Foreign & Commonwealth Office Hiring for Deputy Head – Regional Human Resources Hub- Grade- HEO, New Delhi at New Delhi Full Time

Note : All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, motivational segment and the competency based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.’’

Main Purpose of Job:

The Regional Human Resources Hub based out of New Delhi, serves the South Asia region and covers 20 British High Commissions and Embassy in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and The Maldives. We work with Corporate Services Teams and Senior Leaders to ensure HR best practices, to support operationally and to advise strategically.

The role of the HR Hub is to provide key HR Services including (recruitment, job evaluation, pay and reward, talent and performance management and HR enquiries) to customers across the region. The HR Hub provides a strategic and professional HR capability to support Regional Senior Leaders in delivery of business objectives. The HR hub forms an integral part of the global HR offer to staff working in the overseas network for the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and will lead on all specific HR issues in collaboration with the London based HR Directorate.

The Deputy Head reports to the Regional HR Hub Head and will oversee the HR Hub’s day to day operations. It is a HR generalist role responsible for the oversight and delivery of key HR services and processes for locally employed staff working at British Embassies, High Commissions and other Offices located in located in the Region. The incumbent will work closely with the Head of Regional HR, and with the Business Partner (based in London) and with HR policy leads to develop and manage HR policies and processes, which are globally consistent but locally appropriate. They will be responsible for leading and managing high-level engagement with senior stakeholders and partners in the region and supervise HR Managers in the team.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:

HR Operations Management (40%):

• Oversee the operations of the regional recruitment team and HR advisory team.
• Oversee delivery of HR processes including HR query management, end-to-end recruitment, performance management, and continuous improvement in each of the process streams, scoping and implementation of new technology or systems in the Hub as required.
• Function as the HR liaison between the HR Directorate and the region on their portfolio of activity, ensuring all new HR policies are communicated and implemented within the network.
• Responsible for providing HR advisory and consulting support across the HR life cycle.
• Manage escalations and complex HR casework on recruitment and advisory.
• Provide professional and expert advice on organizational restructuring and workforce planning.
• Provide strong support to Posts and line managers on employee relations, misconduct, managing poor performance, and employee welfare.
• Review and provide recommendations to the Country Based Staff terms and conditions of service ensuring regional consistency and implementation of Global Minimum Standards (GMS).
• Maintain overview of labour relations and employment law requirements across the region.
• Keep professional knowledge up-to date, following trends, ideas and innovations occurring within the HR sphere, to ensure services standards are met and a culture of improvement grows within the hub ensuring regional consistency where possible.
• Work closely with the Deputy Head of Pay and Benefits to ensure consistency in process improvement, data handling, incident management and reporting across all strands driving a cohesive team oriented culture within the HR Hub.
• Work closely with the Regional HR Head to ensure consistency and sharing of best practices.

Stakeholder Management (20%)

• Outreach and management of HR hub stakeholders, including Deputy Heads of Mission, Corporate Services Managers, and staff from Other Government Departments. This will include frequent communication, both written and verbal, facilitating regional video conference and teleconference calls.
• Conduct regional bite-size learning sessions on HR trending topics.
• Provide feedback and input into Country Based Staff policies with particular reference to recruitment and advisory best practices.

Information Management and Reporting (20%)

• Establish a support service to senior stakeholders in London by analysing recruitment and advisory data and compiling reports that provide reliable information to drive decision making on Country Based Staff policy in the region.
• Develop management information (MI) & reporting dashboards and create HR knowledge database (i.e. FAQS, trending topics, terms and conditions of service inventory, APAC labour laws).
• Review team productivity against SLAs and make strategic recommendations on resourcing strategy.
• Oversee quarterly post reports and provide write-ups in the HR quarterly newsletter.
• Provide assistance to Posts in analysing employee survey results and provide advice on areas for improvement and employee intervention programs, advising Posts on their implementation plans and monitoring progress.

Project Management and Process Improvement (10%)

• Oversee project milestones and provide tactical input to ongoing team initiatives including leading on action plans based on customer feedback.
• Manage a quality service through regular quality checks, random audits, continuous review of HR processes, services and performance measurement for the recruitment and advisory teams.
• Maintain customer satisfaction levels by gathering regular customer feedback and implement measures to improve services.

