HR & Information Governance Assistant

Publica Group; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 24,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

27 days annual leave

Pension scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Cycle to work

Job summary

Publica Group is seeking a proactive HR & Information Governance Assistant to provide essential support across Human Resources and Information Governance. The role balances absence management with FOI/SAR administration, offering a hybrid pattern with an office day midweek and flexible hours where possible.

You will support managers, maintain confidential records, and help deliver a high-quality support service across two key business areas.

Qualifications

• Equivalence to NVQ1 or GCSE Maths/English.
• Strong organisational and communication skills.
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality.
• Good judgement and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships.

Responsibilities

• Manage the unplanned absence telephone line and recordings.
• Record absences and maintain trackers; support absence processes.
• Support HR managers and colleagues with absence tasks.
• Produce reports on absences and appraisal completion.
• Log and allocate FOI requests, SARs and customer complaints; monitor deadlines.
• Assist with Subject Access Requests and document preparation.
• Maintain accurate, confidential records and collaborate across teams.

Skills

Organised

Communication

Confidentiality

Attention to detail

Education

NVQ level 1 or GCSE in Maths and English

Job description

Are you highly organised, people-focused and enjoy making a difference behind the scenes?

We're looking for a proactive and detail-oriented HR & Information Governance Assistant to join our team. This is a varied and rewarding role working across both our Human Resources and Information Governance teams, providing essential support that helps keep our services running smoothly.

This role offers a unique opportunity to work across two key areas of the business.

Within Human Resources, you will be responsible for managing our unplanned absence telephone line, ensuring employee absences are reported accurately and recorded correctly. You'll provide a supportive first point of contact for employees, maintain absence records and work closely with managers and HR colleagues to ensure timely communication and follow-up.

Within Information Governance, you will provide administrative support for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, Subject Access Requests (SARs) and customer complaints. This will include logging and allocating requests, monitoring deadlines, chasing responses and assisting with document collation and preparation.

What You'll Be Doing

• Answering and managing the unplanned absence telephone line.
• Recording absence information accurately and maintaining trackers.
• Supporting managers and HR colleagues with absence management processes.
• Producing reports relating to absences and appraisal completion.
• Logging, allocating and monitoring FOI requests and customer complaints.
• Assisting with Subject Access Requests, including document collation and preparation.
• Maintaining accurate records and ensuring strict confidentiality.
• Working collaboratively across teams to deliver an excellent support service.

This role is advertised as full-time; however, part-time applications will be considered. The position operates on a hybrid working arrangement, with Wednesday being a designated office-based day. Due to responsibility for supporting the organisation's absence reporting line, an 8:30am start time is preferred. We are, however, open to discussing some flexibility around working hours for the right candidate. Please note that providing coverage across Monday to Friday is an essential requirement of the role.

You will need

• Qualifications equivalent to NVQ level 1 or GCSE in Maths and English
• Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships
• Natural and engaging style of communication
• Ability to apply good judgement and query issues where appropriate
• Good attention to detail is essential

Closing Date: Sunday 8th November
Interview Date: Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th November, in person in Cirencester

Special Conditions

• BPSS (Baseline Personnel Security Standard check)
• Full UK Driving License and access to a vehicle

What we can do for you

• Agile working allowing a mix of home and office working
• Flexible working arrangements (depending on the role)
• 27 days paid annual leave (pro rata if you are working part time) plus bank holidays and an extra two volunteering days off a year for you to support a charity of your choice
• Renewed again for another year there is a health cash plan giving you cash back on health, dental and eye care
• Pension scheme with a good employer contribution of up to 7% of your earnings
• Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, providing positive, preventative and supportive advice and counselling to deal with everyday events and issues
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrifice car lease scheme with significant tax and NI savings to be made on electric cars
• Generous sickness cover above statutory entitlements
• Additional income protection, covering 50% of your salary for potentially a further five years if you are unable to work due to sickness or injury
• Life assurance, currently four times your annual salary

About Us

You will be employed by Publica Group Ltd which was created by four partner Councils (West Oxfordshire District Council, Cotswold District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Forest of Dean District Council) to deliver more efficient and improved services.

Publica is committed to meeting its statutory and moral duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people under 18 years of age and adults at risk who are the recipients of its services and/or activities.

Publica is a unique place to work, established to transform the way local services are delivered, fundamentally rethinking the way our services are designed and delivered in a digital era, making us a customer-focused organisation driven by real user needs.