Job title: HR Projects Officer – Operations - Human Resources Location: London Closing date: 02 November 2014 Contract type: Permanent About Teach First How much you achieve in life should not be determined by how much your parents earn. Yet in the UK, it too often is. We are an education charity. We work with like-minded people and organisations towards a day where every child has the education they are entitled to. We train people with leadership potential to be inspirational teachers in schools in low-income communities across the country. These leaders go on to work in schools and other sectors of society towards our vision: a future where no child's educational success is limited by their socio-economic background. For more information on the work we do and which regions we operate in, please visit www.teachfirst.org.uk. Job purpose As part of the Teach First HR Team, the HR Projects Officer plays a critical role leading on important, highprofile HR projects. You will work in a fast-paced and ambitious HR team where we are driven by the vision and realising the impact our HR initiatives and projects can have on the organisation. Your will be the central HR team member leading on project management of the performance appraisal process, our reward and benefits offer, our HR system and HR reporting. A significant amount of time will be taken up in each of these areas organising and planning key projects and working with senior stakeholders to define project requirements. You will also provide a project office function by gaining oversight of all the key projects across the team and tracking deliverables on our HR calendar. Additionally you will provide project support across the HR Business Partner team on an ad hoc basis including supporting on some of the organisation wide projects to drive change. Reporting into the HR Manager (Shared Service & Projects), you will work closely with the HR Business Partners to provide them with the tools they need including defining HR reporting requirements, and providing a level of analysis regarding key trends. This is a great opportunity to offer valuable insights and consider the bigger picture. Key Accountabilities Appraisal/Pay Review     Lead the bi-annual appraisal process, including owning the project plan, creating appropriate guidance documents, drafting communications and implementing organisation wide training Working closely with the Business Partner team regarding deadlines and key appraisal activity Co-ordinating the bi-annual pre-norming process to ensure consistency of application of performance ratings Lead the Annual Pay Review process including preparing papers for Executive Committee approval, salary modelling and successful implementation of the necessary pay increases and relevant correspondence Reward and Benefits     Manage our Flexible Benefits offer and be the key point of contact for our benefits providers Lead the annual benefit renewal process including reviewing the offer and making recommendations where appropriate, implementing relevant changes and communication to employees Manage the pension’s process, including auto enrolment, pension governance and scheme quality Ad hoc projects relating to pay and reward package Reporting and Analytics    Work with the BP team to identify re most appropriate HR metrics and reporting requirements Analyse key HR data to identify trends, collate review papers and liaise with the BP’s Produce relevant management information for each of your projects e.g. pay review, appraisal ratings, competency data from appraisals HR System    Day to day management of the HR system, support system upgrades and the implementation of new modules Liaison with our system provider, Access Select Pro-actively identify, develop and implement improvements to HR systems, processes and policies to improve the efficiency of the HR service General Project Office       Take ownership of the development and application of the annual HR calendar to support the delivery of department plans each quarter Liaise with all members of HR team to track their progress against key deliverables and report back to the team meetings on progress against key deliverables Support the HR Manager to ensure HR comms plan is aligned using the HR calendar Use a structured project management approach for all projects with clear communication Ad hoc project support across the HR Business Partner team Act as a role model to more junior colleagues and providing guidance and support where appropriate Technical Competencies             Solid HR generalist experience Strong project management skills with a proven track record Experience of employee reward and benefits Experience working with HR systems, including development work Advanced Excel skills Strong analytical skills Excellent planning and organisational skills Strong presentation skills Stakeholder management Ideally CIPD qualified or working towards Education to degree level or equivalent would be beneficial Relevant qualifications in Human Resources or Information Systems would also be ideal Competencies required Commitment Championing Teach First  Talks confidently about the work of Teach First, specifically in relation to graduate recruitment, the Leadership Development programme, the Ambassador community and our external relations  Positive and proactive in spreading the brand messages in order to engage others in Teach First’s work Achieving results  Effectively manages projects and tasks to achieve a high quality result  Meets the key dates, project milestones and progress reports as per the project plan  Supports reconciliation of budgets and flags up any concerns appropriately Integrity Managing and developing self  Proactive at keeping up to date in the sector and their area of specialism by reading, attending briefings and analysing current data  Takes full accountability for responsibilities delegated to them  Proactive and resourceful in finding opportunities to enhance development  Makes links between projects they are working on and current development needs to fully explore and embed learning Seeking, accepting and giving feedback  Proactively and regularly seeks feedback from a variety of colleagues  Uses feedback to evaluate own performance and draws conclusions on how to make the best of strengths and manage weaknesses Collaboration Communicating and influencing  Communicates effectively across the organisation collaborating and building relationships  Communicates in a clear, articulate and engaging way  Contributes effectively in discussions and meetings and begins to lead them  Influences colleagues to think differently about things and explore different perspectives Developing relationship and team-building  Constructively challenges others to bring out the best solutions, deliver excellence and continuously improve  Shares best practice with other team members and encourages others to work to the best of their ability  Proactively manages relationships with internal and external stakeholders Excellence Prioritising, planning and organising  Manages a varied workload balancing different priorities and short and long term goals  Creates realistic plans to work to in order to achieve goals Innovating, adapting to and managing  Proactive in critically assessing working practices and suggesting ideas and opportunities for improvement  Projects a sense of possibility in the way they work  Supports the need for change and helps others to take it on board Leadership Managing, empowering and developing others  Understands the components of projects and responsibilities and what is appropriate to delegate  Delegates tasks and supports their delivery to ensure work is successfully completed  Uses coaching techniques to help others improve performance Providing strategic direction and vision  Understands and can interpret the principles of Teach First’s strategic direction and vision Location National & London Regional Office, 4 More London Riverside, London SE1 2AU Salary band £28,050, increasing to £31,510 on successful completion of the 6 month probationary period Roles based in London will also receive the £3,000 London Weighting Allowance Benefits Teach First’s core benefits include 27 days holiday per annum (7 of which must be taken during the two weeks of Christmas and New Year office closure), participation in the pension scheme (with an employer contribution of up to 6%), life assurance, income protection and private healthcare. Through our flexible benefits platform access to childcare vouchers, interest free travel season ticket loan/bike loan, dental membership, health screening, discounted gym membership, travel insurance, Give As you Earn (GAYE) and the option to buy/sell annual leave. How to apply Please send CV and cover letter to careers@teachfirst.org.uk demonstrating what attracts you to Teach First and how you meet the competencies on the job description above. Next steps We aim to provide feedback to all applications within 10 working days from the closing date. Please note that first stage interviews are likely to take place on 7 November with second stage interviews on 11 November.