About the job

Job summary

Do you enjoy solving problems and helping teams to meet their resourcing needs? 

Can you build connections with stakeholders and manage multiple pieces of work?  

Do you have an eye for detail and the ability to work at pace in a dynamic environment? 

Then a role as a Resourcing Manager in our Contingent Labour Resourcing Team could be for you!  

Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a key role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink. 

The Resourcing Operations team sits within Defra HR and is responsible for delivering and supporting resourcing strategies and solutions for Defra Core and its arm’s length bodies, the Environment Agency, Natural England, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Animal and Plant Health Agency and Rural Payments Agency, so that we can deliver our joint and individual organisational objectives.

It is an exciting time to join Defra HR and Resourcing in particular, as we move forward on some exciting plans to improve our service offering to our internal customers.

Job description

The Contingent Labour Resourcing Team is part of the Resourcing Operations function.  It supports hiring managers to recruit people with the right skills, into the right roles, at the right time. 
 

As a Resourcing Manager you will: 

• Work with Resourcing Business Partners, Hiring Managers, and our suppliers to ensure that vacancies are filled with high quality candidates
• Support Hiring Managers to make recruitment decisions that offer value for money
• Guide and advise stakeholders to make informed recruitment choices based on Defra’s policies and guidance   
• Ensure that vacancy requests are quality assured to meet the required standards
• There is scope to develop the role and we welcome ideas, innovation, and a positive approach to continuous improvement as we strive to achieve our vision of best-in-class status

Duties include but will not be restricted to: 

• Building excellent relationships with hiring managers and suppliers to ensure that contingent labour vacancies are successfully filled with high quality candidates offering value for money
• Supporting the Resourcing Business Partners with tasks and requests in relation to all aspects of contingent labour and collaborating with team members to ensure workloads are manageable and actioned on time
• Raising issues, risks, and proposing potential solutions as they arise to the management team. Implementing solutions to mitigate risks and resolve issues
• Building and maintaining professional networks across Defra group’s internal teams to support continuous improvement and drive best practice
• Responding efficiently and accurately to requests from internal and external customers
• Quality assuring all vacancies in relation to IR35 status and acting as point of contact for all queries relating to Umbrella companies and PAYE (Pay as You Earn) status
• Use data from tracking systems to drive continuous improvements within the team. Ensure that data on systems is accurate data and compliant with confidentiality and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) policies
• Using specialist knowledge regarding contingent labour recruitment to support hiring managers throughout the life cycle of the worker including recruitment, extensions, IT equipment, and payments
• Managing the queries inboxes, taking ownership of queries, and seeking first time resolution or advice when required within SLAs (service level agreements)

Person specification

You will be able to demonstrate in your application that you can: 

• Quickly establish successful relationships with a range of stakeholders and explain processes in a straightforward way which enables understanding
• Support and appropriately challenge stakeholders and customers, using your communication skills, to ensure that processes are compliant with policies and frameworks
• Use exceptional organisational skills and customer service skills in a fast moving, complex, and high-volume environment to deliver successful outcomes 
• Take a positive and proactive approach to prioritise work to achieve competing deadlines demonstrating an understanding of the wider business objectives
• Use a detail focussed, data driven approach to be able to identify risks in and make suggestions to improve processes and procedures

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £32,136, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £8,677 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, Strengths, Ability and Experience.

Online tests

After submission of the first stage of your application, you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Numerical 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 and application is 23:55 on 5th February 2024. 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. 

Do not leave completing the tests until the last minute in case you experience any access or technical issues. There may not be technical support available after business hours and after 2pm on the closing date of 5th February 2024. 

While the tests should work on most operating systems and modern browsers with a good internet connection, we cannot guarantee that every combination will work. At the beginning, the test will check which browser you are using, and alert you if it is likely to be incompatible. 

It is highly recommended that you complete the online tests on a desktop computer, not a mobile phone or tablet. 

Please note that online tests associated with this vacancy are not subject to time limits. Click https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reasonable-adjustments-for-online-tests-a-candidate-guide for test guidance

Application process

When you apply you will be asked to provide the following:

• A CV (which will not be marked)
• A 750-word Personal Statement – you should use this to describe how your skills and experience show that you are suitable for this role. Please refer to the Experience listed in the Person Specification when doing this - you will need to be able to demonstrate that your experience covers the Experience listed.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

Your application will be sifted on your Personal Statement (you will be given a score out of 7).

Candidates who are successful at sift stage will be invited to attend interview.

Interview

During the panel interview you will be assessed in the following way:

• You will be asked questions based on the Behaviours shown above. You will receive a score (out of 7) for each Behaviour. When preparing for interview, please think about the aspects of the Person Specification that would fall within each of the Behaviours being assessed
• You will be asked Strength-based questions to explore what you enjoy and your motivations relevant to this role. You will receive a score (out of 4) for each Strength

There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the Strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

Interviews will take place via video link, using Microsoft Teams.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process to manage numbers.

Location

Please be aware that this role(s) will be contractually based in a Defra group workplace/office. The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

As part of the pre-employment process, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).

Where the location is 'National' the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Merit Lists 

Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.

Salary 

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional. 

Accessibility

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

Criminal Record Check

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

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

Childcare Vouchers 

Any move to Defra from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Higher Security Clearance 

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter.

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

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.