Line Management (10%)

• Line manage HR Leads, providing guidance, feedback on performance and development, and effective delegation of work. Countersigning Officer for HR Officers.
• Work closely with Regional HR Head in business continuity planning and arrangements. Take part in the Embassy emergency planning and any response to a crisis situation.
• Deputise for Regional HR Head when necessary.

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

Direct Reportees – 2 Managers

Countersigning officer for – 6 Officers

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or Social Sciences. Post-graduation in Human Resources or related field
• Minimum 6-8 years’ experience in a HR role, preferably in a HR generalist capacity.
• With at least 3 years HR operations and people management experience in a shared services environment. With strong background on employee relations and recruitment.
• Proven ability to influence Senior Managers in HR Project rollout and implementation activities.
• Excellent organisational ability, with proven ability to manage, plan, and prioritise tasks and workload.
• Resourcefulness in solving problems and demonstrates good judgement. Ability to respond quickly and flexibly to meet multiple and changing priorities.
• A confident communicator with excellent interpersonal skills, proven ability to engage and influence at all levels internally and with external contacts, and collaborate effectively across Embassy teams.
• Self-motivated, team player, and results driven. Keenly aware of customer requirements.
• Excellent IT skills and office administration skills, with good knowledge of Microsoft Office applications (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Teams).

Language requirements:

Language: English

Level of language required: Expert

• Working knowledge on South Asia Labour laws
• Experience in a regional role
• Experience in any of the specialist fields in Human Resources.
• Experience in using a cloud based Recruitment Tool – Automated Tracking System.

For BHC candidates, the Local BHC Terms & Conditions will apply.

For other than BHC candidates, Basic Salary will be INR 110,484 per month together with a 12% provident fund and 6% Special Allowance

Additionally the BHC offers a great benefits package that includes annual domiciliary medical cover, plus a Group Hospitalisation Scheme with INR 500,000 floater cover for your immediate family.

No relocation or any other related costs or assistance will be provided.

Please note – BHC does not deduct tax at source and employees are required to ensure that any requirements of local income-tax law are complied with in full. Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary, eg. some non-local national staff and some spouses or partners of UK diplomatic staff, will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.

The BHC is recognised as a good employer, with a robust, fair and transparent performance management & appraisal system linked to increments and staff bonuses. We have a 5-day working week, plus annual leave, public holidays, maternity leave provision, special leave, paid sick leave provision; ample development opportunities, travel opportunities, a good organisational culture, and excellent work/life balance.

Around half of our work forces are women. We treat people with respect and equality and have a policy of zero tolerance for any form of discrimination, bullying, or harassment.

This is a good opportunity to be part of a strong, diverse team, working in the biggest network that FCO has anywhere across the globe. We are aiming to make it the best.

Note: All applicants are required to mandatorily fill the complete online application form including the employment and educational details, experience-based segment and the behaviours and technical/ professional skills-based questions. We will be thoroughly reviewing the application forms only for all the required details. Forms that are incomplete in any respect will not be considered while shortlisting for the next stage.’

To Apply:

Please note applications without (a) and (b) will not be considered.

A. Complete the Online Application Form

B. Complete the Experience, Behaviour and Technical/ Professional skills-based questions segment in the Online Application Form

Internal candidates applying for this position need to upload their appraisal forms for the previous 2 years (if applicable) and also inform their current line managers, else the applications will not be considered.

We will accept only online applications by 27th November 2022 till 23:55 IST

Please note that all the applicants will be required to strictly adhere to the security guidelines for British High Commission.

Please note – Provident Fund Transfer in and out from EPFO is not possible as BHC PF is managed by a private PF trust governed by Indian Income Tax Act, 1961. The staff still has the option to transfer out and in from a privately held PF trust which are not governed by EPFO.

Applicants who do not have the required qualification & experience should kindly abstain from applying, as their applications will not be considered.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted, and no telephone enquires will be dealt with.

The appointment will be subject to Police Verification and other checks including references, medical, educational and professional.

We welcome all applications irrespective of age, race, colour, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or creed. We are also open to applications from people who want to work flexibly.