43535 - HR Services Manager

£30,989 - £47,591 (Salary will depend on location)
2
12 Months
National
National
NATIONAL
SEO
B
Permanent
Full Time
Human Resources

We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and pride ourselves as being an employer of choice. To find out more about how we champion diversity and inclusion in the workplace, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/equality-and-diversity

This position will be mostly home based, with access to a local office and national HQ sites and occasional travel required to government and supplier premises (likely to be around once a week). There is a policy about supplying equipment to support safe working at home (e.g. monitor, keyboard and mouse).

Overview of the job

This role is responsible for managing the performance and operational delivery of outsourced MOJ People Group services and contracts through collaborative working with Senior Managers, Directors, Policy and Commercial colleagues throughout MOJ, as well as external suppliers and stakeholders across the MOJ and other government departments.

You will be responsible for a number of HR services and for addressing areas requiring improvement and identifying proactive opportunities to improve services - using creativity and innovation. The role also designs and monitors assurance for services to make sure that they consistently meet customer needs.

Reporting to a Grade 7 Senior HR Services Manager, this is a non-operational role with line management responsibilities.

The location of the post is flexible. The jobholder will be required to travel to meet the requirements of the role and to national events, whilst using digital communication methods where possible.

Summary

As a subject matter expert, the job holder will, on behalf of MOJ People Group, be responsible for ensuring third party suppliers are delivering products and services in accordance with key performance indicators and specifications detailed in their contracts or Memorandum’s of Understanding, analysing Management information reports and customer feedback for evidence of compliance, resolving issues as they arise and managing improvement or change projects - liaising with colleagues to raise risks to delivery to the Senior Leadership team. In addition, the job holder will develop action plans/new processes, together with suppliers and stakeholders, to address inadequate performance. Becoming fully involved in all aspects of HR Contract re-tenders/ new contract tenders, the job holder will be required to recommend options for delivery against requirements, suggesting, where appropriate, ideas for delivering cost savings and efficiencies.

The job holder will be responsible for one or more of the following contracts and services (not an exhaustive list and subject to change):

- Shared Services (HR and payroll services), Pensions, HR Casework

- Occupational Health, Immunisation and Employee Assistance and Psychological Support Services

- Business travel, car hire and Public Interest Transfer relocation services

- Agency workers and recruitment services

- Employee benefits

Responsibilities, Activities and Duties

You will be required to carry out the following responsibilities, activities and duties:

  • Responsible for performance management and operational delivery of a number of the MOJ People Group owned contracts and services with a combined value of in excess of £100m per year. Involving analysis of management information reports, recognising trends and poor performance and recommending solutions/actions for improvement to policy leads, procurement and suppliers; on a monthly basis, raising and escalating risks and suggesting mitigations via a risk register to Senior Leadership and investigating/handling complaints about performance, liaising with the supplier for improvement plans.
  • Planning of, and attendance at contract review meetings is required where the job holder will lead on discussion around performance, challenging issues where necessary with the supplier and recommending solutions for performance improvement, managing action logs where appropriate. Where the contract has been awarded by Crown Commercial Services or another government department, the job holder will need to ensure that poor performance is escalated and handled appropriately by the lead contract manager.
  • Be a subject matter expert by developing a strong understanding of all MOJ People Group owned contracts, processes and policies to advise colleagues on contract delivery issues and to represent the policy lead at contract review meetings as necessary. A good knowledge of policy and contract content is required for high risk/high value contracts.
  • Responsible for establishing effective working relationships with policy, Commercial, Senior Leaders and other stakeholders across MOJ, in addition to other government departments to work collaboratively on tender exercises and to successfully aid contract management.
  • Responsible for developing successful working relationships with external suppliers to enable open discussion of issues and to develop collaborative working to resolve issues. Formally write to suppliers as required to raise issues of poor performance or to tackle issues. This includes managing issues raised by staff and the HR Community through Functional Mailboxes.
  • Responsible for managing change and improvement projects that involve third party suppliers to deliver successful outcomes that meet business needs. This includes developing effective communication products and coordinating the dissemination of information through official communication channels and at meetings / events.
  • Write reports for Policy Leads/Senior Leaders (including Directors) to advise on contract performance and providing cost analysis for, where required, discussion at Senior Leaders meetings or distribution to Senior Leaders e.g. Heads of Groups, Directors, Governors, etc.
  • Active involvement in contract tenders, including: researching and writing options papers, using knowledge and experience to propose solutions for consideration by policy leads and Senior Leaders/HR Director of how requirements can best be met including financial impact and cost saving proposals; facilitating meetings and writing specifications and business cases for approval by stakeholders in MOJ and other government departments; recommending service delivery indicators and management information requirements for inclusion in the contract; evaluating tenders; writing submissions to Senior Leaders with supplier recommendation; and involvement in the contract implementation, ensuring impact on MOJ staff is effectively handled; developing processes to support the new contract and writing guidance and communications for official channels (e.g. myHub, Friday Focus, Senior Leader’s Bulletins, intranet, etc.
  • Where the contract is being tendered on behalf of a number of government departments (or where civil service wide), attend meetings with representatives from other departments to ensure understanding of the tendering process and to ensure MOJ’s requirements are fully captured, inputting into the specifications (and proposed service level indicators) when distributed for comment.
  • Oversee development and delivery of service level agreements between MOJ People Group and Shared Services to ensure that deliverables under the contracts are provided according to negotiated terms and conditions.
  • Ensuring that supplier systems are data security accredited and are effectively managed, ensuring suppliers handle MOJ employee and business data securely and appropriately and in line with policy and legislation.
  • Input into work with policy leads/internal audit to assist with resolution of issues raised in audit reports regarding contract performance, making sure effective contract management governance is in place.
  • Provide advice to colleagues within the MOJ People Group on procurement issues; challenging and addressing non-compliance and escalating where required.
  • Provide information to colleagues as required in response to Parliamentary Questions, Ministerial Submissions, and Senior Civil Servant correspondence cases and requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act, drafting responses on behalf of Senior Leaders where required.

