Head of Contact Strategy

Head of Contact Strategy 
Hybrid- Abbey Wood (Bristol) with frequent travel to Serco Locations
Permanent/ Full Time 
Band 2/ Competitive salary plus benefits 
Start date- July 2025 

Serco are recruiting for a Head of Contact Strategy to join our team. This role will lead on Serco’s approach to engagement with candidates through Outreach, Career Advisory (remote / Career Centres) and our Contact Centre to ensure consistent delivery against recruitment targets and candidate experience targets. 

You will be engaging with the Armed Forces Resettlement Services (AFRS), Serco’s Senior Leadership Team and Authority AFR HQ in alignment across the candidate contact activities delivered by Civilian and Service Personnel to deliver against the Recruitment Operating Model. 
A key focus of this role will be to lead and enhance Serco’s approach to candidate contact, understanding unique demands and complexities of this type of military recruitment environment and refining what Serco’s offering needs to encompass moving forward. Reporting to the Managing Director this post will manage a team comprising civilian staff and embedded service personnel. 

At Serco, we are proud to partner with the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) in providing critical recruitment services for the UK’s Armed Forces. This new approach will, for the first time, see the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force have a joint Armed Forces Recruitment Service (AFRS). Delivered through a partnership of the MOD, Serco, and our consortium of partners, this service will provide end-to-end support from candidate attraction to assessment, onboarding, and Phase 1 training. Our team brings together best-in-class integrated technology and specialist partners to offer a holistic recruitment and skills solution for the UK Armed Forces, designed to modernise and improve the overall candidate experience. We are driven by the values of doing the right thing for our people, the MOD, His Majesty’s Government (HMG), broader society, and the candidates we source.

Main responsibilities of the role:

Strategic

• Own and proactively seek to improve the candidate experience delivered across Outreach, Career Advisory (remote / Career Centres) and the National Contact Centre. 
• Provide strategic direction to ensure these delivery streams are optimally structured, managed, and resourced.
• Ensure the economies of scale and best practice from across Serco are made available to the contract. 
• Responsible for the provision of accessible and meaningful insight and act as single point of contact for the client as required.
• Ensure appropriate corporate governance is in place to comply with health, safety, and other legal requirements. 
• Lead & engage in the development of a network of senior relationships with the customer, partners, and stakeholders to anticipate and meet Candidates’ existing and future needs.

Operational

• Provide Operational Leadership to the Outreach, Career Advisory (remote / Career Centres) and the Contact Centre management teams.
• Ensure the management of resources is effective across all teams including through close collaboration with the Authority’s Command Support Unit.  
• Provide SME support at SLT and operational team level where needed to ensure service delivery. 
• Leverage Serco contact centre resource and capabilities to deliver value for money.
• Seek opportunities and support the implementation of continuous service improvements and innovation.

What you’ll need to do the role:

• Able to achieve SC clearance 
• Flexible to travel to both the joint AFRP HQ in Abbey Wood, AFRP Transition in Andover and Serco’s National Recruitment Centre in Solihull.
• Proven experience of implementing strategies and plans in a complex stakeholder environment and ensuring strategic alignment on direction and operations. 
• Strong track record of successful management of teams for operational delivery within a Defence environment. 
• Excellent commercial awareness and negotiation skills with a drive for outstanding customer service and high-performance culture, preferably in a recruitment environment.
• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience 
• Strong influencing skills, both with internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent communication and written skills at all levels.
• Builds effective partnerships with stakeholders and delivering growth.
• Fully conversant with Serco governance policies and procedures.
• Builds and maintains strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proven track record of successful delivery in complex and volatile environments.
• Leading, engaging, developing and motivating teams, communicating direction, developing best talent and capabilities.
• Ability to plan and deploy resources efficiently and effectively ensuring work outputs and standards are maintained.
• An analytical and strategic thinker able to quickly assimilate information and articulate complex arguments.

What we offer:

• Company car or car allowance 
• Company bonus
• Private Medical cover
• Up to 6% contributory pension.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Annual leave purchase scheme.
• Access to the Serco benefits portal offering discounts across major high street brands in Retail, Leisure & Hospitality.
• Health and wellbeing support for you and your family, including an Employee Assistance Programme, Health Cash Plans, free flu jabs, and more.
• Comprehensive career development opportunities, including role-specific training, leadership coaching, and formal study to support your growth with Serco.
• A safe, inclusive, and supportive culture.
• A company passionate about diversity and inclusion.

To discover more about our careers in Defence, meet our team, and to find out more about what we offer, please follow this Link. We’re also a signatory of the UK Governments Women in Defence Charter, to find out more please click here.

Please click on the apply button to complete your application. Occasionally we receive a large volume of applications for our roles and when that happens, we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment. 

At Serco, we see people first and foremost for their performance and potential. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that supports the needs of all. As such we will make reasonable adjustments at interview through to employment for our candidates and strongly encourage applications from a diverse candidate pool. We are open to discussions around flexibility and flexible working. As a proud Disability Confident Leader and holder of the Gold Inclusive Employer Standard, disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview. 

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