Lead People Advisor-UK

Job title:

Lead People Advisor-UK

Company

British Council

Job description

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021-22 we reached 650 million people.British Council Pay band 8Salary: £38,820 to £46,203 depending on skills and experience, plus a £3,300 London Market Allowance (for those based in the London area).Benefits

• 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
• 3 days volunteering leave
• Career average defined benefit pension scheme

Location: London, Manchester, Cardiff, Belfast, and Edinburgh (All offices in the UK)Department: Human Resources
Contract type: Indefinite ContractClosing Date: 26th June 2024 at 23:59 UK Time.Interviews will be held week commencing 08th July 2024You must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application. There is no relocation or sponsorship support.British Council supports working in new ways such as hybrid working, subject to full approval by line management and conditional upon our ability to provide the appropriate level of service. This may not be appropriate for all roles but can be explored at interview.Role purposeThe Lead People Advisor will lead the people solutions agenda in the hub, supporting delivery of our employee value proposition and delivering legally and culturally compliant advice and guidance to all stakeholders on all aspects of the People function employee cycleThis role will ensure the proactive management and mitigation of legal and operational risk relating to Human Resources including adherence and advice on policies and processes and coaching and guidance for line managers to enable early resolution of workplace conflict and grievances. This will require reviewing, analysing and driving the People function advisory model using a systematic, integrated approach with a focus on continuous improvement and conflict resolution as well as a service orientation that delivers a seamless employee experience in line with our EVP.Role contextThe British Council Professional Services are undergoing significant transformation. For People function, this means significant change to the delivery of People function services to business leaders, line managers and employees.The People Solutions (PS) team exists to enable business leaders to make good decisions within policy and process frameworks and to ensure that the fundamentals of people administration are delivered efficiently and effectively for all colleagues, in partnership with the MSP.The People Solutions hubs ensure compliance with local legislation as well as meaningful interpretation of global policy to local context. The team has a key role to play in developing organisational capability in people management through advisory services and building a continuous improvement approach to delivery of advisory services.The Lead People Advisor is a member of the Hub leadership team and leads a team of People Advisors. The role will work closely with country and regional leaders and managers, the managed service provider, and the wider People function team across the hub.Main accountabilitiesLeadership & management

• Provide people solutions to support the implementation of business plans across the regions. Work in partnership with people business partners to support local management to identify the people implications of strategic and business growth plans across defined organisational areas, providing local insight relating to market conditions, legal context, etc.
• Lead the team of geographically dispersed Advisors responsible for providing expertise, advice and specialist support, building the capacity and capability required to deliver the agreed services.

Relationship & stakeholder management

• Manage the relationship with key stakeholders and develop an in-depth knowledge of the businesses by understanding their financial positions, short, midrange and long-term plans and the culture being driven in order to advise on people implications of the business plans.
• Manage Union /legal relationships with the Country Directions. Support CDs with their relationship with unions.
• Manage the relationship with People Solutions and ER resources within the hub and relevant resources with People Experience and Insight to ensure consistent use of frameworks and processes.

Subject Expertise

• Apply advanced HR functional knowledge to solve a range of complex business issues across the regions.
• Support understanding of complex problems and enable informed business-planning, decision-making and/or the development of new or improved policies and practice by providing local knowledge and insight.
• Manage low risk ER cases within hub and uses standard methodologies and frameworks to drive consistency across the team. Works with ER /caseworkers where necessary.
• Build management capability through delivery of advisory services that build management confidence to address people-related challenges and encourages early resolution in the case of workplace conflict.

Service improvement

• Takes an employee centric and service focused approach to the delivery of Advisory Services. Work closely with People Operations lead to review all aspects of the service provided to stakeholders.
• Actively champion and review organisational compliance with policies and practices, understanding reasons for non-compliance and making recommendations to address this.

Strategy and Planning

• Feeds into the development of the hub People Plan for PS and leads on key People activities.

Role specific skillsThere are three proficiency levels for HR skills, novice, developing and exemplary. The relevant proficiency level for this role is listed against each skill.Data LiteracyData driven: Grasps & uses data to make decisions and inform practice (developing).Business AcumenCustomer understanding – Understands customer needs & applies user-centric principles (developing).People AdvocacyRisk mitigation and ethics: Ensures ethical conduct and compliance, and mitigates people risks (developing).Execution ExcellenceAction orientation: Implements actionable and adaptive plans to achieve results (developing).Problem solving: Finds practical solutions to navigate and overcome obstacles (developing).Interpersonal skills: Achieves shared goals using effective interpersonal skills (developing).Role specific knowledge and experienceMinimum/essential

• Experience of leading a geographically dispersed team delivering People function solutions across multiple geographies and time zones
• Demonstrable experience of working at a senior level with a People function team, and understanding of and ability to use, core HR policies and processes within a legal context
• Experience of working within external legal providers and internal CoEs, in particular, Employee Relations

Language RequirementsThe British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency (CEF C1) in English is requiredProfessional Qualification and CertificationDesirable – HR qualification (MA/MSC or CIPD or equivalent)A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) StatementThe British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.If you have any problems with your application please emailPlease note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.

Expected salary

£38820 – 46203 per year

Location

Manchester – London

Job date

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 02:33:24 GMT

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