HEO talent pool (HR service centre, Recruitment & Onboarding & HR casework)

Job summary

This is a talent pool vacancy for our HR function – specifically our roles in the HR service centre, Resourcing and Onboarding and HR casework teams. We are looking for people who are curious, forward-thinking and committed to continuous improvement. You will engage positively with colleagues across Government and external partners (i.e Civil Service Pensions, Future Civil Service) to understand emerging best practice, identify innovative solutions and help shape the future delivery of HR services.

The teams :

HR Service Centre - This is the engine room of the directorate – providing crucial HR transactional services to colleagues through the whole employee lifecycle. This means a real focus on customer service and attention to detail to ensure that payroll, contractual and pensions actions are completed to an exceptional standard. HR service partners lead and manage a small team to deliver this service.

Resourcing & Onboarding - Partners lead recruitment and onboarding campaigns end-to-end, managing a small team to deliver high-quality, creative and compliant processes. They act as the primary point of contact for hiring managers, being confident and visible experts who provide clear guidance and strategic advice. Proactively identify the most appropriate resourcing route to secure the right person for the role, balancing immediate hiring needs with longer-term workforce planning priorities. Ensuring campaigns meet Civil Service Recruitment Principles and departmental standards.

HR Casework - MHCLG are setting up a new casework and workplace adjustment service. As a HR caseworkers will be responsible for providing accurate, timely and effective advice on complex HR issues (workplace adjustments, attendance, conduct, grievance, poor performance) to line managers and decision officers. Candidates need a good understanding of HR policies and Employment Litigation issues and a proactive approach to management of high-profile cases including escalation.

When you apply, you'll be asked to rank your preference of roles. We cannot promise that you'll be offered your first preference but we will take this under consideration. You can turn down a role once before we take you off the talent pool. We will hold the talent pool for 12 months. The terms of offer (permanent or time limited) will depend on the role.

If you are unsuccessful at HEO but you are a “near miss”, you may be offered the opportunity to join the talent pool at the lower grade if you meet the threshold for EO.

Job description

We are looking for HR professionals with experience working in fast-paced operational environments. It is an exciting opportunity to develop your stakeholder engagement skills, influence positive outcomes and work as part of high-performing, collaborative teams.

Responsibilities will vary depending on the role to which you are appointed, but may include:

Delivering Exceptional Customer Service

Providing expert advice and guidance to employees, managers and candidates across a range of HR complex matters, recruitment, and onboarding processes ; managing operational workloads and delivering high-quality services within agreed service standards and business priorities.

Building Trusted Partnerships

Building strong and credible relationships with stakeholders across the Department and wider Civil Service, partnering with business areas throughout the employee lifecycle to deliver pragmatic, customer-focused and compliant solutions.

Using Insight to Drive Improvement

Reviewing service performance, analysing information and identifying trends, risks and opportunities to inform recommendations, targeted interventions and continuous service improvements.

Supporting People Services and Workforce Delivery

Supporting a range of HR activity across the employee lifecycle, partnering with stakeholders to deliver effective people solutions, recruitment and onboarding activity, and a high-quality service that supports both employees and managers.

Leading Change and Continuous Improvement

Proactively solving complex problems, leading or contributing to projects and workstreams. Identifying opportunities to simplify processes, embrace innovation and improve the services we provide to colleagues and customers.

Owning End to End Resourcing and Onboarding Lifecycles

Displa y a consultative approach to resourcing and onboarding across internal departments. Act as the primary point of contact for hiring managers, being a confident and visible expert who provides clear guidance and strategic advice.

Person specification

To be successful in one of these roles, you'll be passionate about delivering excellent customer service and building trusted relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.

You'll be confident managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment and able to use sound judgement to solve problems and make informed decisions. You'll enjoy finding better ways of working and be motivated to improve services, simplify processes and deliver positive outcomes for customers.

We're looking for people who can demonstrate:

• Experience working in a HR, recruitment, onboarding, casework operational delivery or customer-focused environment.
• Experience giving confident pragmatic and outcome focused advice on transactional HR queries, resourcing and onboarding or managing the most complex of HR queries and cases.
• You will have a talent for building rapport with others, which helps you build and maintain trusting relationships and long-lasting relationships with colleagues and stakeholders. Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• You will be self-motivated and have a proactive and positive attitude, which gives you the ability to work on your own initiative and under pressure.
• Experience using information, evidence or data to identify issues, trends or opportunities.
• You will have strong organisational skills and a calm, composed approach to meeting deadlines. You can adapt to conflicting priorities and demands while remaining resilient.  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,169, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes

£10,478 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Staff Benefits Scheme, Childcare Vouchers, and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here .

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Application and Selection

The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours , Strengths , Technical

Stage 1: Sift

• Behaviour: (Lead Behaviour) Managing a Quality Service
• Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing
• Behaviour: Delivering at Pace

There is a 250-word limit per question.

When writing your application, remember:

• the assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially
• do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers
• if talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!)

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead behaviour listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

If you run into any technical problems when applying through Be Applied (for example, trouble logging in or submitting your application), their support team can help. Please contact them at hello@beapplied.com .

Stage 2: Interview

• Technical: Candidates will be given a set timed task at the beginning of the interview and asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation, further details will be provided on invitation to interview.
• Behaviours: Communicating & Influencing, Developing Self & Others.
• Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.

Sift and Interview Dates

Applications will be sifted on a rolling basis throughout the recruitment campaign. Candidates who are successful at sift may be invited to interview before the closing date.

This is a rolling campaign – we will sift and interview regularly. This means that you won’t be waiting until after the closing date to hear back from us. Successful candidates may be offered roles across the wider HR portfolio and will be expected to work flexibly and collaboratively to support delivery of the MHCLG People Strategy.

Disability Confident Scheme (DCS)

We are a Disability Confident employer.

We apply a fair and proportionate interview process for all candidates. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to progress candidates who apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and meet the required minimum selection criteria.

However, where high application volumes are received, progression to interview may be limited to those who best meet the role criteria. In these circumstances, the benchmark required to proceed to interview may be raised for all candidates.

How We Recruit

Find out more about our recruitment processes here.

• Applying
• Sifting
• Interview
• Interview Results & Feedback
• Reserve List
• Near Miss
• Civil Service Grades
• We are a Disability Confident Scheme, Redeployment Interview scheme & Great Place to Work for Veterans employer
• Reasonable Adjustments

How to Apply

Find out everything you need to know before applying here.

You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.

• Security Clearance Requirements
• Civil Service Nationality Requirements
• Right to Work
• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles
• CV Declaration
• Sponsorships
• Salary and Grade
• Existing Civil Servants
• Conflict of Interest
• Location and Flexible Working
• Internal Fraud Database
• Appeals and Complaints
• Fixed Term Appointments for:
• External Candidates
• Existing Civil Servants (Including Loans)
• Secondments
• MHCLG employees

• Security Clearance Requirements
• National Office: BPSS + SC
• London Office: BPSS + SC

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window) .

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window) .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the U