12 months and may be considered for similar positions.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader, Acas is committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process. If you have a disability and feel that any part of the recruitment process puts you at a disadvantage, we will work with you to make Reasonable Adjustments that support your needs. If you require any changes to help you apply:

• Please contact the Acas Recruitment Team via HRrecruitment@acas.org.uk  as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Please complete the “Assistance Required” section on the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to let us know about any adjustments or support you may need during the recruitment process. For example, this might include accessibility arrangements for entering a building or interview room, communication support, modifications to assessment methods, etc.
• You can find out more about the Disability Confident Scheme and Reasonable Adjustments by clicking these links.

Want to learn more about Civil Service recruitment? You can find out more on Civil Service Careers, including information on Success Profiles, writing a Personal Statement, acceptable use of Artificial Intelligence, and what to expect at Interview.

For applicants requiring a visa to work in the UK

Please be advised that Acas does not hold a UKVI Sponsorship Licence, so we cannot consider sponsoring a visa applicant or issuing a Certificate of Sponsorship.