HR Business Analyst in London

Salary: Grade 7, £37,694 – £47,389 per annum

Contract: Full‑time (35 hours per week), open ended

Holiday Entitlement: 33 days annual leave, plus 9 buildings closed days for all full-time staff.

Purpose of Role

Joining the HR Shared Operations (ShoP) team, you will work in close collaboration with all divisions of Human Resources (HR), Information Services (IS) and our Strategic Planning, Performance and Projects Team (SPP&P). The operational ‘Business as Usual’ activities vary from day to day. Although we often work to very tight deadlines which will require you to be adaptable and flexible, you will also be accountable for transforming our approach to HR data, requiring forward‑thinking and a continuous improvement mindset. You will be part of a team that constantly strives for service excellence and continually improves service delivery and efficiency to enhance the overall employee experience in line with our values, providing an environment where you will learn from a variety of sources, stakeholders and peers.

The role is pivotal in ensuring that HR data is accurate, compliant and insightful, supporting both legislative requirements, business decision‑making and stakeholder needs. Improving data accessibility for employees and managers, you will support the effective use of HR and Microsoft Analytics technologies to ensure accurate data management, streamlined business processes and high‑quality reporting.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Accountable for the production, submission and optimisation of the statutory HESA staff return, and use of staff data in other returns such as the upcoming REF2029 return. Developing and maintaining an expert understanding of the overall requirements, data, processes and systems.
• Accountable for the production and optimisation of HR Management information (MI). You will also be responsible for gathering and proposing solutions for HR MI needs of key university and HR stakeholders.
• Plan and participate in improvement projects and regression testing for quarterly system updates, documenting system workflows and developing user guides for end‑users.
• Ensure data accuracy, completeness and consistency across the HR system.
• Dynamic data analysis and production of and significant contributions to specific periodic major HR dashboards and analytical reports supporting leadership.
• Review and streamline HR system processes and identify automation opportunities to enhance efficiency and user experience.
• Support internal and external audits and FOI requests.
• Manage the various data surveys to ensure HR has access to benchmarking data.
• Carry out data reconciliation for annual pay element changes e.g. pay award, increments, real living wage and any additional processes.
• Work with other colleagues in HR, IS and SPP&P to engage in continuous improvement of processes and procedures to ensure continued efficient and effective service delivery.
• Carry out any other duties which may, from time to time, be reasonably requested within the grade and level of responsibility of the post.
• Research and gather data from different University systems (including our own Cloud ERP system), manipulate and interpret data as required by Strategic People Partners or People Partners, presenting the data in a manner that is useful to both internal (HR) customers and external customers (e.g. Executive Deans and Directors).

Education, Qualifications & Experience

Essential

• Qualified to degree level or similar or equivalent experience.
• Relevant qualification or experience in data analysis or similar.
• Experience of Oracle Fusion or similar HR system.
• Highly skilled in the use of the Microsoft suite of applications including Teams, SharePoint, OneNote, Outlook and Excel, and digital proficiency.
• Experience of building reports in data visualisation software in Power BI or an alternative BI platform; demonstrable experience of extracting, analysing and interpreting data to produce reports in support of HR planning and management activities.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including stakeholder management, collaboration and problem‑solving.
• Demonstrable professional approach with the ability to work quickly, flexibly and accurately in a dynamic, changing and pressured environment.
• Good written and oral communication skills, including data visualisation and presentation skills, with the ability to present complex information in an accessible way for a diverse audience.
• Good organisational skills, accuracy and attention to detail.
• Flexible and professional approach to work, with the ability to maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive personal data.

Desirable

• Experience within a higher education or other public sector environment.
• Experience of working within HR.
• Experience with HESA returns.
• Aware of data protection principles and information security.

Equality and Diversity

Heriot‑Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and creating an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all. We welcome and will consider flexible working patterns such as part‑time working and job‑share options.