Strategic HR Business Partner

The postholder is responsible for leading the delivery and development of an excellent Human Resources provision to the Council, with a particular focus on strategic HR Business Partner support for the Culture, Environment and Economy. The HR Business Partner will take the lead role in developing and implementing strategies to reduce sickness absence across the Directorate. This will include analysis of absence data, producing meaningful reports, identifying root causes, and working proactively with managers to address underlying issues.

The post holder will design and deliver targeted interventions, such as wellbeing initiatives, manager training, and early intervention processes to promote attendance and support staff health. This role also involves being a lead practitioner on complex casework, change management, and policy development within the Human Resources remit. The HR Business Partner will demonstrate behaviours and competencies to transform the HR service, ensuring it delivers highly effective outcome-focused and proactive support to the directorates and implement all areas of policy development effectively.

Postholder will be line managing.

Main Duties / Accountabilities:

• Provide an effective, consistent, and responsive HR service to meet customer need, covering all areas of HR remit. Expert employee relations advice and support is provided to managers and directors from start to finish.
• Ensure the maintenance of current Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Implement and comply with all relevant legislation, policies, and procedures.
• Lead the development and implementation of corporate policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with legislative changes and robustness to enable services to achieve their outcomes/goals.
• Communicate the rollout of policies and guidelines effectively and ensure the council’s website is regularly updated.
• Identify additional service requirements or service shortfalls and recommend innovative solutions.
• Advise directors, managers, and other stakeholders on issues relevant to the service area including complex casework, change management and policy development. Participate and attend hearings and appeals.
• Strategic support to the directorate, including preparing DMT reports and attending DMTs.
• Ensure the council’s website links are functioning correctly and appropriately, and the website is kept up to date. Develop and implement policy toolkits.
• Actively engage with stakeholders and partners to ensure organisational commitment to the delivery of HR projects. Good working relationships with partners, managers, stakeholders, including trade union officials is established, fostered and maintained.
• Support programme/initiatives to improve and develop the skills/knowledge of headteachers to effectively manage people and drive business performance including providing meaningful reports.
• Participate in the Job Evaluation processes and ensure AskHR mailbox is covered.
• Work collaboratively with other internal and external partners to drive forward council’s strategic objectives.
• Customer experience survey feedback is regularly obtained with a view to either improve our service or celebrate successes and to ensure satisfaction with HR advice and support – Enhance the quality of service as evidenced by customer feedback and uptake of new business.
• Keep abreast of education developments specifically relating to Human Resources.

Generic Duties:

• To demonstrate a commitment to the Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy and the ability to understand and implement the policy in relation to the job responsibilities.
• To ensure compliance with your responsibilities as laid out in the council’s health and safety policy and actively promote a positive health and safety culture.
• To promote and participate in the council’s individual performance appraisal and development initiatives and information management best practices.
• To ensure compliance with the council’s information security policies and maintain confidentiality.
• In accordance with the Immigration Act 2016, where the role is customer-facing, and the post holder is required to speak to members of the public, the ability to converse at ease with customers and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.

Values, Behaviours and Equalities:

We want our colleagues to live our values. These values describe what we stand for and how we do things at Harrow whilst inspiring, challenging and guiding us towards the delivery of our organisational ambitions and goals. Our three values are: Working Together, Driving Delivery, Shaping the Future. These values will also help us to achieve our equalities vision of being a proud, fair & cohesive Harrow, a great place to live, work & visit.

Selection Criteria Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• A full understanding of the current educational and political climate how Human Resources can support and add value.
• A demonstrable record of achievement in employee relations, specifically complex casework, TUPE, and strategic and operational human resources projects.
• Experience of successfully managing employee relations issues in a timely and consistent way in a large organisation.
• Experience of planning and managing a mixed and varied workload of conflicting priorities responding effectively to the needs of all customers.
• Experience of report writing and communicating complex issues to a broad range of audiences.
• Experience of effectively managing and developing staff.
• Experience of developing, consulting on and implementing policies that are legally compliant.
• Experience in dealing with a range of complex and contentious matters requiring a consistently high degree of support, persuasion and advocacy and an awareness of major policy objectives, employment legislation and regulations.
• Experience of matrix managing and coordinating employees carrying out work across a range of major functions.
• An exceptional communicator able to operate and empathise with stakeholders and senior managers, influencing and gaining commitment to objectives.
• Strong influencing, people engagement, resilience and people management skills.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills coupled with a strong focus on the delivery of the objective.
• Ability to lead on multiple and wide-ranging programmes and manage competing demands.
• Knowledge, awareness and understanding of the public sector, including understanding the key drivers for change.
• Able to demonstrate financial acumen and commercial awareness.
• Clear understanding in the current thinking about people leadership, people management and organisational change.
• To have the flexibility to work hours as required for the needs of the role.

The above profile is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees in this role. It is not intended to be a detailed list of all duties and responsibilities which may be required. The postholder is required to undertake other reasonable duties consistent with the grade and level of the post.

Qualifications Role Requirements:

• Degree and/or CIPD or equivalent professional body qualified or relevant work experience.
• Evidence of CPD.

Other Requirements:

The job involves travel for business purposes.

Management Competencies:

• Resident Focus
• Works in partnership
• Political understanding
• Managing Performance and Delivering Results
• Communicating with Impact
• Financial Grip and Business Focus
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Nurturing Talent and Building Careers
• Corporate Awareness