HR Business Partner

Step Ahead Recruitment Ltd.; Truro; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare recruitment agency is seeking a People and OD Partner to lead People and Organizational Development efforts. The ideal candidate will have substantial HR experience, particularly in the NHS, and will excel in strategic planning and employee relations. Responsibilities include managing workforce strategy implementation, ensuring policy compliance, and promoting high-quality HR services. This position offers opportunities for professional development and is based in Truro, UK.

Benefits

Professional development opportunities

Supportive work environment

Qualifications

• Significant experience in People and OD activity, particularly in a complex organization.
• Expert knowledge in strategic workforce issues and NHS policies.
• Trained mediator with strong coaching skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead employee relations activities and ensure compliance with policies.
• Implement the Trust’s People and OD Strategy.
• Manage the Assistant People Partners' activities.

Skills

Employee Relations Management

Strategic Planning

Coaching Skills

Project Management

Education

Chartered MCIPD or equivalent HR qualification

Employment law qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Details

Job Title: People and OD Partner

Band: 8a (Subject to AFC consistency)

Directorate: People and Organisational Development

Location: Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Truro

Job Purpose

To be the lead specialist within your Care Group(s) for People, Employee Relations, Recruitment, Learning and Development and Organisational Development activity in support of the Care Group(s) objectives and in line with the People Strategy and the objectives of the Being Brilliant Programme.

Having autonomy to act, you will undertake activity that will support the business in driving continuous improvement and delivery of high-quality care through great leadership and management of our people.

Dimensions

Line management responsibility for the Assistant People Partner(s) for your Care Group. There is no financial responsibility associated with this role.

Key Result Areas

• Strategic Planning & Organisational Development: In conjunction with the People & OD senior team, implement the Trust’s People and OD Strategy for the Care Group in support of their business objectives. Provide assurance to the People & OD Service Manager of the development, implementation and delivery of the Trust’s People and OD strategy within Care Groups through reporting on the progress in the achievement of the Key Performance Indicators set, and the achievement of individual mutually agreed objectives. Provide effective strategic support and advice to care groups to shape change management and business transformation initiatives in line with Trust policy. Play an active role in the annual business planning cycle, ensuring that a Trust / System wide, integrated approach is taken to workforce planning including wider workforce projects.
• Understand the Trust’s key drivers and challenges to help plan and provide assurance that local workforce plans are viable and are supporting the Trust’s corporate workforce plan. Jointly monitor progress in the implementation of local workforce plans across the client groups to ensure the attainment of targets. Support the clients within your Care group(s) in planning their local learning and development needs, as part of the annual business planning cycle including annual medical job planning. Ensure that recruitment and retention hotspots are identified at an early stage, and take a pro-active, planned approach to ensure their resolution. Play an active role within service improvement programmes and initiatives in order to achieve successful business transformation. Contribute to financial planning activity through workforce planning reviews, efficiency programmes and temporary staffing controls. Provide HR expertise to Care Groups and Trust wide projects where there may be significant implications for staff and/or terms and conditions e.g. market testing, electronic HR solutions etc. Take a lead in corporate projects and project management of activities including the planning and organising and delivery of HR elements of Trust wide projects such as business transformation, Brilliant People Strategy and workforce development etc. Identify opportunities for organisational development improvements within the Care Groups where identifiable performance weaknesses can be addressed through bespoke OD interventions. Act as the Care Groups gateway or facilitator for core People and OD services to ensure the appropriate HR strategy, support, and HR requirements for the Care Group are delivered and the required agreed outcomes delivered.
• Employee Relations: Manage all Employee Relations (ER) activity within the Care Groups to ensure that our appropriate policies and procedures are adhered to and that we deliver ER interventions within the agreed timeframes. Where required seek appropriate legal advice on cases from the People and OD Service Manager. Ensure that all case investigators are properly briefed and deemed capable to address their allocated cases. Regularly monitor the progress of cases within the care groups and ensure legal and procedural compliance is maintained, and that timeframes are managed closely. Manage the activities of the Assistant People Partners and monitor workload and progress on a regular basis. Act as the subject matter expert for all ER related matters within the care group and take leadership responsibility. Refer all ER issues that fall outside of the People Partner team capability to the People and OD Service Manager and report any failures to achieve agreed timeframes on cases. Manage all ACAS and Employment Tribunal related issues arising from the Care Groups. Personally, support the investigation and resolution of very complex employee relations cases, including matters regarding medical staff performance, conduct or attendance and employment tribunals. Promote the use of informal resolution of people management issues within the client groups, in line with Trust Policy to ensure that the number of formal cases is kept to a minimum. Undertake mediation (if qualified) where working relationships have broken down in order to achieve successful team working between relevant parties, at all levels within the organisation. Interpret and advise on highly complex employment legislation including precedent setting cases where a change in practice or policy is required. Secure appropriate advice to draft legal documents, such as settlement agreements, redundancies (with the appropriate approval from the Budget holder). To be responsible for ensuring legal fees are reasonable, justifiable and are subsequently invoiced correctly. To contribute to the development and implementation of a Trust wide framework of employment policies in line with best practice and in compliance with current employment legislation, NHS terms and conditions of service and regulatory body requirements as appropriate, ensuring accurate and timely consultation and communication across the Trust. This will include the related joint discussions to seek agreement on the adoption and implementation with trade union representatives.

