Job Description

Job Title: Senior Human Resources Business Partner

Grade 7

Team/Directorate: MoJ People and Capability - HR Business Partnering (HMPPS)

Overview of the role:

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is responsible for everything that goes into running the UK’s criminal and civil justice systems, creating the foundations for a safe, fair and prosperous society. We are one of the largest government departments with over 88,000 staff based across England and Wales. We are responsible for 500 courts and tribunals, 122 prisons, the policies underpinning the system and much more.

MoJ People and Capability supports the organisation by enabling its people to be the best that they can be. We are continuously reviewing and enhancing the services we provide to ensure the delivery of high-quality services for our customers. MoJ People and Capability has over 1,400 committed and capable professionals delivering people services across the Justice family. At the heart of delivering these services are our people.

HR Business Partners work closely with Senior Leaders supporting the development of business strategies through HR Consultancy and Interventions on people issues, and successfully delivering change programmes and initiatives through comprehensive People change approaches.

Reporting into a Grade 6 Area Lead HRBP, this role sits within the HR Business Partnering (HMPPS) Team, specifically the North West & Women’s Area Executive Director Group and will be partnering with 2 North West Prison Groups comprising 10 Prisons and circa 3000 staff. Please note that business partnering arrangements are subject to change and postholders will be expected to accommodate changes in partnering arrangements in line with business need (including providing cover and support for other business areas within the regional team where required).

You will be responsible for forging productive relationships with relevant senior leadership teams, enabling translation of business priorities and strategy into a coherent people agenda with targeted interventions.

Working alongside Directors and their Senior Leadership Team to design and deliver tailored HR interventions to drive improvements in effective leadership, people management, organisational design and development, change management and workforce strategy.

Key to this role is the need to be a credible HR professional with the ability to establish quality relationships. Working across the regional / expert services HR team, this role is the primary contact for senior stakeholders and success is reliant upon the strength and support of the rest of the HR Business Partnering (HMPPS) and MoJ People and Capability via Shared Services and Expert Services, as such the individual will need to be able to deliver through others.

You will be:

• Leading the strategic business conversation on people priorities at a director level.

• Continuously evaluating the impact of internal and external influences on the workforce.

• Working with your Grade 6 leading and developing an HRBP team.

• Sharing learning and evidence-based practice from across the Ministry of Justice, the wider Civil Service function and wider public and private sectors comparators.

• Designing and/or commissioning large scale HR interventions from HR Centres of Expertise.

• Coaching leaders on the implementation and timely and efficient delivery of planned and unplanned Human Resources programmes.

• Playing a key role in driving up the standard of leadership and people management.

Responsibilities, Activities & Duties:

The post holder will be required to bring together the people priorities for their business area at a director level. Partnering anywhere between one and three Directors and their senior leadership teams dependent on the complexity of the customer group.

1. Strategic partnering: Contributing to the business conversation by supporting leaders to drive people strategies that enable depts/Arm’s Length Bodies to deliver their objectives.

2. Solving: Provide strategic input on HR topics and help leaders develop effective people solutions.

3. Connecting: Help the organisation draw on appropriate People and Capability services and shared service support.

4. Coaching: Coach leaders on how to manage people issues and drive the people agenda effectively.

Key Delivery Strands:

Business & Culture Change

• Development and implementation of HR strategy

• Working with Directors as part of Senior Management Teams to develop and implement HR and business strategy ensuring that HMPPS has the right structure, climate and capability to manage change and transition.

• Advise on the people implications arising from significant change initiatives and provide technical HR/employment oversight. 

Resourcing & Retention

• Ensure effective workforce planning at a director level that aligns to budget allocations, and meets capacity and capability requirements, and deploys appropriate attraction, talent and development strategies.

• To partner the business to execute appropriate resourcing strategies to include understanding the talent pipeline to SCS1 and Band 11 through succession planning and addressing appropriate development needs to develop credible successors

Leadership & Management Capability

• Understand the leadership capability needs and develop and grow leadership capability and effectiveness through coaching, challenging and mentoring Directors on business and people issues.

