HR Policy Manager

This is an Expression of Interest (EOI) opportunity, available on a lateral move basis only. Applications are open to Core Scottish Government employees only.

Job Title – HR Policy Manager

Business Area/Directorate – People Directorate

Location – Saughton House, Edinburgh

Working Arrangement – Staff in roles compatible with hybrid working should spend 40% of their contracted working time working in person at their contractual workplace. More information can be found within Hybrid Working Policy

Grade - B3

Advert type -Level Transfer

Duration - Permanent

Eligibility - Expressions of interest are invited from B3 colleagues on level transfer from Core SG only.

Skilled Worker Sponsorship not being offered

Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

Overview

Are you an experienced HR professional who enjoys shaping policy, influencing organisational practice and providing expert advice on complex people issues?

The HR Policy Team sits within the Employee Experience Division in the People Directorate. We are responsible for developing and maintaining clear, evidence-based HR policies that support effective people management, organisational compliance and a positive employee experience across the Scottish Government.

Working closely with colleagues across Scottish Government, public bodies, agencies, trade unions and specialist functions, we lead policy development, provide expert advice and support governance and assurance activities across a broad range of HR policy areas including attendance, adjustments, conduct, discipline, grievance, wellbeing, propriety and the prevention of harassment.

As an HR Policy Manager, you will lead the development, review and implementation of HR policies and provide expert advice on complex and sensitive workforce issues. This post holder will have a particular focus on propriety-related policies, including the Civil Service Code, whistleblowing, declarations of interest, gifts and hospitality, personal relationships at work, political activities and related governance matters including support for public sector reform activities. You will also support the wider HR policy portfolio responsibilities of the team and contribute to strategic policy development across the People Directorate.

The role includes engagement with senior leaders, HR Business Partners, trade unions, legal advisers, public bodies and wider stakeholders. You will lead policy reviews, support governance and assurance activity, contribute to organisational change initiatives and provide policy advice relating to TUPE and COSOP transfers where required. Public body support forms an important part of the role, providing policy advice and support across the wider Scottish Government landscape including support for public sector reform activity and regular scrutiny of severance and settlement cases.

The team comprises a Head of HR Policy (C2), Deputy Head of HR Policy (C1), two HR Policy Managers (B3) and two HR Policy Officers (B2). You will play a key role in supporting team priorities, developing colleagues and ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality policy advice and services.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development, review, implementation and continuous improvement of HR policies, procedures and associated documentation across the HR policy portfolio.
• Act as the policy lead for propriety-related policy areas including:
• Raising a Concern (Whistleblowing and Civil Service Code)
• Declaration and Management of Outside Interests and Personal Relationships at Work
• Gifts and Hospitality
• Political Activities
• Wider propriety and governance matters.
• Provide expert HR policy advice to senior leaders, HR colleagues, managers and stakeholders on complex and sensitive workforce matters.
• Lead stakeholder engagement activity, including consultation with trade unions, staff networks and specialist functions.
• Undertake research, benchmarking and analysis to inform policy development, organisational decision-making and continuous improvement.
• Support policy governance and assurance activities, including Equality Impact Assessments (EQIAs), Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), risk assessments, policy review cycles and version control arrangements.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships across Scottish Government, agencies, public bodies and external partners.
• Lead the development and continuous improvement of Oracle Cloud policy journeys, reporting and associated processes, working with specialist teams to ensure systems are efficient, user-focused and aligned with policy and governance requirements.
• Provide scrutiny and quality assurance of settlement agreement and voluntary severance business cases submitted under Scottish Public Finance Manual requirements.
• Support Scottish Government agencies, delivery bodies and wider public bodies / public inquiries through the provision of policy advice, interpretation and engagement activity.
• Provide policy advice and support on wider public body and public inquiry matters, including advice as required on set up of new bodies, reorganisations including TUPE and COSOP matters, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, policy requirements and organisational obligations.
• Prepare briefing material and support responses to Parliamentary Questions, Ministerial Correspondence, Freedom of Information requests and other corporate commissions.
• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching and quality assurance support to HR Policy Officers, contributing to workload management, capability building and the consistent delivery of high-quality policy advice and services.

Qualifications

You should hold a recognised HR professional qualification and/or CIPD accreditation at Associate level or above.

Proof of qualifications will be checked at the assessment stage.

Success Profiles

Success Profiles are specific to each job and include the mix of behaviours, experience and technical criteria that candidates will be assessed on.

Experience:

• You must be an experienced HR professional with direct relevant work experience, ideally within an HR policy or HR advisory setting with experience of:
• Developing, reviewing and implementing HR policy, frameworks or organisational approaches within a complex environment.
• Building and managing effective relationships with a range of stakeholders, influencing decisions and achieving positive outcomes.
• Providing expert advice on complex HR, governance or organisational issues, balancing risk, compliance and business need.
• Leading projects, HR policy reviews or improvement activity, using evidence and analysis to inform decision-making and deliver change

Technical / Professional Skills:

• HR Policy, Employment Law and Governance - You must be able to interpret policy, legislation and organisational requirements, assess risk and provide clear, evidence-based advice. You should be capable of translating complex requirements into practical policy solutions and operational arrangements.

Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing – Level 4
• Seeing the Big Picture – Level 4
• Making Effective Decisions – Level 4
• Changing and Improving – Level 4

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Success profiles: candidate guide - gov.scot

Working Pattern:

The post is a full-time role, but staff with different working patterns are invited to apply, and we will assess proposed working patterns against the business requirements for this post.

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role, including Flexi-leave. Scottish Government staff in hybrid-compatible roles should work in-person 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us

Further Information

Further information about this opportunity is available from Julie.MacFadyen@gov.scot

How to Apply

Please submit a CV and an Expression of Interest (maximum 1000 words), describing how your skills, qualities and experience make you suitable for the role. You should make particular reference to, and structure your supporting statement around, the Success Profile noted in the job advert.

Vacancies close at 11:59pm on the date displayed in the table, unless otherwise stated on the job advert.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples 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, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of a light touch interview.

Discussions are to be confirmed

For any questions relating to your expression of interest please contact julie.macfadyen@gov.scot.

Recruitment Principles

As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.

About us

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service observing the Civil Service Codeand working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Security checks

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

Equality statement

We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further information

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.

This listing was sourced from 4dayweek.io.