Other Key Areas

Operational HR Management: Support management of service reviews, jointly planning change and undertaking consultation with colleagues and their representatives. Support managers with the development of high-quality job descriptions to ensure effective and appropriate job evaluation. Promote the use of appraisals (including 360) throughout the Care group(s), including medical staff, giving advice to managers and staff as required including promoting the use of performance appraisal linked to pay progression. Promote managers having regular one to ones and informal feedback conversations with members of their teams so that potential issues can be anticipated and potentially resolved before they escalate. Work with the Head of People Experience and their team to promote and facilitate staff survey and staff engagement including interpretation of data, links to Care Group strategies and plans and proactively support the implementation of any resulting action plans. Develop individual management and organisational capability and knowledge to meet current and strategic objectives. Support the Care Group management teams to identify and source appropriate training and development initiatives, working with L&D and external providers. Provide guidance to managers on the cost-effective application of policies and procedures e.g. organisational change, recruitment. Support the delivery of National and local HR performance standards and provide evidence including to external bodies e.g. for Care Quality Commission (CQC). Produce formal reports, undertaking analysis, evaluation of Care Group/trust wide data and present findings to trust executives and senior management as required. Keep updated with developments in national Human Resource management for example, NHS Employers, CIPD, employment law, organisational development. Assess and recommend potential courses (making clear any associated risks) of action on highly complex, specialist HR issues in sometimes pressurised circumstances. These may have conflicting priorities with no existing precedent and will require the post holder to balance risk versus cost to the organisation. On occasion take formal minutes of externally commissioned investigations at the highest level in the Trust including highly sensitive information. Enable assistant people partners to develop their role and skills in practice. Evaluate progress, give feedback and take steps to enhance development where required. Quality: To contribute to the provision of a high quality operational human resource service at a consistent standard throughout the Trust, meeting agreed key performance indicators and service level standards and benchmarking against best practice, including contributing to service level agreements between Care Groups and shared People and OD services. Effectively coach, challenge and influence managers on a wide range of leadership and management activities to enable them to develop and lead well managed productive staff who are motivated to deliver high quality patient care. Promote and demonstrate the Trust’s values and behaviours and ensure their application across the client groups. Support the mainstreaming of Equality, Diversity & Inclusions and the implementation of the Trust’s Equality & Diversity Strategy and demonstrate this in day to day decision making within the Care Group(s). Support the Trust with respect to compliance with various requirements such as CQC outcomes, internal/external audit, Information Governance and various legal requirements including the Equality Act and associated public sector duty and employment law. Identify opportunities for innovation and improvements to HR practice and systems of work within the HR function with the aim of ensuring the services are business focused and add value to the Trust. Provide HR expertise to the Care Group Management Teams on HR aspects of Care Group/Trust wide risks, with respect to learning outcomes and subsequent action planning. Develop and maintain partnership working with trade unions and professional organisations. Research best practice (globally, private and public sector), interpreting its relevance and processes/practices which could be implemented successfully to achieve system reform.