The duties/responsibilities listed above describe the post as it is at present and is not intended to be exhaustive. The Job holder is expected to accept reasonable alterations and additional tasks of a similar level that may be necessary. Significant adjustments may require re-examination and shall be discussed in the first instance with the Job Holder.

Civil Service Behaviours

  • Changing and Improving
  • Making Effective Decisions
  • Delivering at Pace
  • Managing a Quality Service
  • Communicating and influencing
  • Working Together

Specialist technical skills:

  • Delivering Value for Money

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Knowledge of HR and operational contract management is desired.

Effective communication skills are essential, including strong written and presentational skills.

Successful delivery will rely on strong negotiation and influencing skills, often with other MOJ professionals, key internal stakeholders and senior representatives from third party suppliers, therefore the ability to develop knowledge and understanding of specialist field, including Policy and Commercial is essential.

A knowledge of recognised project management techniques will be an advantage.

Experience of working with Policy, Commercial and Finance colleagues would be an advantage.

Contacts and Communication

The job holder will be required to develop communications for colleagues throughout the MOJ, including Trade Unions.

The role requires that the job holder develops and maintains a wide network of stakeholder relationships throughout MOJ, Suppliers and other government departments. This will ensure that they can understand the needs of different audiences and tailor communication strategies to suit.

To ensure communications have desired impact, the job holder will need to use good drafting skills across a range of communications with target audiences from AA to SCS.

Problem Solving

The job holder will be required to address complex issue on a regular basis, with multiple challenges requiring attention at any time across a number of different suppliers.

Issues and challenges will span a wide remit, include service delivery issues, policy issues and financial constraints.

The role will require the development and implementation of innovative solutions, drawing on the expertise of key stakeholders, including Policy, Commercial, ER and Finance.

Using good analytical skills in order to allow the job holder to interpret data and make recommendations to senior leaders on change proposals, as well as advising of potential problems with existing strategies and services.

Decision Making

The job holder will be responsible for delivering value for money across the contracts they manage.

To achieve this they will need to make decisions regarding; the best course of action to address day to day issues, options for developing future services, proposals for changes to processes.

Where the impact of decisions will stretch to organisational wide policy and strategy the role is also responsible for informing the decision making of senior leaders. This includes presenting options and recommendations to support Directors/Divisional Directors to make MOJ wide decisions.

Autonomy

The job holder will be responsible for making day to day decisions.

Whilst direction will be provided on broader and wider reaching strategies the job holder will be responsible for driving projects forward based on their own initiative, working towards delivering Organisational wide objectives, with little day to day direction.

They will be required to make complex decisions and/or present recommendations to more senior leaders where issues or proposals have a more serious organisational wide impact.

Challenges will often require the job holder to consider innovative approaches, assessing risks and planning mitigation.

Management of Resources

The job holder will have line management responsibility of one or more EO grade staff (with potentially AO, AA or HEO staff depending on future staffing structures), motivating them to deliver against objectives and monitoring their performance and attendance.

As part of MOJ wide projects there will be responsibility for leading matrix teams, often at peer to peer level, pulling together resources from Commercial, Policy and Finance.

In order to deliver objectives there will often be the need to assess resourcing levels, and the performance of suppliers in order to effectively deliver projects and services.

Advising Senior Leaders where additional resources are identified, informing business cases to secure required resource.

The role will be responsible for making the best use of delegated HR budgets. This will involve driving projects to deliver better value for money.

Impact

The role has a wide span of responsibility, and potential to have a significant impact on services delivered, policy and financial planning across MOJ.

The job holder will have responsibility for managing relationships with external stakeholders, both to ensure successful delivery of objectives and protect the organisations reputation with suppliers and within the wider civil services.

Hours of Work and Allowances

37

Interviews will be held via video conference using Skype or Microsoft Teams.

Working Arrangements & Further Information

Some of MoJ’s terms and conditions of service are changing as part of Civil Service reform. The changes will apply to staff joining MoJ who are new to the Civil Service. Staff joining MoJ from other civil service employers will transfer onto the new MoJ terms if they are already on 'modernised' terms in their current post or onto 'unmodernised' MoJ terms if they are on 'unmodernised' terms at their current post. Details will be available if an offer is made.

