HR Apprentice

The House of Commons is a unique and exciting place to work right at the heart of the UK's thriving democratic system. Behind the scenes, the House of Commons Service is made up of more than 3,000 employees who support and facilitate the smooth day-to-day running of the House. They provide professional services to Members of Parliament, their staff, and the wider parliamentary community.

In addition to your salary, we offer an attractive range of benefits including:

• 30 days' annual leave (increasing to 35 days after first full leave year).
• Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• Access to training and development.
• Flexible working.
• Interest-free season ticket loan and bicycle loan.

This role will sit in the People and Culture Team and fall under the banner of the 'Speaker's Apprenticeship Academy'. Now in its second year, the 'Speaker's Apprenticeship Academy' aims to work to widen the House Service talent pool by providing additional support to early career starters. Apprentices will have the unique opportunity to learn and develop their skills in the UK Parliament, the home of British democracy. We're not looking for politics experts; we want to hear from candidates who might not have previously considered the House of Commons as a workplace option, and who are early in their careers and not in full-time education. You will need to be 18 or over by the end of the summer holidays to start the apprenticeship.

If you're looking for an apprenticeship in an exciting workplace where no two days are the same, this could be the role for you.

The People and Culture Team (PACT) provides a range of people-related services to the staff of the House of Commons, Parliamentary Digital Service and Restoration and Renewal Client Team, as well as Members of Parliament and their staff.

This is an apprenticeship role where you will study as part of your work and upon successful completion will be eligible to register with the CIPD as an Associate Member (Assoc CIPD). You will work in a variety of our teams across People and Culture during your time including Resourcing, People Management Team and the Reward and Engagement Team.

The Resourcing Team are responsible for supporting all Employer Brand activity, recruitment and onboarding requirements for the House of Commons and Joint Departments. The People Management Team provides a broad range of expert HR support across all teams of the House of Commons, enabling strategic, evidence-based people management and empowering managers to take on their full people management responsibilities, all underpinned by effective people policies that strive to support high-quality organisational service delivery. The Reward and Engagement team are responsible for leading our approach to pay, reward and engagement with our Trade Union colleagues.

As part of this role, you will undertake a HR Support at Level 3, which is the academic equivalent of two A-levels. You will be enrolled onto the apprenticeship shortly after you join, and it will typically take 18 months to complete. Please note that learners aged 18 must pass Level 2 Functional Skills exams in English and Maths to complete their apprenticeship if they do not already have a grade C/4 or above in these subjects.

You will complete training for 20% of your time, including from an apprenticeship training provider.

Some of the responsibilities for this role include:

• To develop knowledge and experience across the HR spectrum, including professional development through achieving the CIPD Level 3 Apprenticeship.
• To support members of the relevant team in all admin tasks, and the PACT team more widely where required.
• Maintenance of appropriate paper and electronic records.

To be successful in this role you will demonstrate:

• Excellent inter-personal and customer service skills, including the ability to build and maintain good working relationships, within a team and with the ability to actively help and support others.
• Good oral and written communication skills, including an ability to explain processes and to draft clear correspondence using Microsoft applications (such as Word or Outlook).
• Able to organise, plan and prioritise your own time, completing tasks within given timescales.
• Able to deal with sensitive and confidential matters, exercising tact and discretion at all times.
• Able to work inclusively, showing sensitivity to others and demonstrating openness to diverse views and opinions.

Please note, as this role is an apprenticeship, there is no requirement to have a degree qualification. If you have a degree in an unrelated subject to apprenticeship qualification then you are eligible to apply. If you have a degree or a qualification in a similar subject to the apprenticeship, please contact the Apprenticeships Team as you may be ineligible to apply.

Next Steps and Additional Information:

• If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an application providing evidence against criteria 2, 3 & 6 in the Job Description.
• More information on the application process can be found here: Application process - UK Parliament.
• There will be an information session for this role on Wednesday 9th July at 13:15 via MS Teams.