Cafcass Hiring for HR Business Partner at West Midlands Full Time

Here at Cafcass we support over 140,000 children and their families every year, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of each and every child and ensuring their voice is heard in Family Proceedings, which we’ll sure you agree is very important work.

Let’s make a difference. Together.

Whether you’re one of our Social Workers or work in our Corporate teams, like HR, then everyone as a critical role to play. And so, if you join us as HR Business Partner, you’ll see further references to ‘Together’ as this is the name of our new relationship-based practice framework.

Built around our values, it is at the heart of the work we do and encourages us to be pro-active and to look for the strengths in ourselves and others, to build positive relationships with our colleagues, our partners and with the children and families that we work with.

If this is the type of organisational culture you think you can thrive in and you are motivated by making a difference for children and families, then read on.

Benefits that really benefit you.

We know that as well as the opportunity to develop and challenge yourself professionally, you want to be rewarded appropriately, you want time away from work to manage your wellbeing, spend time with those important to you, help to secure your future and be trusted to work autonomously.

So, on top of a competitive salary, you’ll have an excellent holiday allowance (28 days + Bank Holidays), a Local Government pension with 19.4% employer contribution, Health and Wellbeing cash plan and the potential to bring your continuous service with you – which could mean you have 33 days holiday from day one – and a wide range of other benefits that collectively makes for a great package with a highly supportive employer.

Location, location, location

So that we can ensure you have access to the colleagues best positioned to support you, not only during your induction but beyond, you will ideally be based within fairly close proximity to our office in Coventry (near to Warwick University) although we are flexible on your location and you are unlikely to be required to be in the office extensively and will be able to work remotely.

We represent children and families from diverse backgrounds. We want our staff to mirror this.

We particularly welcome applications from individuals from diverse backgrounds as we strive to ensure our workforce reflects the diversity of the children and families we work with. We are also a Disability Confident Employer which further underlines our commitment to employ, train, retain and develop the careers of colleagues with disabilities.

Ready to find out more being a HR Business Partner?

If you join us a HR Business Partner you will work closely with HR colleagues and the HR Senior Management Team, nationally dispersed, to deliver operational and strategic HR outcomes, as a genuine Business Partner to senior managers and their extended management teams.

This is also a great place to work in HR as the service is critical to Cafcass achieving the best possible outcomes for children, working as it does in close partnership with operational staff and managers to enable them to deliver outstanding frontline and corporate support services.

In this role, as well as holding a significant employee relations remit, you will also support and promote effective workforce planning, learning and development and the health and wellbeing of our staff. This will include making effective use of a range of management and performance information, developing and maintaining workforce plans, and acting as an effective and trusted adviser to service area management teams.

To be successful in this role, you will need to have;

experience and knowledge of HR issues, legislation, policies and procedures;

the ability to operate in a high tempo environment, within a complex organisation;

effective interpersonal and communication skills, to build and maintain relationships with a wide range of stakeholders;

the capability to produce high quality written work;

a commitment to contribute to the continuous improvement of frontline and corporate support services;

a strong background in supporting line managers with people management and development issues; and

a proactive approach to resolving employee relations casework, drawing on your strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

In terms of what we are looking for you will;

Hold a CIPD (or equivalent) recognised qualification or have extensive, relevant experience in a similar HR role.

Have detailed knowledge and experience of advising directly on a range of HR, management and Employee Relations issues within a complex organisation.

Have experience of operating in a high tempo environment with strong prioritisation and time management skills, with the ability to exercise appropriate autonomy.

Demonstrates a range of enhanced HR skills including the use and analysis of HRMI and data to shape and inform business need and solutions.

Experience of supporting or undertaking HR projects, including involvement in project planning.

Demonstrate and maintain credibility with stakeholders at all levels within the organisation, and be able to influence at a senior level.

The above is just a flavour of the experience, skills and knowledge we are looking for an a more detailed Person Specification is included within the Job Description (see ‘Available documents’), which we encourage you to read so that you can ensure your application fully identifies your suitability for the role.

Still interested?

Our application process is short and simple to complete. But before you apply, please make sure your CV really amplifies the experience, skills and behaviours we’ve asked for above and in the job description. Also, within the application form we’ve asked some open questions that provide you with an opportunity to really make your application stand out and we encourage you to do so.

Your chance to meet the team

We plan to host an online event via Teams for applicants (see timescales section below). You will need to apply first and if you meet our criteria, we will invite you to meet relevant members of the HR team, including people previously recruited to this role so you can hear from them in terms of their experience.

Timescales

Below we’ve indicated the timelines that we’re working towards.

Closing date: Sunday 06 February 2022

Online ‘meet the team’ event: TBC, likely to be towards end of w/c 07 February 2022

Initial interviews: w/c 14 February 2022

Final interviews: w/c 21 February 2022

Interviews will take place remotely either via telephone or Teams.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Please be advised successful applicants will be subject to a range of pre-employment checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS). In accordance with the DBS code of practice and our own policy, should an individual have a declared criminal offence an individual assessment will be completed. Further information on what the assessment covers can be found by viewing the Cafcass DBS policy