Flexible working hours

The Ministry of Justice offers a flexible working system in many offices.

Benefits

The MoJ offers a range of benefits:

Annual Leave

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.

There is also a scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year. Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day. Leave for part-time and job share posts will be calculated on a pro-rata basis.

Pension

The Civil Service offers a choice of pension schemes, giving you the flexibility to choose the pension that suits you best.

Training

The Ministry of Justice is committed to staff development and offers an extensive range of training and development opportunities.

Support

  • A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
  • Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits,retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
  • For any moves across the Civil Service may have implications on your ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers
  • Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
  • Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.

Networks

The opportunity to join employee-run networks that have been established to provide advice and support and to enable the views of employees from minority groups to be expressed direct to senior management. There are currently networks for employees of minority ethnic origin, employees with disabilities, employees with caring responsibilities, women employees, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order

1-     To Shared Service Connected Ltd (0845 241 5358 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com);

2-     To Ministry of Justice Resourcing (resourcing-services@justice.gov.uk);

3-     To the Civil Service Commission (details available here)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity.

There is a guaranteed interview scheme (GIS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Grading Structure Review

The Ministry of Justice is currently undergoing a review of posts which are currently graded at Band A to realign our grading structure with the majority of the wider Civil Service.

Posts advertised at Band A may be graded at either Grade 6 or Grade 7 once the review has taken place.  

Eligibility

Staff on fixed term appointments must have been recruited through fair and open competition.

Interviews will be held via video conference using Microsoft Teams. Expected Interview dates: Late May or Early June 2021.

19/05/2021, 23:55 hours.

If you require any assistance please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm) or e mail Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com Please quote the job reference - 43535.

To apply for roles in MOJ you will need to confirm your employment history for at least 3 years prior to the date of application so that pre-employment checks (BPSS) can be undertaken. If you have spent significant time abroad (a total of 6 months in the past 3 years) you would be required to give a reasonable account of the reasons why. 

For some roles you will be required to successfully complete National Security Vetting at Counter Terrorism (CTC), Security Clearance (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV) level as a condition of appointment. To meet CTC/SC/DV requirements you will normally need to have been resident in the UK for at least 3/5/10 years prior to the date of application (The level of checks that are required are stated in the advert).

If you do not meet the above requirements, you may still be considered if, for example:

  • You've been serving overseas with HM Forces or in some other official capacity as a representative of HM Government
  • You were studying abroad
  • You were living overseas with parents

In such cases you will need to be able to provide referee cover for the period(s) of residence overseas. The duration of overseas residence and the country of abode will also be taken into account.

Success Profiles will enable a fairer and more inclusive method of recruitment by enabling us to assess the range of experiences, abilities, strengths, behaviours and technical/professional skills required for different roles. This flexible approach to recruitment focuses more on finding the right candidate for the specific role. To find out more about Success Profiles to support your application please click here for further guidance.

In the event that we receive a large volume of applications we reserve the right to conduct the sift based on one lead behaviour. The chosen lead behaviour for this campaign is Changing and Improving.
if you feel that your application has not been treated in line with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance

We have provided detail of the assessment stages and areas being assessed to help you prepare for completing your application form, and to advise of what will be assessed following this, if you successfully pass the application stage.


Application form stage assessments

Behaviours
Changing and Improving - 250 word limit
Managing a Quality Service - 250 word limit
Communicating and Influencing - 250 word limit
A sift based on the lead behaviour, Changing and Improving, may be held if a large number of applications are received. If a large number of applications remain after the initial sift, your application will be progressed to a full sift, where all behaviours will then be considered.

Interview stage assessments

There is 1 interview stage for this vacancy.
Behaviours
Changing and Improving
Delivering at Pace
Managing a Quality Service
Communicating and Influencing
Working Together
Strengths may also be assessed at interview but these are not shared in advance.
Additional Assessment(s)
Presentation
Written Exercise

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

The "Making the Civil Service a Great Place to work for veterans" initiative includes a guaranteed interview scheme to those who meet the minimum criteria to provide eligible former members of the Armed Forces with opportunities to secure rewarding jobs. Allowing veterans to continue to serve their country, and to bring highly skilled individuals with a broad range of experience into the Civil Service in an environment, which recognises and values your previous service in the Armed Forces.
For further details about the initiative and eligibility requirements visit : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/making-the-civil-service-a-great-place-to-work-for-veterans

Redeployment Interview Scheme

Civil Service departments are expected to explore redeployment opportunities before making an individual redundant. The MoJ are committed, as part of the Redeployment Interview Scheme, to providing opportunities to those who are 'at risk of redundancy'.

MoJ are able to offer an interview to eligible candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns. Candidate's will not be eligible for the Redeployment Interview Scheme if they are applying on promotion.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

· UK nationals

· nationals of the Republic of Ireland

· nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/settled-status-eu-citizens-families

· nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

· individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020

· Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

This Vacancy is closed to applications.