HR Operations Process Optimisation and Improvement Manager

Job summary

The Integrated Corporate Services (ICS) is a shared corporate service. It provides corporate services (HR, Finance, Digital, Commercial, Security and Estates) across the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT).

Our team of over 400 professionals will be leading the way in how these functions will be delivered in the future. Our ambition is to be the leading provider of integrated corporate services for government and set the standard for quality, efficiency, and innovation in our field.

We offer great working benefits including a world-class pension, flexible working options and a career where your learning and development is taken seriously. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is

found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

Find Out More

You can also follow our LinkedIn Careers Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/desnz-careers/

Job description

The purpose of this role is to ensure HR Operations has clearly mapped, well owned and efficient end to end processes, driving continuous optimisation through automation and the effective use of AI, improving value and experience for stakeholders.
The role plays a key part in creating clarity, accountability and consistency across HR Operations, supporting the modernisation of how work is delivered and reducing reliance on informal or undocumented ways of working.

This role offers significant opportunity to shape how HR Operations works, supporting the delivery of clear, efficient and modern processes. The postholder will work closely with senior colleagues, contributing insight and analysis to support ongoing improvement and future development.

Over time, this role will act as a centre of expertise for process optimisation and digital first improvement, championing good practice not only within HR Operations but increasingly across the wider HR function. The postholder will help develop repeatable approaches, tools and playbooks that enable others to map, analyse and improve their own processes, mentoring colleagues and embedding a strong culture of problem solving, curiosity and continuous improvement.

By building strong credibility and trusted relationships, the role will support HR Operations’ ambition to be seen as an innovative, solutions focused function that simplifies complexity and improves outcomes across the organisation. The postholder will be expected to operate confidently in areas of ambiguity, contribute insight at pace, and adapt their focus as organisational priorities, technology and ways of working continue to evolve.

Person specification

Process Mapping and Transparency

• Lead the mapping and documentation of end to end HR Operations processes, ensuring they are clear, accessible and understood.
  
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across HR Operations to understand how work is currently done and where improvements can be made.
  
• Maintain an overview of process interdependencies, hand offs and decision points.

Ownership, Accountability and Governance

• Develop and embed clear ownership and accountability models (e.g. RACI) across HR Operations processes.
  
• Support the development of effective escalation routes and governance arrangements where issues or risks arise.
  
• Help ensure accountability for processes and improvements is clearly understood and sustained over time.

Process Analysis and Continuous Improvement

• Analyse processes to identify inefficiencies, duplication, risks and gaps.
  
• Use evidence, insight and analysis to recommend practical improvements that increase efficiency, consistency and value for stakeholders.
  
• Present clear improvement options to senior colleagues to inform decision making on process design and optimisation.

Automation and AI Enablement

• Identify opportunities to optimise processes through automation and the effective use of AI.
  
• Contribute to the development of a prioritised pipeline of automation and improvement activity.
  
• Work with relevant teams and stakeholders to support the delivery of agreed automation or AI enabled changes.

Ways of Working and Capability Building

• Support the development of consistent approaches to prioritisation, improvement delivery and planning across HR Operations.
  
• Encourage a culture of curiosity, continuous improvement and evidence based decision making.
  
• Act as a positive and constructive challenge to existing ways of working in order to improve outcomes.

What Success Looks Like

By 12 months, success in this role would include:

• End to end HR Operations processes clearly mapped and documented.
  
• Clear ownership and accountability for processes established and understood.
  
• Evidence based improvement opportunities identified and prioritised.
  
• Tangible progress in the use of automation and AI to improve how work is delivered.
  
• Increased confidence and consistency in how HR Operations processes operate.

Essential Criteria

• Experience of mapping end to end processes and analysing them to identify inefficiencies, gaps, risks and opportunities for improvement.
  
• Experience of using analysis, insight or structured evidence to recommend and support process or operational improvements.
  
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to influence and work collaboratively with others without formal authority.
  
• Experience of contributing to change, transformation or continuous improvement activity within an operational or service delivery environment.
  
• A proactive and curious approach to understanding how work is done, with the initiative to seek out improvements rather than waiting to be directed.
  
• The ability to work constructively with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence, professionalism and a collaborative mindset.
  
• CIPD qualified or a willingness to work towards attaining this.

Desirable Criteria

• Awareness of how automation and/or AI can be used to improve operational processes.
  
• Exposure to business analysis, continuous improvement or process improvement techniques (e.g. Lean, service design, user centred approaches).
  

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,765, Department for Energy Security & Net Zero contributes £12,678 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero offers a competitive mix of benefits including:

• A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
• Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
• An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
• Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.

Office attendance

The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.

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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Judgement Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 26/05/2026. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website. As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to describe how you meet the essential criteria

Applications will be sifted on CV and Personal Statement.

In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the CV only.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The interview will consist of behaviour questions.

Interviewees will be asked to deliver a presentation; further details will be provided nearer the time.

Sift and interview dates

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

Reasonable Adjustment

We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.

Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DESNZ Candidate Guidance. A DESNZ Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.

We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants section.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

A location based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.

Candidates who meet the minimum benchmark may be placed on a Reserve List for consideration for similar roles, including those at a lower grade. Candidates who narrowly miss the benchmark and are not placed on the Reserve List may still be considered for an offer in a similar role at a lower grade.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

DESNZ does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).

DESNZ cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. DESNZ holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Benno Jungnitz-Bose
• Email : benno.jungnitzbose2@ics.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : desnzresourcing.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance DESNZrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints

Attachments

DESNZ TCs v1.2 Opens in new window (doc, 174kB)