About the job

Job summary

We are seeking an engaging, compassionate, creative, inspirational and strategically focused HR leader with a track record of achievement across the key areas of recruitment, talent and succession management, staff engagement and L&D.

This is a new interim role for SFO, designed to support our key priorities around recruitment, learning and development and leadership. The role will lead our HR team, developing the team to become a highly effective HR function that is forward-thinking and delivery focused, working effectively with all areas of the organisation to achieve a well-managed, supportive and engaging end-to-end employee lifecycle at SFO for its 617 staff.

The role will ensure effective delivery of the day-to-day operation of our HR functions which include:  resourcing/recruitment, on boarding and off boarding, learning and development, performance management, pay and reward (including pensions), HR strategy and policy and Employee Advice. It will also be responsible for designing an HR function that delivers for the needs of the organisation, ensuring we have the right skills and capabilities within the team to deliver our ambitions to be a great place to work for all our staff.

Job description

As the Deputy Director of HR, you will:

• Ensure our HR services are accessible, flexible and responsive to the needs of our teams and their leaders including upskilling line managers in the organisation to take ownership of appropriate/relevant people matters
• Ensure the provision of high-quality advice and guidance on the full range of employee relations issues, including staff conduct, grievances, restructures, probation, absence, ill-health and the drafting of a suite of fit for purpose policies and procedures
• Transform the way we use people data as an organisation, making the most of our incoming Enterprise Resource Management system and the reporting capabilities that will bring us to presenting fact and insight in an engaging and compelling way that will influence change and improvement
• Build an optimised working relationship with our recruitment consultancy partners ensuring SFO can meet its targets to recruit at pace to key roles, enhancing our capacity and capability to deliver across both the operational and enabling sides of our business
• Implement our Learning and Development strategy, ensuring we have a mature L&D offer that is right-sized, high quality and delivered through the most effective mechanism(s) available to us
• Continue to create and refine effective policies and practice that touch on all points of the employee lifecycle and ensure we have an exceptional environment for our staff

For more information about the role and for a full list of key responsibilities, please see attached Candidate Pack.

Person specification

See above and attached Job Pack.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £90,000, Serious Fraud Office contributes £24,300 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This position is offered as a Fixed Term appointment for an initial period of 18 months, with the potential for an extension. Applications from candidates wishing to work full-time, part-time or with flexible working arrangements (including job share arrangements) will be considered. Applications are encouraged from suitably experienced candidates with backgrounds in either the private or public sector.

For permanent civil servants joining the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on a Fixed-term :

Please note if you accept a Fixed-term Appointment with the SFO the preferred option is for you to transfer from your home department on a loan basis to ensure you can return to your home department at the end of the Fixed-term Appointment. Exceptionally, if a transfer on a loan basis cannot be agreed by your home department, you would transfer to the SFO on the basis that you would lose your permanent Civil Service status but retain your continuity of employment. However, if you face a redundancy situation at the end of the Fixed-term Appointment you will be treated as a permanent civil servant for redundancy and redeployment purposes only. You must have two years’ service to be eligible for redundancy benefits under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Therefore you should be aware that when your Fixed-term Appointment at the SFO comes to an end, your employment in the Civil Service will end, unless:

• an extension to your Fixed-term Appointment has been agreed by the SFO.
• a conversion to permanent status has been agreed by the SFO.
• you are successfully redeployed into a suitable alternative post
• you secure another Civil Service post through a recruitment process.

How to apply

Please complete the online application process via the link on the advert.

As part of the application process you will be required to provide:

• A CV showing your career history and qualifications
• A statement of suitability of no more than 1000 words that sets out how your skills, knowledge and achievements demonstrate the essential experience required for the role.

The candidates shortlisted for the next stage of the selection process will be those who have clearly demonstrated that they meet the essential and technical criteria for the role. 

Please note that it will not be possible to provide feedback to applicants who are unsuccessful at the application stage.

If you are shortlisted, you will be invited to a Staff Focus Group and an interview to explore the behaviours and experience in more depth.

Staff Focus Group

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to prepare and deliver a presentation to a group of staff of varying grades and professions that represent key business areas the post-holder will need to engage with regularly followed by a discussion. This will take place on 29th January.

Interview

Your interview will take place on 8th February and will explore the behaviours and experience in more depth.

Full details of the interview process and staff  focus group will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

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

Security

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.