Head of HR Service Centre

Job summary

The People Capability & Change (PC&C) Directorate provides direction, drives change and delivers support on the Department’s people issues. We are an exciting, fast-paced place to work and we operate as a single team, working flexibly across themes as required, to use our combined knowledge and expertise in the most effective and efficient way.

The Head of HR Shared Services is a key leadership role within the HR Operations team. We are seeking a dynamic innovative and proactive leader who will ensure we deliver exceptional HR transactional Services to our colleagues. In this role, you will lead an established HR Service Centre team, responsible for delivering the service – maximizing the benefits of our existing technology and continuing to make process improvements. Delivering HR services is changing across government, and you will be responsible for leading and navigating this significant change for the HR Service Centre – as well as working collaboratively with colleagues on the Government Unity Shared Services Programme.

This role offers a unique opportunity for an experienced HR operations leader with strong knowledge of payroll, pensions, and transactional HR to shape the service, guide the team through major change, and ensure we continue to deliver a reliable, efficient and modern HR service.

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, inspire and develop a high-performing HR Service Centre team, ensuring delivery of a consistent, high‑quality HR service.
• Set a clear strategic direction for the function while also maintaining the ability to step in, troubleshoot, and support the team where needed.
• Ensure operational excellence, strong service discipline, and effective risk management — getting the basics right, every time. Drive a culture of continuous improvement, using data, insight and evidence to identify and prioritise enhancements to processes, capability and customer experience.
• Champion simplification, automation and digital improvements to streamline service delivery and reduce friction.
• Ensure processes remain compliant with policy, audit and employment law requirements.
• Build trusted, credible and influential relationships with senior leaders, HR Business Partners, centres of expertise, and external stakeholders.
• Confidently represent the HR Service Centre, including when navigating challenges, presenting evidence, or defending difficult decisions.
• Work collaboratively across government, especially with colleagues on the Unity Shared Services Programme, ensuring departmental needs and challenges are understood and reflected.
• Lead organisational and workforce transition plans for the HR Service Centre, ensuring they are well-planned, well-communicated and executed smoothly.
• Support colleagues throughout periods of change, ensuring resilience, clarity and continuity of service.

Person specification

• A resilient, inclusive leader, with experience successfully guiding teams through complex and demanding scenarios.
• Demonstrable experience of delivering HR transactional services and leading HR operations or shared service functions.
• Strong understanding of HR systems, payroll, pensions and operational compliance.
• A creative problem‑solver who promotes a solution-focused culture and champions continuous improvement.
• Digitally confident, with experience using HR systems and data to drive decision‑making.
• Excellent organisational and time‑management skills, with the ability to balance competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong judgement, a hands‑on approach, and the ability to combine strategic thinking with operational delivery.
• Adaptable, flexible and a strong team player, able to work collaboratively across the wider HR function.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,167, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £16,271 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Application and Selection
The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours , Experience , Strengths , Technical

Stage 1: Sift

• Behaviour: Leadership (Lead Behaviour)

• Behaviour: Managing a Quality Service

• Behaviour: Changing and Improving

There is a 250-word limit per question.

When writing your application, remember:

• the assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially

• do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers

• if talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!)

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead behaviour listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

If you run into any technical problems when applying through Be Applied (for example, trouble logging in or submitting your application), their support team can help. Please contact them at hello@beapplied.com.

Stage 2: Interview

• Behaviours: Leadership, Managing A Quality Service.

• Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.

• Technical: We will test technical knowledge, through an exercise/ presentation. At the start of your interview time, you will be sent a short hypothetical "problem statement" and have 30 minutes to prepare your response. After 30 minutes preparatory team, you then join the interview panel and you'll be given 5 minutes to tell the panel how you'd tackle the problem. You should be prepared to answer follow up questions. Applications will be sifted and interviewed as we go along - there is no need to wait to the deadline.

• Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.

Sift and Interview Dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 16th February 2026.

Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 2nd March 2026 and are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change.

How We Recruit

Find out more about our recruitment processes here.

• Applying

• Sifting

• Interview

• Interview Results & Feedback

• Reserve List

• Near Miss

• Civil Service Grades

• We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer

• Reasonable Adjustments

How to Apply

Find out everything you need to know before applying here.

You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.

• Security Clearance Requirements

• Civil Service Nationality Requirements

• Right to Work

• Artificial Intelligence

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles

• CV Declaration

• Sponsorships

• Salary and Grade

• Existing Civil Servants

• Conflict of Interest

• Location and Flexible Working

• Fixed Term Contracts

• Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register

• Appeals and Complaints

• Conflict of Interest

Security Clearance Requirements

National Office: + CTC

London Office: + CTC

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)
• 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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Jennifer Cowing
• Email : Jennifer.Cowing@communities.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk

Further information

If you are unsure about any part of the process or require additional information about the post to enable you to progress your application, you should speak to the Resourcing team - recruitment@communities.gov.uk. Candidates can appeal at any stage of the recruitment process if they believe there has been:

a procedural irregularity

an infringement of the Civil Service equal opportunities policy

exceptional circumstances which were not notified to the interview panel which might have affected performance on the day.

It is important to note that these are appeals about the process not the decision. In the first instance, an appeal should be directed to the MHCLG Resourcing Hub at recruitment@communities.gov.uk.

If the MHCLG Resourcing Hub is unable to satisfactorily resolve your complaint, you may contact put your complaint in writing to the Civil Service Commission, Room G8,1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ or by email to: info@csc.gov.uk.