HR Operations Manager

About this role

Details

External applicants will start on the pay band minimum for the role appointed to, unless they can prove they have exceptional skills in line with the requirements of the role. Internal applicants applying on promotion will usually be appointed to the salary minimum or within 5% of existing salary. Standard pay rules apply for existing civil servants.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer

Business area

GAD - Human Resources

Type of role

Human Resources

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

About the job

Job summary

The HR Operations Manager is responsible for establishing and maintaining an excellent, reliable and responsive operational HR service for the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD).

The postholder will lead day-to-day HR operations, create clear service standards and controls, coordinate workloads and ensure managers and employees receive accurate, timely and consistent support. The role provides the operational management needed to sustain business-as-usual delivery while embedding improved processes and ways of working.

For further information about the role and GAD, please see the following pack: HR Operations Manager - HR Operations Manager

Job description

Working within HR Services, the postholder will lead the HR operations team and provide first-line operational leadership across the employee lifecycle. They will translate policy and process requirements into practical, documented services that are easy for colleagues to use and for the HR team to deliver consistently.

They will maintain effective triage, case allocation, quality assurance, records and management information. They work closely with HR Business Partners, recruitment and resourcing, pay, policy and governance, payroll and systems colleagues, escalating complex or high-risk matters appropriately.

Person specification

• Lead and coordinate the day-to-day HR operations service, setting priorities and allocating work so that employee and manager queries are handled promptly and consistently.
• Establish, document and maintain standard operating procedures, checklists, templates, decision points and escalation routes across core HR processes.
• Define and monitor proportionate service standards, workflow controls and quality checks, addressing backlogs, recurring errors and single points of failure.
• Provide clear first-line advice and guidance to managers and employees, interpreting HR policy accurately and escalating complex employee relations, legal, payroll or policy matters to the appropriate specialist.
• Lead, support and develop HR Officers, creating clear expectations, effective cover, regular review of workloads and a culture of ownership and customer service.
• Maintain accurate and accessible employee records, ensuring appropriate information handling, audit trails, retention and timely data updates across HR systems.
• Coordinate operational interfaces with recruitment, onboarding, payroll, pensions, HR systems, HR Business Partners and policy colleagues so that hand-offs are clear and controlled.
• Produce concise operational management information on volumes, timeliness, risks, exceptions and service performance, using it to drive corrective action.
• Own operational risk and issue escalation within the service, ensuring urgent employee, compliance or pay-related concerns are identified and acted on quickly.
• Embed processes ensuring ownership, training, documentation and controls are sustained in business-as-usual activity.
• Plan for peaks in demand and staff absence, maintaining resilient service cover and prioritising critical work where capacity is constrained.
• Build constructive relationships across GAD and seek regular feedback to improve the usability, consistency and credibility of the HR service.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Experience of managing or coordinating a high-volume operational HR, people-services or comparable customer service function. (Lead Criteria)
• Experience of leading, supporting and developing colleagues, allocating work and maintaining delivery standards through competing priorities. (Lead Criteria)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,127, Government Actuary's Department contributes £12,204 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides .

As well as competitive salaries, we offer a substantial package of benefits:

• Exceptional learning and development opportunities that you can explore alongside your day-to-day work.
• 25 days annual leave per year, increasing to 30 days after 5 years’ service. In addition, we offer 9 days public and privilege days leave per year (pro rata for part time staff)
• Eligibility to join either the civil service pension scheme or a stakeholder pension scheme.
• 5 days of paid volunteering leave
• Up to 9 months maternity leave on full pay + generous paternity and adoption leave
• Staff reward and recognition bonuses that operate throughout the year.
• Occupational sick pay
• Family-friendly policies such as help with caring responsibilities, special leave, generous paid maternity, paternity, and adoption leave.
• Access to employee assistance programme which offers staff 24/7 confidential support and resources such as counselling, debt guidance and management advice.
• The opportunity to join a trade union.
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity.
• Salary advances for travel costs, including annual season tickets and cycle-to-work schemes.
• Access to the Edenred employee benefits system which offers discounts to popular retailers and access to various useful resources such as financial and savings advice.
• Complimentary BUPA health check.

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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours and Technical skills.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained.
• A Personal statement of up to 500-words explaining how you meet the essential criteria for the role, with particular reference to the criteria provided in the person specification of the JD.

Your CV and Personal Statement will be used to assess the essential criteria listed in the job description.

During the interview you will be assessed on the experience and behaviours listed in the Person Specification and detailed in this advert. The interview will include a presentation, details of which will be sent to those invited to interview.