• Working through the Organisational Capability Team to obtain appropriate services to equip leadership teams to role model leading effective change.

• Understand the management capability gaps and support the business to build capability.

Employee Relations

• Oversight of complex casework, supporting Directors and their SLTs to access the right casework and legal advice.

• Using casework intel to identify where further interventions may be appropriate to address cultural or individual behaviour change and management capability

Employee Engagement

• Partnering the SLT through the analysis and insights of the People Survey results at a director level. Supporting in the response action planning and facilitating access to advice and services to support interventions.

• Holding the business to account on employee engagement activity, which is led from the top, helping identify best practise across HMPPS

Attendance & Wellbeing

• Oversight of AWDL to enable the Director to hold SLTs to account on attendance across their business area

• Partner leaders to drive the right interventions, facilitating access to appropriate services to drive down AWDL. Advise and lead on appropriate strategies to address causes of high AWDL.

• Enable the business to understand the current health of their workforce and support the business to access wellbeing services

Equality Diversity & Inclusion

• Ensure equality impacts are understood and considered in the execution of all people initiatives

Essential Knowledge, Experience and Skills:

Essential Criteria

• Excellent communication and networking skills with the ability to persuade and influence others, establishing collaborative relationships with a wide range of stakeholders at a director level

• Excellent organisational and prioritisation skills, with the ability to work effectively across a range of tasks and under pressure.

• Sound judgement and the ability to think strategically and creatively, recognising where improvements can be made and implementing them.

• Ability to think and act strategically under pressure and having the confidence to provide advice, guidance and constructive challenge when necessary, and provide regular reporting up to board level.

• Ability to find solutions to complex and often sensitive issues.

Personal Attributes & Skills

• Excellent people management skills with the ability to inspire, motivate and develop your team.

• The ability to demonstrate creative thinking to provide valuable solutions.

• The ability to deliver at pace and under pressure and whilst multitasking and delivering to short deadlines.

• You will have a high level of attention to detail and drive yourself to deliver work to a high standard.

• Ability to analyse and understand data and apply analytics to business delivery

Qualifications

You must have completed and achieved your Chartered MCIPD (or have an equivalent HR qualification), and actively demonstrating Continuous Professional Development or willing to gain the qualification within 2 years of appointment.

Security clearance required: Security clearance will depend on the environment and may include a requirement of CTC, SC, DBS

Location/Travel:

There is a requirement for the successful applicant’s work base to be within the North West region. They will be appointed to the office/hub in the Geographical region, which is closest to their home address and can choose from Justice Collaboration Centres, Justice Satellite Office or one of our prisons locations as below:

Manchester Civil Justice Centre, M3 3FX

Liverpool Collaboration Centre, L3 9PP

Wymott Conference Centre, Leyland, PR26 8LW

HMP Thorn Cross, Warrington, WA4 4RL

The base location will be discussed with the successful candidate. 

The successful candidate will be required to travel regularly to prisons across the north west and occasional travel to other HMPPS sites.

All applicants should be aware that business partnering arrangements are subject to change and postholders will be expected to accommodate changes in partnering arrangements in line with business need to include providing cover and support for other business areas when required.

Application process:

You will be assessed against the Civil service success profiles framework

Sift

Behaviours - Please provide examples of how you have met each one of the behaviours listed below:

• Seeing the Big Picture (Lead Behaviour)

• Communicating and Influencing

• Leadership

• Managing a Quality Service

Please submit an anonymous copy of your CV.

Experience - Statement of Suitability - Please outline the skills and experience you hold which demonstrate your suitability for this role in 500 words (please refer to the essential criteria in the job description).

Should we receive a large number of applications, we will sift primarily on the lead behaviour of Seeing the Big Picture. Successful applicants will then be invited to an interview, testing both behaviours and strengths.

Interview:

During the interview, we will be assessing you on the Behaviours and Strengths from the Success Profiles framework. The behaviours will be:

• Seeing the Big Picture (Lead Behaviour)

• Communicating and Influencing

• Leadership

• Managing a Quality Service

Interviews may be held face to face or virtually via MS Teams

If you have any questions regarding the role please contact chris.marr@justice.gov.uk