HR Assistant

Howden; Milton Keynes; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Permanent role

Flexible hours

Job summary

Howden is transforming the way HR services are delivered and this role sits at the heart of UK HR operations in Milton Keynes. You will provide first line HR support across the employee lifecycle, acting as a Workday expert and driving self-service adoption across the business.

You will collaborate with HR Centres of Excellence, payroll, recruitment and rewards teams to ensure accurate data, timely payroll, and a high-quality employee experience. The role is permanent with hybrid working.

Qualifications

• Delivery focused with a strong customer experience mindset.
• Self-motivated with a positive attitude.
• Excellent relationship-building and influencing skills.
• Ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Team player with quick learning.
• Workday and HR Shared Services experience desirable.
• Confident working independently.
• Strong organisational, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Problem solver with resilience and initiative.

Responsibilities

• Provide a client-focused HR service across the employee lifecycle.
• Act as Workday HR expert and promote self-service.
• Handle follow-ups and ensure payroll-ready data.
• Collaborate with HRES to improve processes and efficiencies.
• Work with Recruitment to manage applicant-to-new starter process.
• Collaborate with HR Centres of Excellence, HRBP, reward, change, payroll, learning and HRIS teams.
• Validate data such as roles, teams, cost centres.
• Prioritize work to meet service delivery timelines.
• Adhere to GDPR and manage data requests.
• Contribute to HR projects and automation initiatives.
• Ensure cases are correctly closed for payroll.

Skills

Delivery focus

Self-motivation

Relationship building

Deadline-driven

Attention to detail

Team player

Independent work

Organisational skills

Interpersonal skills

Problem solving

Tools

Workday

Job description

Who are we?

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like‑minded people driving change at Howden.

Here at Howden Group Holdings, we are transforming the way we deliver HR services to our business and this is an exciting time to join our evolving HR function as we look to drive commercially aligned and strategic HR support to our stakeholders. This is an exciting opportunity to deliver first class HR Services support to our UK businesses, providing first line HR support to a fast‑growing and transformational business.

What you’ll be doing.

• Provide a client focused HR service across the employee lifecycle, delivering a great experience to our people.
• Working as an advocate and expert on Workday HR, guiding and supporting people, whilst promoting self service capability.
• Responsible for follow up actions and ongoing enquiries, ensuing processes are completed to a high standard and in time for payroll cut off.
• Works closely with colleagues within HRES to drive consistency across the business, improve processes and gain efficiencies.
• Works with the Recruitment team to ensure the applicant through to new starter process is managed efficiently and provides a great candidate experience.
• Working collaboratively with the group HR centres of excellences, HRBP, reward, change, payroll, learning and HRIS teams.
• Validates data, ensures job details are correct, such as roles, teams and cost centres.
• Make appropriate decisions and use own judgement on work prioritisation ensuring expectations on service delivery can be met.
• Works within GDPR guidelines, managing people data requests and the confidentiality of data.
• Contributes to wider projects and initiatives within HR, driving process improvements, automation and efficiencies.
• Ensures cases and requests are completely correctly and in time for payroll.

What are we looking for?

• Delivery focused and able to demonstrate putting client experience first.
• Self- motivated with a positive attitude.
• Strong relationship building and influencing skills.
• Works well under pressure to meet deadlines whilst managing conflicting demands.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Team player with the ability to learn quickly.
• Workday and HR Shared Services experience desirable.
• Ability to work well independently with confidence.
• Strong organisational, communication and interpersonal skills.
• Problem solver with resilience, initiative and ability to challenge the status quo.
• Smart pragmatic and positive approach, able to build trust and offer proactive solutions.
• Workday and HR Shared Services experience desirable.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

Reasonable adjustments

We’re committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.

Permanent