Are you a passionate and influential leader in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), committed to creating meaningful, lasting change?
Do you want to shape how a city-level organisation embeds fairness, inclusion and equity into everything it does?
At Brighton & Hove City Council, we are on a bold journey to create a better Brighton & Hove for all — and to do that, we must ensure our organisation truly reflects and serves our diverse communities.
This is a unique opportunity to lead and drive our EDI agenda at the heart of a City of Sanctuary, within a council that is committed to being a fair and inclusive employer and a learning organisation.
There is full information about the role below and attached but, if you would like an informal discussion, please contact Lindsey Pearce, Head of Organisational Development & Learning, [email protected].
About us
Brighton & Hove City Council is an ambitious and values-led organisation with a clear mission to create a better Brighton & Hove for all.
We are transforming how we work through our Learning Organisation Framework, embedding five core principles:
- Be Healthy & Psychologically Safe
We are committed to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive city where everyone thrives, and to ensuring our workforce reflects the diversity of the communities we serve.
Our EDI work is central to this ambition — driving innovation, removing barriers, amplifying lived experience, and embedding inclusion across every service, policy and decision.
About the role
As EDI Manager, you will play a critical leadership role in ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion is embedded across the organisation and informs decision-making at every level.
You will:
- Lead the council’s EDI strategy and delivery, aligning to the Council Plan and Fair & Inclusive Action Plan
- Provide expert advice, consultancy and challenge to senior leaders, Members and services
- Drive culture change so that inclusion becomes a shared responsibility across the organisation
- Shape policy, service design and organisational practice to improve outcomes for residents
- Work collaboratively with communities, partners and networks to amplify diverse voices and lived experience
- Build organisational capability to meet Public Sector Equality Duty requirements and beyond
This role is about system-level influence, courageous leadership, and embedding EDI into the DNA of the organisation, not just delivering programmes.
About you
We are looking for an experienced and credible EDI leader who combines strategic thinking with practical delivery.
You will bring:
- A strong track record of leading EDI transformation within complex organisations
- The ability to influence senior leaders and challenge constructively
- Deep understanding of equality legislation and best practice
- Experience translating EDI into tangible service and organisational improvements
- Confidence working in politically sensitive environments with multiple stakeholders
- A commitment to learning, reflection, and continuous improvement
Most importantly, you will embody our values — championing fairness, inclusion and psychological safety, and helping others to do the same.
Why join us
This is a pivotal moment for Brighton & Hove.
You will join an organisation that:
- Is committed to becoming truly diverse and inclusive in all it does
- Is investing in its people and leadership through a learning organisation approach
- Is proud of its identity as a City of Sanctuary, standing for compassion, fairness and inclusion
- Welcomes and encourages applications from all backgrounds
We particularly encourage applications from people from underrepresented communities, including Black and Global Majority, disabled, LGBTQ+ and other marginalised groups, as part of our commitment to building a workforce that reflects the city we serve.
Encouraging a diverse workforce
Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.
Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).
Why work for us?
As a council, we want to:
- be connected
- be confident
- be innovative and creative
- be diverse and inclusive
- be healthy and psychologically safe
For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us which gives details of our wellbeing support, our benefits including leave and pensions as well as details of our training and development.
How to apply
Please read our Apply for a job at the council pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.
As part of your application, you will need to provide your education and career history and answer some application/shortlisting questions. Your answers to the application/shortlisting questions are the most important part of your application as they will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our Shortlisting questions guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.
AI advice for candidates
We are interested in hearing about your experience and skills in your own words. While we value people who know how to use AI, we ask that you minimise using it in your application.
We are keen to hear how your experience and skills align to our values and the skills and experience needed to perform well in our roles with clear real examples from you. To support you in this, we have guidance on using the STAR model which can help you ensure you are telling us your whole story. We also provide clarity on the skills we are looking for in our adverts and in the job description/person specification attached to each job advert.
All the applications we receive are read by at least two hiring managers and we do not use AI in this process. Our experience of reading applications is that those that have heavily used AI contain generic paragraphs that are strikingly similar to other applicants’ responses. This makes it extremely difficult to differentiate between applications, and doesn't give us enough evidence of your individual skills. There is a risk that we will therefore not be able to shortlist you. Instead, we recommend you ensure your application stands out by presenting clear examples of your actual skills and experiences in your own words.
Additional information
Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.
We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining. Your contractual location will be the designated council office for your team and travel to and from your contractual location would be at your own expense.
