Senior Adviser

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 282817**Salary**:

- £37,295 - £44,724- National: £37,295 - £41,425, London: £40,262 - £44,724. For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’.**Job grade**:

- Senior Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DEFRA - COO - Human Resources**Type of role**:

- Human Resources**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Bristol, Leeds, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, YorkAbout the job

**Job summary**:
Defra group HR provides expert HR advice and services to the core department, Rural Payments Agency, Environment Agency, Animal & Plant Health Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate and Natural England.

Based in HR Operations, the role sits within HR Systems and Supplier Management - a small but essential team who provide vital HR services. The role is critical to the delivery and monitoring of contracted external provision of transactional services for HR which is provided by Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL).

HR Systems and Supplier Management lead as the SSCL intelligent customer on behalf of HR, working closely with HR
Process Owners and Defra Group Shared Services (DgSS) to monitor the service provided by SSCL and provide advice and guidance on how to improve the current and future service and systems.

This role brings a great opportunity to influence and input to the development and delivery of HR elements of the cloud based future Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, supporting Defra’s HR requirements with the broader work taking place across government.

Other key areas of work include:

- Leading and influencing the SSCL/ Defra customer experience improvement programme;
- Being the HR process owner lead;
- SSCL interface including GDPR requirements;
- Working with HR and Finance Subject Matter Experts and Process Owners to input and agree to policy and process change for Defra Group and across government.
- Providing systems expertise to Defra Group requests for non BAU work.
- Supporting DgSS on Service Assurance, reviewing Service Level Agreement and Key Performance Indicator data
- Contributing to Service Incident Response reviews.

The role works closely with:

- HR Expert Services
- HR Business Partners and contacts in Defra organisations
- HR and Finance Process Owners
- Defra group Shared Services (DgSS)
- SSCL
- Government Shared Services and other government departments
- HR Transformation and Data Improvement Teams

**Job description**:
Participate in some of the wider Government forums which enable continuous improvement and efficiencies supporting the change associated with HR support systems, policy and process.

Work closely with DgSS and SSCL on continuous improvement, sitting on a number of process improvement groups across Defra.

Collaborate on, and lead projects of varying size and complexity - such as HR GDPR compliance activity, or reviewing new tools/systems proposed by suppliers.

Undertake unavoidable activity to ensure that systems used by HR and its customers (e.g. SOP) meet the need or improvements/ solutions are sought.

Lead the transformation of services to users, leveraging opportunities from technology and relationships with suppliers.

Support capability design to ensure HR is on the front foot in the use of the best technologies.

Act as a focal point for partnership with DDTS to ensure alignment with (and influence of) the direction of travel of the Defra technology strategy.

Oversee the day to day management of the Systems and Supplier Management service across Group. This involves responding to queries, escalations and complaints.

Promote a culture focused on ensuring customer needs are met and use customer insight to drive service outcomes and quality.

Actively build networks of colleagues and customers to help improve through a joint understanding of what needs to change and how to do it.

Review documentation - such as change requests or impact assessments, functional specifications and customer requests - and identify outputs, opportunities, impacts and risks;
Be visible to staff, stakeholders, customer and suppliers and confidently set clear direction from the front.

Work effectively with commercial and public service suppliers and commercial exerts, as an intelligent, credible customer.

Influence customers and stakeholders and confirm/negotiate requirements where necessary.

**Person specification**:
Experience of managing changes to HR processes and/or HR support systems and be able to demonstrate a broad understanding and working knowledge of HR processes and systems.

Ability to interpret complex HR requirements into system and process change and clearly communicate these to key stakeholders including third party suppliers.

Ability to liaise and influence senior stakeholder