About the job

Job summary

The HR team sits within the wider People division and plays a key role in supporting the business.  The HR Officer roles forms part of the HR Shared Service and will often be the first point of contact for employees/managers. Supporting with a variety of queries around Recruitment and Employee Relations, working closely with the HR Assistants and HR Advisors to support the HR Business Partners delivery an excellent customer experience to all current and potential employees.

The HR team works in a hybrid way, with regular office attendance, whilst flexibility can be discussed it is expected that the successful candidate will be required in the office at least 2 days per week depending upon the business requirements.

Please note our Policy on informal hybrid working (arrangements available as agreed with the line manager) applies within the UK, and does not extend to working overseas.

Job description

• Providing support/escalation point for the HR Assistants.
• Processing/responding to queries from the business, such as reference requests, note taking at formal meetings, directing employees/managers to the correct policy.
• Manage employee lifecycle administration such as family friendly leave, contract changes, salary adjustments.
• Be able to identify when they need to escalate an issue to the correct SME/HR Business Partner.
• Supporting with ensuring the HR system and digital filing systems are maintained accurately and kept up to date.
• Provide advised and guidance to line managers in relation to initial stages of low risk. employee relations cases, such as supporting occupational health referrals, attendance management, flexible working requests.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Student or Foundation member of the CIPD or working towards. 

Experience

• Experience of working in a HR Assistant or HR Officer role in a busy environment.
• Experience of providing advice and guidance to managers of varying levels of seniority.
• Experience of updating and using HR systems.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, including Word, PowerPoint and Excel. 

Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent team player.
• Good time management and prioritisation skills.

Additional Information: 

Whilst we welcome applications from those seeking part time work, please note, that there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to work a minimum of 30 hours per week and this will need to include working Fridays.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £29,539, UK Hydrographic Office contributes £7,975 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 vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to Apply:

Please upload your anonymised CV demonstrating your relevant experience to the role (see below) by clicking "Apply Now" at the bottom of this page. You will also be asked to submit a personal statement of up to 750 words demonstrating how you have previously advised a manager through a formal HR process.  Please see below for more information. 

Timeline:

• Advert Closes for applications: Monday 1st April 2024
• Shortlisting: week commencing 1st April 2024
• Interviews: week commencing 8th April 2024 

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates. 

Sift/Shortlist Criteria:

All applications are processed anonymously. You will be short-listed against the following criteria: 

CV

Your CV will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Experience of working in a HR role carrying out a variety of generalist HR activity

Personal statement

Please use your 750 word personal statement to demonstrate the following:

Please give an example of when you have advised and guided a manager through a formal HR process.

Please include details of who you liaised with, what elements were involved to come to the decision and any risks you managed and what part you specifically played.

This will be assessed against the below criteria:

• Experience of providing advice and guidance to managers of varying levels of seniority 

Interview Criteria: 

You will be interviewed against the following criteria:

 

Civil Service Behaviours (Level 2):

• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

See here for further information: Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours (publishing.service.gov.uk)

 

Process:  

• Single Stage Interview via TEAMS. You will be contacted to book a suitable slot if you are shortlisted (see our Candidate Pack for further information)
• Interview will be with a panel of no more than 2 people and will last approx. 45 mins

 

Onboarding Checks:

In the event you are offered a role with us, you will be required to go through Basic Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks which will include Employment and Right to Work Checks. Please see our attached Candidate Pack for further details and Terms.

Please note, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship.

BPSS – non reserved
This is a Ministry of Defence non-reserved post and is open to UK, British Commonwealth, and European Economic Area nationals. Successful applicants will be required to pass the Basic Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and will therefore need to provide evidence if they have resided outside of the UK for a period of 6 months or longer within the last 3 years. This is not a bar to employment, but a successful applicant will be required to provide sufficient evidence to allow the UKHO to conduct meaningful background checks. Please contact the recruitment team on the email address below if you have any concerns regarding this.

Eligibility

Due to the secure nature of our work, there may be eligibility restrictions if you hold dual nationality or are not a British Citizen. We will consider each application on a case-by-case basis. We will ask you in our application form to confirm your place of birth and details of any dual or previous nationalities.

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.