SEO Human Resources Manager (Talent Pool)

Job summary

We are MHCLG

We are building a talent pool (reserve list) of talented and ambitious HR professionals to fill a range of exciting opportunities.

Successful candidates may be offered roles spanning the HR portfolio and would be expected to work in an agile way to deliver the MHCLG People Strategy. As a priority, we are looking to build expertise and confidence in the following skill sets:

• Employee Relations and Casework,

• Pay and Reward

• HR Operations

• Resourcing and Recruitment

• HR Policy

• Workforce planning

As an SEO Human Resources Manager, you will combine strong leadership capability with specialist HR expertise. You will lead teams, services, projects and improvement activity, while acting as a trusted adviser and recognised subject matter expert within your area of responsibility.

We are looking for people who are curious, outward-looking and committed to continuous improvement. You will engage positively with colleagues across Government and external partners to understand emerging best practice, identify innovative solutions and help shape the future delivery of HR services.

This is an excellent opportunity for experienced HR professionals who are looking to deepen their expertise and develop the skills required for future senior leadership roles.

This is a talent pool campaign for our HR Function and we will offer roles from our reserve list as vacancies in our team arise.

This is a rolling campaign – we will sift and interview regularly. This means that you won’t be waiting until after the closing date to hear back from us. Successful candidates may be offered roles across the wider HR portfolio and will be expected to work flexibly and collaboratively to support delivery of the MHCLG People Strategy.

When you apply, you'll be asked to rank your preference of roles. We cannot promise that you'll be offered your first preference but we will take this under consideration. You can turn down a role once before we take you off the talent pool. We will hold the talent pool for 12 months. The terms of offer (permanent or time limited) will depend on the role.

If you are unsuccessful at SEO but you are a “near miss”, you may be offered the opportunity to join the talent pool at the lower grade if you meet the threshold for HEO.

Job description

As a Human Resources Manager, you will lead the delivery of high-quality HR services and provide professional expertise across a range of HR disciplines.

Responsibilities will vary depending on the role to which you are appointed, but may include:

Leadership and Service Delivery

• Lead the day-to-day delivery of a specialist HR service, project, team or area of work, ensuring high-quality outcomes and excellent customer service.

• Lead, motivate and develop colleagues, creating an inclusive and high-performing team culture.

• Set priorities, manage workloads and ensure resources are deployed effectively to meet business needs.

• Build capability within teams and to the wider workforce through coaching, mentoring and knowledge sharing.

• Lead teams and stakeholders through change, providing clear direction and support during periods of transformation and uncertainty.

Professional Expertise and Subject Matter Leadership

• Subject matter expert in one or more HR specialisms, including employee relations and casework, pay and reward, HR policy, workforce planning, recruitment and resourcing, organisational change, or HR operations.

• Provide authoritative, confident and pragmatic advice and guidance on complex, sensitive and high-risk HR matters.

• Maintain expert knowledge of employment legislation, Civil Service frameworks, HR policy, processes and best practice.

• Interpret legislation, policy and organisational requirements, applying sound judgement to deliver practical and proportionate solutions.

• Build organisational capability by sharing expertise, coaching managers and supporting the development of colleagues.

• Engage with colleagues across Government and external organisations to identify emerging trends and best practice.

Ownership and Accountability

• Take ownership of complex cases, projects, programmes or business areas, ensuring delivery of agreed outcomes.

• Use data, insight and evidence to forecast demand, identify risks, trends and opportunities, informing recommendations and decision-making.

• Exercise sound judgement in managing complex, sensitive or ambiguous situations.

• Drive continuous improvement and innovation, identifying opportunities to simplify, modernise and enhance HR services.
• Manage competing priorities while maintaining quality, compliance and customer service standards.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

You will be able to demonstrate:

• Significant specialist experience of delivering professional HR services within a complex organisation.
• Experience of operating autonomously on complex issues such as employee relations and casework, pay and reward, HR policy, workforce planning, recruitment or HR operations whilst recognising scope of own authority and escalating as required.
• Experience of leading teams, projects, services or significant areas of work and delivering results through others.
• Ability to provide expert advice on complex and sensitive issues and influence decision-making at all levels. This includes excellent verbal and written communication skills – with the ability to land your point persuasively.
• Strong analytical skills with experience of using data, evidence and insight to inform decisions and drive improvement.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to build credibility and trusted relationships.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver at pace.
• Experience of implementing change, continuous improvement or transformation activity.
• A resilient, inclusive and collaborative leadership style.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,004, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £12,747 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Staff Benefits Scheme, Childcare Vouchers, 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

• Experience: (Lead) Outline your experience of leading the design or delivery of a strategic HR goal and how you ensured success. This question is testing the experience criteria listed in the advert.

• Behaviour: Managing a Quality Service

• Behaviour: Communicating & Influencing

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

• Technical: Candidates will be given a set timed task at the beginning of the interview and asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation, further details will be provided on invitation to interview.
• Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.
• Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.
• Behaviours: Managing a Quality Service and Making Effective Decisions.

Sift and Interview Dates

Applications will be sifted on a rolling basis throughout the recruitment campaign. Candidates who are successful at sift may be invited to interview before the closing date.

Disability Confident Scheme (DCS)

We are a Disability Confident employer.

We apply a fair and proportionate interview process for all candidates. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to progress candidates who apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and meet the required minimum selection criteria.

However, where high application volumes are received, progression to interview may be limited to those who best meet the role criteria. In these circumstances, the benchmark required to proceed to interview may be raised for all candidates.

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 Disability Confident Scheme, Redeployment Interview scheme & Great Place to Work for Veterans 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

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles

• CV Declaration

• Sponsorships

• Salary and Grade

• Existing Civil Servants

• Conflict of Interest

• Location and Flexible Working

• Internal Fraud Database

• Appeals and Complaints

• Fixed Term Appointments for:

• External Candidates

• Existing Civil Servants (Including Loans)

• Secondments

• MHCLG employees

Security Clearance Requirements

National Office: + SC

London Office: + SC

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security 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 : Jenny Roberts
• Email : Jenny.Roberts@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