HR Policy Consultant in Manchester

The Government People Group exists to work with departments, professions, and functions to build a modern, effective Civil Service. We support the government workforce with the right skills and capability. We are working with leaders to get the right people in the right jobs, with the right skills and continuous learning to excel in their roles. We provide leadership, and in turn, create leaders with exceptional line management capability across departments, influencing partners in the wider public sector and beyond.

This involves getting our retention and reward strategy right, to nurture specific skills, and create pride and resilience in our workforce. Our role is also to provide system leadership across central government in pulling together back office services. Collectively, we help support the Cabinet Office’s priority to drive efficiencies, and reforms that will make government work better, to ultimately provide a better service to the public.

This role is within the Pay, Policy and Pensions domain of GPG, which plays a central role in developing and maintaining core HR model policies. This ensures all government departments and agencies have access to consistent, legally compliant, and best-practice policy and procedures, thereby avoiding duplication of effort and ensuring value for money across government.

A key function of the team is providing expert policy advice, addressing complex HR policy queries and proactively amending policies to reflect changes in legislation, such as the Employment Rights Bill and case law. Policy & Practice also delivers and coordinates specialist independent expert services such as Mediation, HR Investigations, Workplace Adjustments, and Job Evaluation, offering crucial advice and support to departments. It collaborates with departments to develop and sustain a comprehensive, cross-government wellbeing offer. Through supporting HR forums and a digital hub, it actively fosters best practice and shared learning within the HR function.

Successful candidates will have an excellent opportunity to develop and enhance core HR skills and expert business knowledge. Comprehensive training will be provided across all necessary areas, offering significant scope to expand HR knowledge and expertise.

Are you starting out on your journey in the HR profession? Do you want to make a difference to the working lives of your colleagues? Have you thought about working with a team that offers the opportunity to develop yourself and others? Yes? This could be the opportunity that you have been looking for.

This role is within the Pay, Policy and Pensions domain, a vital part of the Cabinet Office's Government People Group (GPG), which is central to the mission of creating a modern and effective Civil Service by collaborating with departments, professions, and functions. A core function is to define and maintain essential HR model policies. This involves providing expert policy advice, handling intricate HR policy questions, and assisting legal compliance across departments. Specifically, the team proactively develops and updates policies to incorporate recent legislative changes, such as the Employment Rights Bill, and evolving case law.

Role responsibilities

• HR Policy Development and Implementation: Work as part of a small team contributing to developing and implementing a broad range of HR model policies, guidance, and initiatives for implementation across the Civil Service.
• Research and Data Collection: Conduct research and gather necessary data and information to inform and support key policy decisions made by the policy team.
• Stakeholder Communication: Assisting SEO Consultants/G7 Team Leads in collaborating with key stakeholders (departmental HR contacts, networks, Trade Unions, legal teams) to develop and implement model HR policies, guidance, and initiatives throughout the Civil Service. Provide regular updates to Senior Leaders and key stakeholders through written and verbal briefings on the progress of work programme priorities.
• Correspondence handling: Manage and respond to formal requests, including Freedom of Information (FOIs) requests, Parliamentary Questions (PQs), and Treat Official (TO) Correspondence.
• Secretariat: Providing secretariat support to engagement groups including maintaining membership lists, commissioning and collating regular data requests, providing updates to the membership and recording notes from meetings.
• Other activities may include working with senior colleagues to scope and implement improvements to content or participation in delivering special projects or expert services.

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