Human Resources (HR) Advisor

With a passion for people/operational management, and a desire to build an HR generalist foundation for a future career, the post holder will work with the HR Business Partners (HRBPs) to optimise effective working relationships and HR support for the judiciary. Judicial Office HR (JO HR) places judicial office holders at the centre of our service, ensuring we are visible, proactive as well as responsive, and that we collaborate with colleagues across the Judicial Office, and beyond to ensure we provide judicial office holders with excellent HR support and professional expertise. JO HR supports the senior judiciary, judicial leaders, and works in partnership with His Majesty\’s Courts & Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to ensure the Lord Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals have a properly resourced, visible and accessible HR service based on the needs of the judiciary. Reporting to a HRBP, the post holder will need to be agile, forward looking and ready to adapt to the evolving priorities of the judiciary. The mission of the HRBP and OD&D team is to provide professional and quality support, advice and guidance to judicial office holders and by adding this value we further the delivery of justice. Our collaboration with wider Judicial HR, Judicial Office and HMCTS colleagues is key to support a common purpose to provide a seamless service to all judicial office holders. We are proud to make a difference to judicial office holders through the service we provide. The role involves a proactive approach to problem solving and finding solutions to HR challenges. With a detailed understanding of the judiciary and their unique position as office holders the role is key to enabling accurate interpretation of HR policy, and the delivery of HR processes to maintain sufficient support to the judiciary. The post holder will contribute to the link between the judiciary and the HR Centres of Expertise and Operations teams working collaboratively to achieve effective outcomes. As a key point of contact to the judiciary, the post holder will be required to manage judicial expectations and gather intelligence to provide specialist advice or deploy the appropriate service from within the Judicial Office. This is an ambiguous environment, and the post holder must be comfortable working autonomously and proactively, garnering credible information from a range of sources to provide accurate advice.

Responsibilities, Activities & Duties

• Appraising, assessing and adapting to a range of issues on a day-to-day basis and offering options to assist the judiciary in discharging their pastoral responsibilities.
• Building relationships and personal credibility with the judiciary, including regular travel to the courts and tribunals across the North West region.
• Supporting the HR triage service to judicial office holders. This requires a keen attention to detail, and the ability to ensure information and advice provided is timely, and accurate.
• The post holder will have autonomy to make decisions within their area of work, to deploy appropriate resources using initiative and in communication with their established network of contacts across the wider HR community.
• Consider sensitive or multiple opposing opinions to establish facts; establishing the best approach; determining appropriate methodologies; analysis to ensure quality and application of results.
• Exercise judgement, knowing when to seek advice and guidance from their management team as appropriate.
• Interpreting HR advice may require follow up questions, discussion or further investigation to understand the wider impact of the issue.
• Decisions might involve considerable discretion but will be constrained by policy and informed practice.
• Operating as an integral member of the HRBP/OD&D Team, scanning for emerging trends and acting as an intelligent customer into the wider HR Team on behalf of judiciary located in the Regions.

Key Tasks

• Working closely with the HRBPs to support delivery of a strategic field-based HR service.
• Analysing HR data and applying understanding to decide on an appropriate intervention or course of action and making recommendations to the HRBPs.
• Sickness absence monitoring and escalating any concerns or trends to the HRBP.
• Provide advice to enable judicial leaders to take proactive steps to deal with or pre-empt issues relating to judicial health, welfare and to provide high quality timely advice on specific or generalised HR problems.
• Formulation of reports which can be fed back into key areas of the organisation.
• Oversight of all record keeping, ensuring compliance with GDPR and data retention policies.
• Liaison with HMCTS on complex workplace adjustment cases.
• Collation of Judicial Office Holder appeal information, and drafting of briefing notes.
• Supporting the HR triage system, ensuring the advice and signposting is accurate and timely.
• Signposting complex queries to the correct part of JO HR.
• Responding to queries which require review of numerous policies and T&Cs in order to provide accurate advice.
• Providing HR support to the judiciary, taking minutes in appropriate meetings which require HR to be present.
• Forming a collaborative relationship with stakeholders namely regional support units to garner insights on regional performance.
• Demonstrate commitment to continuous development, professional expertise and skill.

Hybrid Working & Employment Conditions

The MoJ offers Hybrid Working arrangements where business need allows. This is an informal, non-contractual form of flexible working that blends working from your base location, different MoJ sites and/or from home (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). All employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office, subject to local estate capacity. For nationally advertised role: all successful candidates will be appointed to the nearest viable office nearest to their home postcode and on its respective pay scale.

Security Checks

Level of security checks required: DBS Basic Counter Terrorism Check (CTC)

Core Values & Skills

• Communicating and influencing
• Working Together
• Making effective decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

Essential Knowledge, Experience and Skills

• An ability to forge strong working relationships; being recognised as a trusted Advisor.
• Able to work well under pressure.
• Experience of managing change.
• Excellent communication skills, both in verbal and written formats, including the confidence to speak with authority when operating at a senior level.
• Experience of working in an operational delivery environment and/or knowledge and experience of HR, or as a manager working with complex problems.
• Experience of working with data and Microsoft Office applications.
• Confidence working autonomously and in an ambiguous environment.

Desirable Knowledge, Experience and Skills

• Understanding of the judiciary.
• Previous experience of working in a HR team/environment.

Technical Skills / Qualifications

• Credible HR/operational experience.
• Level 3 or 5 CIPD qualified or willing to work towards. This role can be linked to the HR Apprenticeship (Level 5) and as a route into CIPD qualification.

Security Clearance Required

Security clearance will include a requirement of CTC and DBS.

Benefits

• Annual Leave – 25 days on appointment, increasing to 30 days after five years service (pro‑rated for part‑time and job‑share).
• Pension – Civil Service choice of pension schemes.
• Training – Extensive range of training and development opportunities.
• Networks – Employee‑run networks for diverse employee groups.
• Family‑Friendly policies – Options for reduced hours or job share.
• Flexible benefits – Voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts.
• Childcare support – Eligibility for government childcare support schemes.
• Paid parental leave – Paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
• Free annual sight tests for computer users.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission\’s recruitment principles. Should you feel that the recruitment process has breached the recruitment principles you are able to raise a formal complaint in the following order:

1. To Transformative Business Services (0345 241 5359 Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm) or email moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk;
2. To Ministry of Justice Resourcing team (resourcing-management-office@justice.gov.uk);
3. To the Civil Service Commission (details available here).

As a Disability Confident employer, MoJ are committed to providing everyone with the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, talent and abilities, by making adjustments throughout all elements of the recruitment process and in the workplace. MoJ are able to offer an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum selection criteria, except in a limited number of campaigns.

Equal Opportunities and Veterans

The MoJ offers a range of benefits for veterans:

1. Guaranteed interview scheme for eligible former members of the Armed Forces.

The Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy support inclusive recruitment.