Job vacancy: HR Business Partner, Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, Dartford

Job summary

Main area: Human Resources
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract: 9 months (fixed term contract)
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 252-7195613

Employer: Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Darent Valley Hospital
Town: Dartford
Salary: £55,877 - £62,626 per annum inclusive of allowances
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 03/06/2025 23:59

HR Business Partner

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Support the delivery of the Trust People Strategy implementation plan and Joy at work KPIs with the allocated Divisional Management team or Corporate stakeholders.

Lead on the development of comprehensive workforce plans that align to activity and finance plans and set out priority actions for resourcing, development, talent management, EDI, workforce improvement priorities and succession planning.

Support managers to develop and implement recruitment and retention plans for their services; incorporating opportunities to skill mix, safer staffing, apprenticeship pathways, potential new career pipelines and a Trust wide picture.

Support management teams to identify workforce related cost efficiency and productivity gains and develop plans to support implementation and benefits realisation.

Give professional guidance and advice to managers on workforce implications and appropriate approach and process to support of change, service developments and new ways of working. This includes staff engagement, co-creation, role redesign, identification of training and education needs, consultation and support for staff that may be displaced or pay protected as a result of changes.

Support the delivery of the Trust Improvement in People practices and Just culture priorities through ER case load conferences, promotion of debriefs, learning and reflection, participation in hearing and appeals and internal case audits.

Analyse workforce information and use of data insights from annual staff survey, pulse surveys and engagements event to identify risks, support planning and deliver improvements with management teams. Support production of workforce exception reports to the board reflecting Divisional Management team or Corporate stakeholder analysis and improvement actions.

Please see attached job description for further information.

Person specification

Education and Training

Essential criteria

Masters level or CIPD equivalent
Significant experience in Band 7/8a role/experience in HR and employee relations
Evidence of ongoing comprehensive continuous professional development

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria

NHS People plan priorities and long term plan
Equality and Diversity issues, effectively promoted for staff.
Highly developed organisational skills
Excellent written and verbal communication and influencing skills, including experience of communicating in multi-cultural environments often dealing with intricate and sensitive issues
Good computer / keyboard skill with the ability to create reports and use spreadsheets.
Extensive knowledge of software including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Human resources systems
Knowledge and understanding of employment law relating to all elements of employment activity including recruitment, change (including TUPE), performance management and equalities
Ability to prioritise own workload, responding to changing demands
Ability to adapt partnership style/technique to a required situation
Excellent interpersonal skills
Ability to use own initiative and work unsupervised
Research and report writing skills
Problem solving skills and capable of innovative solutions
Ability to read data and produce meaningful interpretations for reporting purposes
Able to inspire, engage and motivate others
Expert knowledge of the full range of Human Resource policies and management procedures, statutory legislation and upcoming legislative changes
Knowledge of workforce development tools and techniques
Understanding of key performance drivers across the Divisions at all levels
Negotiating, influencing and facilitation skills
Ability to coach line managers in identifying problems early and looking for resolution

Experience

Essential criteria

Working in partnership with stakeholders to develop plans to meet workforce KPIs and deliver improvements in response to staff surveys and statutory requirements such as WRES, WDES and gender pay gap.
Working in partnership to produce comprehensive annual and longer term workforce plans aligned to finance, activity, national and internal workforce priorities and anticipated service developments.
Supporting managers to address hard to fill vacancies through skill mix reviews, introduction of new roles and introduction of apprenticeship pathways.
Evidence of experience in supporting complex employee relations and organisational change including TUPE.
Must respond to changing demands in workforce sourcing needs, with experience of providing insights from exit interviews.
Evidence of being able to think and plan tactically and creatively and prioritise work in a demanding environment
Ability to analyse complex problems and to develop practical and workable solutions to address them
Developing and streamlining processes
Experience of developing and implementing strategy, policies and procedures,
Experience of leading improvement programmes across services and with multi-disciplinary teams
Experience of using improvement methodologies to lead service change involving staff
Adapt to unpredictable changing situations and meet deadlines with short time frames
Able to develop and maintain effective working relationships with professional groups and senior managers within the organisation and other agencies.
Maintains confidentiality, and is accountable for actions/decisions.
Ability to systematically appraise current practice, systems and processes and identify areas for improvement
Previous Project Experience
Demonstrate a business-focused approach to Human Resource matters
Substantial experience of delivering strategic level advice and guidance to senior managers and Directors, advising on complex employee relation issues
Full range of casework experience, investigations, panels and employment tribunal preparation, delivering change management projects and carrying out investigations
Experience of large scale organisational change including TUPE transfers
Developing and delivering management training and presentations
Development of Human Resource strategies

Our staff are our most valuable asset. We are committed to making staff feel appreciated, supported and included in the Trust’s successes. Our mission is to be an outstanding place to work providing the very best care for our patients and excellent career opportunities for our staff. Everything we do is guided by our core values and behaviours, identified by our staff and embedded throughout the organisation.

Would you like to work flexibly? In the NHS, we are reminded every day of how important life is. As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us, for our patients and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement

We have the highest CQC rating of all Acute NHS Trusts in Kent and Medway (Good). The CQC highlighted that managers promoted a positive culture that supported, valued staff and created a sense of common purpose based upon shared values.

The Trust is a great place to work, stay, develop a career and enjoy a healthy work life balance. We have made and are delivering on a wide range of commitments to staff; health and wellbeing; equality; diversity and inclusion; access to education and career development. During 2020 we sett up quality councils, driven by our staff to create a culture of shared governance and quality improvement.

We have a strong focus on innovation and improvement. Part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ (GSTT) ‘Healthcare Alliance’ we are introducing new models of care to improve clinical outcomes for patients. Our association with GSTT also gives staff wishing to develop their skills excellent opportunities to work across numerous specialities.

As our local population increases, our services and skills are expanding and adapting to meet demand. We are continuously looking at best practice models to enhance and improve the services we offer.

The Trust provides services at Darent Valley Hospital and Queen Mary’s Hospital, for a local population of over 500,000 people.

If you would like to be part of our innovative and forward thinking team putting patients at the centre of all we do, we invite you to #joinourfamily.

The NHS are striving towards “we work flexibly” as a workforce, we want to ensure that you can work in a way that is best for us, our patients, and importantly for you. We offer many flexible working opportunities, speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement for you and if it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.

Please note this vacancy may close earlier than stated to aid efficient processing of applications. To ensure your application will be considered please submit it at your earliest convenience. If you have not heard from us within 21 days of the closing date please assume that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion.

Please note, that due to the limited number of car parking spaces, car parking permits will be allocated subject to compliance with the Trusts eligibility criteria and availability of spaces. Permit holders are not guaranteed a car parking space.

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust is a smoke free organisation. To improve public health smoking or vaping is not permitted anywhere on the hospital site.