About the job

Job summary

We are currently looking for a Recruitment Advisor to join our Resourcing Team, within the Human Resources group on a permanent basis. The role will be based in 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf London, E14 4PU. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.  

Government departments and agencies are working towards implementing a minimum 60% attendance in office sites.

We are currently implementing a flexible, hybrid way of working, with a minimum of 4 days per month working on site to enable the collaboration and contact with partners and stakeholders needed to deliver MHRA business. Attendance on site is driven by business needs so depending on the nature of the role, this can flex up to 8 days a month, with the remainder of time worked either remotely or in the office. Some roles will need to be on site more regularly.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency enhance and improve the health of millions of people every day through the effective regulation of medicines and medical devices, underpinned by science and research.  

The HR/People function is led by the Chief People Officer, who is a member of the Unitary Board. HR is part of the Corporate Group, along with Finance, Commercial and Infrastructure and Laboratory Services functions which are led by the Chief Finance Officer.

In 2023 we refreshed our People Strategy which focusses on: attracting and retaining the best people, developing exceptional people and leaders, valuing diversity and promoting wellbeing and health, investing in a healthy culture, and enabling great performance and delivery.  The People Strategy is about enabling effective partnership between the Agency and its people in helping to deliver public health outcomes.

Job description

Reporting to the Head of Recruitment, you will manage and deliver a first-class end-to-end recruitment service for the Agency in a high-volume environment at pace. You’ll be working with hiring managers from across the Agency providing best practice advice and guidance on the whole recruitment cycle, including managing the full range of administrative duties associated with resourcing and recruitment. You will work closely with your Recruitment Advisor counterpart and our 2 Recruitment Coordinators to deliver a customer focused service that reflects the world class organisation we are. You will be innovative and constantly looking to improve and streamline processes wherever the customer experience can be enhanced. This is a role that really touches all parts of the organisation as well as with candidates from a very broad range of professions, including but not limited to medical, scientific, technology, corporate, administrative, heads of functions, deputy directors, directors and more.

• To manage the agency-wide operational recruitment offering, ensuring all aspects of the team’s service are delivered to the highest quality with customers at the core.
• Working with designated business areas to run and deliver end to end recruitment campaigns - including scoping, advertising, selection and onboarding.
• Administration of the full recruitment process, using relevant databases to maintain accurate records, generating timely correspondence, ensuring a high level of attention to detail at all times.
• Be responsible for ensuring the team delivers accurate and timely resourcing metrics - time to hire, stages of process, cost, effectiveness of campaigns etc. to HR colleagues and Group/Function Senior Management Teams (SMTs) as required.
• Ensure the recruitment team provide instruction, advice and guidance around all aspects of the process including creation of recruitment criteria, direct sourcing, use of advertising media, creating advert text and interview content as well as complex pay issues and redeployment.
• Challenge, influence and advise managers around the use of appropriate assessment methodology. Act as subject matter expert (SME) to HR colleagues and managers, including senior managers.

 

Key responsibilities: 

 

• Engage with managers, including senior management, to identify possible interventions which lead to reductions in time to hire, cost and minimise the number of unsuccessful campaigns.
• Identify and provide innovative solutions to tackle hard to fill roles, deliver high volume recruitment, recruit to temporary positions and maintain rolling recruitment campaigns for high turnover areas.
• To manage, co-ordinate and maintain the Agency redeployment process if and when required, working with managers and HR colleagues to ensure the process is followed and delivered.
• To undertake, and ensure conclusion of, full pre-employment and security checks for all recruited candidates, and other staff, contractors, contingent workers, interns and student placements within the Agency as required.
• Ensure smooth transitions during onboarding and internal staff moves, making sure the candidate experience is paramount.
• To proactively and innovatively work within the Recruitment team to identify strategic threads, improvements to processes and external best practice. Significantly contribute to the improvement of the Recruitment function by vigorously challenging current processes and ways of working, identifying and implementing improvements, ensuring we offer a streamlined, seamless and continuously improving recruitment service.
• To take responsibility for your own continuous professional development, staying up to date with current trends and market insights in recruitment. Contribute to the overall recruitment strategy by feeding back resourcing trends and best practice within specific area of responsibility in the business.
• Developing strategic relationships with external job boards, LinkedIn, recruitment agencies and other external stakeholders.
• Delivering HR inductions to new starters as required to ensure an excellent introduction to Agency
• Taking responsibility for your own learning and development in addition to that directed by the Head of Recruitment, ensuring your skills and knowledge in recruitment.

 

Person specification

Our successful candidate will: 

 

• Have well-developed skills in excel and other databases, with the ability to report on and analyse data essential, with a good knowledge of IT skills using various HR systems.
• Have experience in leading on process and service delivery improvements, proactively and innovatively achieving recruitment outcomes in a way that most effectively supports the overall success of an organisation.
• Have demonstrable experience of supporting staff who deliver the recruitment cycle, from the posting of advertisements, through to selection and offer.
• Have strong influencing skills with the ability to liaise with staff at all levels, and challenge perceptions, ways of working and decision making where appropriate.
• Have demonstrable ability to use knowledge to guide, advise and influence managers at the highest level around best practice ensuring they adopt suitable solutions.

 

 

If you would like to find out more about this fantastic opportunity, please read our Job Description and Person Specification! 

 

Please note: The job description may not open in some internet browsers. Please use Chrome or Microsoft Edge. If you have any issue viewing the job description, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,841, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency contributes £9,407 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

We use the Civil Service Success Profiles to assess our candidates, find out more here. 

 

• Online application form, including questions based on the Behaviour, Experience and Technical Success Profiles. Please ensure all application questions are completed in full; your application may not be considered if any responses are left blank. Our applications are CV blind, and our Hiring Managers will not be able to access your CV when reviewing your application.
• Interview, which can include questions based on the Behaviour, Experience, Technical and Strengths Success Profiles.

If you require any disability related adjustments at any point during the process, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk as soon as possible. 

  

Closing date: 18th February 2024

Interview date: from 26th February 2024

 

If you need assistance applying for this role or have any other questions, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk 

 

Candidates will be subject to UK immigration requirements as well as Civil Service nationality rules. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here. 

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check as well as animal rights and pro-life activism checks. People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

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.

Any move to the MHRA 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. Determine your eligibility here.

 

Successful candidates may be subject to annual Occupational Health reviews dependent on role requirements. If you have any queries, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk.

 

In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of selection for appointment on the basis of merit by a fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should firstly contact Mira Mepa, Head of Recruitment and Operations, Mira.Mepa@mhra.gov.uk.  

 

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk 

 

info@csc.gov.uk 

Civil Service Commission 

Room G/8 

1 Horse Guards Road 

London 

SW1A 2HQ 

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.