January 2017 Dear Applicant HR Administration Manager Permanent, 37 hours per week, all year round Grade 9, Points 30 to 34, 26,556 to 29,854 p/a (pay award pending) Thank you for your interest in our recent advertisement for the above position at Bluecoat Academies Trust. I have pleasure in enclosing details. We are seeking to appoint a HR Administration Manager to join the HR Team to lead, provide and develop an effective administrative support and front line service to the Trust. The Trust s HR Team is led by the HR Director with casework, policy development and project work being delivered by the HR Manager and HR Officer. The successful applicant will lead and manage the administrative function of the team and front line service to staff and stakeholders, utilising the Apprentice HR Assistant to do so. We are a highly successful Trust, with an expanding number of academies serving students in Nottingham city between the ages of 3-19 years and operating across a growing number of campuses. The growth and development of our Multi-Academy Trust makes this an excellent opportunity to join us as this provides excellent professional development opportunities for the right individual. The successful candidate will need to have a sound knowledge of administrative functions and processes, including how to streamline and develop these. They will also need to evidence their experience of working in a busy office environment and their ability to work in an organised and methodical manner to prioritise workloads and ensure deadlines are met. Whilst experience within a HR and/or education environment would be advantageous, it is not essential. Please see below for further details in relation to the Trust and the post, including a job description and person specification. To formally apply for this position, please complete the application form available from the vacancies section of our website, www.bluecoat.uk.com and submit to recruitment@bluecoat.uk.com clearly demonstrating your suitability for the role. Please note that the deadline for applications is 9am Wednesday 25 th January 2017, with interviews provisionally scheduled to take place during the week commencing 6 th February 2017.
Due to the number of applications we receive, it is with regret that we cannot respond to every application, if you do not hear from the Trust within two weeks of the deadline, please assume that on this occasion your application has unfortunately not been successful. I look forward to receiving your application. Yours sincerely Sian Hampton Executive Principal
BLUECOAT ACADEMIES TRUST Bluecoat Academies Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All staff and volunteers are therefore expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment. Information for Applicants HR Administration Manager
INTRODUCTION AND TRUST OVERVIEW BLUECOAT ACADEMIES TRUST Bluecoat Academies Trust was formed in April 2014 as a result of the very long and successful history of Bluecoat Academy and currently encompasses three secondary school campuses, a primary school campus, a School Centred Initial Teacher Training centre and the Nottingham City Secondary Education Partnership. Bluecoat Academy is the lead academy and is a highly successful, oversubscribed, 11-19 academy operating across two campuses within the city. Bluecoat Beechdale Academy is a growing school which has benefitted from a very real and positive impact as a result of joining the Trust in April 2014. The creation of our brand new Church of England primary school, which opened in January 2015, is the most recent stage of the Trust s growth. We regard the growth of our Multi Academy Trust as an excellent opportunity for potential candidates to join us as we seek to serve a growing number of young people across the region. Our aim is to provide an excellent education for young people in the City of Nottingham, to be recognised nationally and internationally as we develop our innovative approach to inclusive, enriching and balanced cross curricular teaching, preparing young people for lifelong learning based firmly on our Christian principles. THE HR TEAM Bluecoat Academies Trust is currently comprised of four sites; Aspley Lane Campus, Wollaton Park Campus, Bluecoat Beechdale Academy and Bluecoat Academy Primary School. The HR team at the Trust is a small, hardworking team and although we are based predominantly at Bluecoat Academy s Aspley Lane Campus, we are responsible for the HR function across the whole Trust. We aim to be a strong, supportive team capable of meeting our statutory obligations and ensure valuable support for teaching and learning through effective personnel management across all of our academies. We work closely alongside all stakeholders, in particular the Business Managers at each academy and our colleagues in other central teams such as Finance and IT. THE VACANCY The HR Administration Manager will be an integral member of the HR Team and will work closely alongside the Apprentice HR Assistant and colleagues in the central Processing Centre to provide an effective and efficient HR administrative and front line service to the Trust. We are looking for someone with sound knowledge and experience of administration processes and the ability to develop them in order to continually improve the efficiency and quality of our work.
