HR Advisor - FTC 5 month contract

2386IE00 Howden Insurance (Ireland) Limited; Wexford; Hybrid; EUR 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work pattern

Job summary

Howden Insurance (Ireland) Limited in Wexford seeks an experienced HR Generalist to provide first-line HR support. You’ll handle employee relations, probation and performance processes, and collaborate with the HR Partner and Head of HR.

The role requires 5+ years in HR/ER, CIPD qualification, and proficiency with Workday, with a hybrid work pattern (2–3 days in-office) and travel across ROI/NI as needed.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in HR Generalist/ER scope.
• CIPD qualified or equivalent HR-focused degree.
• Experience with Workday and high-volume case handling.

Responsibilities

• Respond to HR queries via HR Inbox within SLA.
• Advise on employee relations, probation, performance, disciplinary matters.
• Update HR systems, maintain data integrity, and generate reports.

Skills

HR Generalist Experience

Employee Relations

Workday proficiency

Ireland/UK employment law

Data-driven HR

Education

CIPD qualification

Tools

Workday

MS Excel

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.

About the Role:

Based in our Wexford Office, Howden Ireland are delighted to have a vacancy for a motivated and enthusiastic individual to provide dedicated HR support within our Howden Retail division. You'll work closely with the Head of HR and HR Business Partner, acting as the first line of defence for HR issues, employment relations cases and generalist queries. You will also work collaboratively with HR Centres of Excellence (incl. Talent Acquisition, HRIS, Payroll & Reward). As a key contributor, you will thrive in our dynamic and fast-paced environment, you'll embrace the complexity and commerciality that accompanies Howden's growth plans. This role involves navigating ambiguity, turning it into opportunity, and working collaboratively with the broader HR Team to craft the operational landscape of our newly established Retail business. This role allows for flexibility in location, with a hybrid work pattern (2-3 days in-office) and travel to other office locations within the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is required.

Key Responsibilities:

• Responding to HR queries received via the HR Inbox accurately, professionally and in accordance with the Service Level Agreement
• Serve as the initial contact for general inquiries and address Employee Relations matters, collaborating with the HR Business Partner and Head of HR for significant issues.
• Support probationary, performance management processes, as well as disciplinary, capability and grievance cases.
• Provide advice and direction, scripting conversations, note taking, drafting and issuing paperwork as required.
• Ensuring the relevant MI tracker or system is updated, and the Head of HR is aware of any trends.
• Coach, support and upskill first line leaders in order to develop employee relations and manager capability.
• Ownership of sickness and long-term absence cases, including occupational health assessments, return to work arrangements, group income protection applications and line manager support.
• Proactively run exit interviews for members of staff, advising the HR Business Partner of any key business insights and feedback.
• Offer on-demand, custom letters, and administrative support when needed.
• Act as a guardian for data integrity within the system, ensuring that any concerns regarding data and security are raised and resolved
• Collaborate with the HR Business Partner on various projects, and contribute to other initiatives as needed, such as policy and process reviews, training program development, CBI/SMCR process implementation, talent and goal setting, early careers, diversity & inclusion, and manager training.
• Keep informed of all regulatory and legal changes in both Ireland and the United Kingdom which impact on the job role and contribute to the continuous improvement of HR procedures, policies and practices.
• Maintain and produce reports utilising Workday e.g. headcount, absence, talent, objectives etc.
• Upskilling managers on Workday self-service in collaboration with HR Employee Services.
• Verify data and Workday records, making sure job titles, teams, and cost centres are accurate, and sending relevant notifications to the appropriate business collaborators.

About You:

• Minium of 5 years’ experience working within HR Generalist/ER role scope.
• CIPD qualified /Third level business related qualification with a HR focus.
• Experienced employee relations capability.
• Experience using Workday.
• Solid understanding of Republic of Ireland employment law and United Kingdom employment law preferred.
• Comfortable in a fast-paced and constantly evolving environment with high volume case management experience.
• Strong customer focus and employee experience mind-set - using this for continuous improvement in service delivery.
• Good Excel, PowerPoint and Word skills.
• Ability to travel within the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland weekly.

About Howden Ireland:

Howden Ireland is part of Howden, the global insurance intermediary group, and has over 600 employees across 28 local offices advising clients on their commercial insurance, personal insurance, health insurance, life and pensions and mortgage requirements. Our success is primarily down to the incredible people we employ.

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*.

Permanent

Howden began in 1994, as just three people and a dog. Now there are 23,000 of us, and we're a leading global insurance group, managing $37bn of premiums for our clients. Our largest shareholder group is us – the people who work in the business – supported by three long-term, minority growth-equity partners who share our vision to build a business to last, one that will never be sold. The owner's mindset is something that's embedded in our culture; our people readily take ownership of their decisions, their actions, and their outputs. They’re invested in every sense. And we all know that by working together to drive the business forward, everyone will benefit from the extraordinary results we can achieve.