Job Description
People Partner
Band 9 £42,403-£46,436 plus superb benefits, Tyne and Wear Pension, 27 days holiday + bank holidays
Permanent role
Northumberland – Hybrid (1 day per week in office)
We are delighted to be partnering with Northumberland County Council to recruit the position of People Partner.
Northumberland County Council is committed to making Northumberland a land of great opportunities for everyone, including residents, employees, partners, businesses, and visitors. They are passionate about creating a thriving and collaborative culture where people are valued, empowered, and encouraged to be their very best for Northumberland.
Northumberland County Council is on an exciting journey, transforming the way it works to deliver value for money and achieve the best outcomes for its customers and residents. UK. These are exciting times for the Northumberland County Council People and Culture Team as they work as a dynamic people function in partnership across the Council to drive improved performance in a new era of work.
This is an exciting role for an ambitious and forward-thinking HR professional to join the council at an exciting time of change. You will be involved in lots of projects from change management, resourcing challenges and data people insights. You will work collaboratively with the wider people and OD team to help support the transformation journey.
You will have experience of managing a team and will have 3 People Advisors and 2 HR assistants reporting to you.
Duties and key result areas:
* Ensure the provision of innovative people solutions and advice which contribute to the operational delivery and strategic direction of directorates enabling the achievement of directorate plans, thereby adding value that results in excellent services to the population of Northumberland and the overall delivery of organisational objectives.
* Develop and maintain positive collaborative relationships with all relevant internal and external stakeholders to ensure the successful delivery of the People and Culture Strategy.
* Oversee all aspects of the employee life cycle, retaining specialist knowledge and input regarding employee relations, and partnering with specialist teams to provide a joined-up service in relation to recruitment and selection, on boarding, induction, engagement and wellbeing.
* Manage and support People Advisers and Assistant People Advisers, ensuring they have the skills, knowledge, behaviours and experience to be productive in their role and reach their full potential.
* Ensure standards and quality are maintained across all aspects of HR Operations, developing appropriate to quality assure work, driving continuous improvement.
* Advise managers and staff on the interpretation and application of terms and conditions of employment in line with agreed pay and terms and conditions for the relevant staff groups.
* Assist in the review, development and successful implementation of progressive people policies and processes.
* To advise managers and staff by interpreting People policies and procedures, current legislation, case law and codes of practice ensuring that good employment practices are maintained, and legal obligations upheld. This requires assessing complex situations to recommend options open to managers.
* Advise managers in the planning and implementation of organisational change processes relating to the relevant workforce planning and information aspects.
* Provide advice and guidance to managers in carrying out disciplinary, grievance and performance issues including People panel advice at internal hearings up to and including dismissals and employment tribunals.
* Coach and build the capability of senior managers to anticipate and pre empt employment issues.
* Develop and deliver both formal (teaching in a classroom to groups of staff/and in a virtual setting) and informal training (usually 1:1 in the workplace or smaller groups such as managers meetings) in People policies and procedures.
* Conduct briefings to large groups of staff on People issues e.g. change management, induction, workforce planning etc.
* Organisational responsibility for specialist People issues e.g. e-business provision
* Support and champion implementation of the organisation’s ambitions regarding DE&I, working with managers and teams to develop and inclusive culture and ensuring people practices are transparent and non-discriminatory.
* Utilise people metrics and analytics to measure trends to influence the effectiveness of our people policies and plans, to help drive continuous improvement and increase performance.
* Deputise for the Senior People Partner as required.
* Present formal management reports (verbal, written and in presentation format) to a wide audience including (staff, members, committees and the public).
* Ensure workforce information is used appropriately to support management decisions (e.g. sickness absence, turnover, vacancy rates etc) within a dedicated service portfolio.
* Contribute to People and Culture projects which support the overall delivery of People and Culture workstreams, BEST and service improvement. Develop and maintain appropriate work records to the required service standards, observing data protection, privacy and confidentiality rules and procedures
* Actively promote and represent the interests of the County Council in relation to service activities and policies at local, regional and national level, as appropriate.
* Attend and contribute to relevant committees, meetings, seminars and participate in task groups as required.
Candidates must be able to work from the Morpeth based County Hall as required, however they embrace their WorkSmart way of working which empowers and enables their people to do their best work in ways that boost productivity, engagement and wellbeing. This provides the flexibility to structure the working week to maximise collaboration, connection, and productivity.
People who work at Northumberland County Council are passionate about the region. This opportunity isn’t just about taking on an exciting role or working with a great team, it’s about wanting to make a difference for people who live and work in the county. This is a brilliant opportunity for someone looking to use your HR experience to deliver in a role with a true sense of purpose. Be inspired and supported. Be a life changer. Be Northumberland.
All direct applications will be forwarded to Sullivan Brown.