Performance Management

Accountable for the interpretation of centrally provided workforce information that supports monthly performance review processes. Undertake analysis and interpret trends in order to ensure the client groups are provided with appropriate information and challenge, including benchmarking information where relevant, in partnership with the People Information Team. Propose and support initiatives to enable the client groups to meet and achieve their targets for workforce key performance indicators, for example sickness absence, turnover, agency usage, appraisal etc. Work together as a People Partner Team to ensure that the data being provided to each Care Group delivers what is being required, is presented in a consistent way and that best practice is shared.

Communications & Working Relationships

Develop strong networks internally and externally to ensure a best/leading edge approach to HR solutions. To present highly complex information to a range of stakeholders, internally and externally, in relation to workforce and HR matters, using high level communication and influencing skills to effectively deal with highly sensitive employment related matters and terms and conditions. Give formal evidence at employment tribunals on behalf of the Trust. Influence and input into and lead negotiations/consultations, involving potentially contentious and difficult discussions. Delivery of presentations to large/diverse groups on sometimes highly complex and contentious issues, including at board level. Impart specialist knowledge to a wide range of audiences, providing training on own specialism. Facilitation of a variety of staff and management workshops. Establish and maintain sound working relationships with the trade unions and professional bodies, to promote a culture of trust and cooperation to facilitate effective joint working, e.g. advancing complex change management plans and contentious changes to policy and procedures. Be an active member of multi-professional working parties and professional bodies where required, e.g. child and adult safeguarding, emergency planning, professional regulation.

Be an active member of the wider people and OD function, sharing knowledge and experience to help achieve key objectives and KPIs. Communicates with: Senior management & Trust Board, staff at levels, JCNC, JLNC, Employment Tribunals, Barristers/legal representatives, Trade unions and professional bodies and regulators e.g. GMC, Occupational Health Services, Multi Agency Professional Groups, e.g. Police, Social Services, External organisations, e.g. ACAS, Access to Work, Regional networks, e.g. SW employment relations subgroup.

Most Challenging Part of the Job

The ability to make decisions autonomously when required on highly complex issues, working to tight and often changing timescales on sensitive and potentially contentious matters, with a range of stakeholders as listed above. The ability to respond to competing and conflicting demands from all levels of the organisation, often in ambiguous and distressing circumstances. The ability to act as the local subject matter expert for all HR, ER and OD matters within the care groups.

Other

The post-holder must comply with all RCHT Policies and Procedures. The post-holder must work within infection control guidelines to ensure that work methods do not constitute a risk of infection either to the health care professional, to the client or to any persons working/visiting in RCHT premises. This job description is subject to the Terms and Conditions of service of Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, and the post holder will undertake any other duties which may be required from time to time.

Job Description Agreement

THIS JOB DESCRIPTION IS SUBJECT TO REVIEW IN CONSULTATION WITH THE POST HOLDER. Post holder's Signature: Date: Head of Department Signature: Date: Title:

Person Specification

All requirements listed in this specification must be (a) essential to the post and (b) assessable within the selection process.

QUALIFICATIONS: Chartered MCIPD or equivalent HR and/or OD Qualification or equivalent work experience. Specialist HR Knowledge & Experience at Masters level or equivalent. Evidence of ongoing continuous professional development. Employment law qualification. EXPERIENCE: Significant and varied experience in People and OD activity, working with managers to deliver high quality HR services with proven successful outputs. Experience of business planning and development. Experience of working in the NHS. Experience of workforce analysis and benchmarking. TUPE experience. Experience of leading and motivating teams. Trained in application form/interview/assessment. Workforce strategy experience. Experience in leading the workforce aspects of major change programmes and associated employee relations requirements. Experience in a large, complex unionised organisation. Trained mediator and strong coaching skills. PRACTICAL AND INTELLECTUAL SKILLS: Excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to gain confidence of managers and staff; ability to establish professional relationships quickly. Ability to foster productive collaboration. Trained mediator and strong coaching skills. Facilitator, manpower planning and workforce development skills. Project management skills. Proficient in Microsoft Office. Expert knowledge in strategic workforce issues, legislation, NHS policy and best practice. Up-to-date knowledge of key HR issues and networks outside the organisation. Interpret business, financial and workforce data; apply HR knowledge to workforce strategy. Time management and organisation; ability to work under pressure. Strong problem solving ability. Proficient in presenting data visually..