An international departure

easyJet is pretty much a market leader right now. They’ve risen to being the fourth largest airline in Europe, and won a hangar full of awards. They’ve also made money, which has given them the impetus to introduce even more flights to even more locations. (Bristol to Catania, anybody?)

The growth in terms of routes is one of the reasons why easyJet’s HR leadership is expanding the team in ER and adding another Group Employee Relations Lead. The carrier’s Head of Employee Relations, Kieran Grimshaw, will manage the new appointee, and he’s clearly pretty sure that as big ER roles go, this is one of the most attractive in quite a while.

‘In this role, you’ll essentially have two challenges,’ Grimshaw says. ‘First, leading the setting and implementation of T&Cs in our new jurisdictions, and second, re-negotiating across our existing jurisdictions.’ Given many ER roles consist largely of disciplinary issues, these challenges could be seen as breaths of fresh air.

It’s a role with clout. ‘This person will be an influential counsel to the business’, says Grimshaw. ‘They’ll tell us whether basing in a particular jurisdiction is a good idea, or not. And if it is, they’ll lead on how we go in, personally brokering the relationships between ourselves and representative groups in the area.’

Not for shrinking violets, then. ‘This isn’t for someone who just wants to generate content in a back office. But it’s ideal for someone who wants to be in, say, Paris, facing the unions and deciding what we do and don’t sign up to.’

Get into Beds

The job is based in easyJet’s Luton HQ, and Grimshaw expects that the post-holder will travel about four days every month. The successful candidate might currently be in a comparable role for a FMCG company, or similar.

Why should an ER star move to easyJet? Partly because of the scope of the role, it seems: they’d be influential in at least eight different jurisdictions. But Grimshaw also cites culture and HR transformation as key attractions.

‘We’re investing in HR systems at the moment,’ he explains. ‘But as well as working hard to provide better data and business insights, there’s a provocative spirit here. We’re thought-leaders, and we’ve definitely earned our place at the table.’

Suits don’t suit

But it’s arguably the easyJet culture that will engage most interested parties. Grimshaw describes it as ‘non-egotistical’ and genuinely flat in structure. (Even their high-profile CEO, Carolyn McCall, has her desk in an open plan office.)

‘We’re a FTSE 60 company in terms of scale,’ says Grimshaw. ‘But we feel much friendlier. It’s about jeans here, not suits.’ So there’s still a bit of a start-up vibe, perhaps? ‘Well, we’re not risk-takers, but we’re not risk-averse, either.

‘It’s not the kind of place where people write papers for their bosses to present. We prefer to put the people who generate the ideas in front of the board and in the thick of the action. All in all, it’s a great place for an ambitious ER professional to come and play.’

There’s an ad for this role over on our job pages.

About the author

Andrew Baird

Andrew is the CEO of HRville. He is also Employer Brand Director of Blackbridge Communications, Editorial Director of Professionals in Law and an associate of The Smarty Train. Previously, he was the MD of TCS Advertising.