The postholder will need to be a resilient, hard worker who is capable of working to tight deadlines and under pressure by continual prioritisation and who can show initiative and be pro-active. They need to be an excellent communicator in order to be able to build good working relationships with staff and stakeholders across all of our sites and to be able to provide effective guidance and supervision to the Apprentice HR Assistant. SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE Bluecoat Academies Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All staff and volunteers are therefore expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment. Appointment to this post will be subject to the following satisfactory pre-employment checks: Health Identity Relevant work qualifications Right to work in the UK Teacher Prohibition Check (for teaching staff) Barred List Check (previously List 99) Disclosure & Barring Service Check (for all staff and volunteers) References Childcare Disqualification Declaration Check (relevant Primary School posts only) APPLICATIONS A copy of the job description and person specification can be found below and an application from can be obtained from our websites www.bluecoat.uk.com or www.bluecoatbeechdale.uk.com. Closing date: 9am, Wednesday 25 th January 2017 Provisional Interview date: Week commencing 6 th February 2017 If you have any queries, wish to discuss the role or visit the Academy informally or require any assistance accessing the application form, please do not hesitate to contact us as follows: Email: recruitment@bluecoat.uk.com Telephone: 0115 929 7445, extension 3102
Bluecoat Academies Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All staff and volunteers are therefore expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment. JOB DESCRIPTION HR Administration Manager Responsible to: HR Director Grade: 9 Job Description Issue Date: November 2016
Job Purpose To lead, provide and develop an effective administrative support to the human resources function of the Trust, ensuring that records are maintained and processes followed in a timely and accurate manner; To lead an effective first line service to staff and stakeholders across the Trust to resolve queries and provide appropriate support; To lead the Apprentice HR Assistant in providing support to the administrative and first line functions of the Trust. General Responsibilities Support the overall Christian ethos of the Trust; Provide first aid in accordance with a rota Demonstrate a commitment to safeguarding children Be aware of and comply with relevant policies and procedures, including those relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, copyright etc reporting all concerns to line manager; Be aware of and support difference and ensure equal opportunities for all; Contribute to the overall aims of the Trust; To develop own professional skills; Work cooperatively as part of the HR Team to ensure deadlines are met and to contribute to a good quality service provision to the Trust; Undertake any other duties which may reasonably be regarded as within the nature of the duties and responsibilities/grade of the post as defined. Specific Responsibilities General HR Team Remit Provide an effective and customer focussed first line service to staff and stakeholders by acting as one of the first points of contact for them, resolving straightforward issues and ensuring any more complex issues are drawn to the attention of senior colleagues, working with them to establish a resolution; Ensure personnel files and records are maintained in a comprehensive and accurate manner, whilst observing statutory Data Protection requirements; Lead and provide day to day coaching of the Apprentice HR Assistant, utilising the postholder to ensure team deadlines are met and a good quality, effective administration service is provided to the Trust; Develop the administrative and front line service within the team to ensure the quality and efficiency of provision is continuously improved. HR Administration Provide a comprehensive administrative support to all recruitment and interview processes, including assisting with the preparation of recruitment materials and placing of adverts, the co-ordination of shortlisting and interview packs, assisting with the arrangements for interviews and obtaining references prior to interview; Co-ordinate and process the necessary administrative tasks following the appointment of new employees, including safer recruitment checks and liaising with the HR Director and HR Manager to ensure timely and accurate offer letters and contracts of employment are produced;
Ensure compliance with the processes for obtaining all relevant pre-employment checks in relation to newly appointed staff in accordance with current legislation, statutory requirements and Trust procedures; Ensure compliance with the processes for obtaining all relevant safeguarding checks in relation to volunteers and regular visitors; Prepare relevant safeguarding risk assessments in relation to newly appointed staff, volunteers and regular visitors and ensure they are authorised and retained on personnel files; Ensure that all safeguarding checks are recorded on the Trust s Single Central Record in a timely and accurate manner; Ensure that all employee contractual variations and changes are processed in accordance with procedure, liaising with the Trust s processing centre as appropriate; Ensure that all staff resignations are processed in accordance with procedure, liaising with the Trust s processing centre as appropriate; Liaise with the Trust s processing centre and external payroll provider in relation to new appointments, contractual variations and resignations to ensure they are reflected in the appropriate month s payroll run; Liaise with the Trust s processing centre and external payroll provider to ensure the timely and accurate processing of monthly payroll variances such as overtime, casual work carried out, other payments and deductions in accordance with Trust procedures and liaising with colleagues and the Trust s external payroll providers as appropriate; Resolve any payroll reconciliation queries, liaising with the processing centre, Business Managers and the Trust s external payroll providers as appropriate; Wider HR Function Assist with the development and maintenance of staff structure documentation across the Trust; Under the direction of the HR Director and HR Manager, provide administrative support to the wider work of the HR Team and project work as necessary; Staff Conduct We are professional people and expect professional conduct (behaviour and language) based on mutual respect, good manners, politeness and common courtesies for all members of our community - adults and students. Employees are in loco parentis and also expected to maintain a professional relationship with students. Staff will be fully supported by the school at all times in carrying out the behaviour policy. Dress Code At school we expect staff to wear professional, business not casual, clothes.
Person Specification Essential Education and Training Relevant administrative qualifications or evidence of on the job training. Clear commitment to continuous professional development to develop own skills and experience, maintaining links with appropriate bodies in order to enhance knowledge and share best practice and information. Knowledge Knowledge of Data Protection legislation Desirable Understanding of basic employment law and HR best practice Knowledge of safer recruitment checks in an education environment and the legislation underpinning these processes Knowledge of Teachers terms and conditions of employment (School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document, Burgundy Book etc) Knowledge of National terms and conditions for support staff Knowledge of the National Job Evaluation Scheme Experience Previous experience of working in a busy administrative office and developing processes to secure efficiency and quality of work Previous experience of Microsoft Office including word and excel to a proficient standard Experience of liaising with outside agencies, stakeholders or other professionals within a work environment Previous experience of working within an educational establishment and an understanding of business needs in the context of school life. Previous experience of working within a HR environment. Knowledge and experience of whole school procedures, organisation and structure or a willingness and aptitude to learn. Experience of working within a Multi Academy Trust environment. Experience of working with Trade Unions Previous working knowledge of SIMS.net database
Professional Skills Strong interest in systems and processes which will add value and assist in managing change in an administrative or HR environment. Excellent interpersonal skills and a track record of establishing and promoting effective working relationships with a variety of stakeholders. Clear and persuasive communication skills, written and oral, including the ability to negotiate effectively. Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to plan and balance priorities, maintaining high standards whilst working accurately and effectively. Customer focused attitude and proven ability to deliver service improvements and work to deadlines. Sound evidence of accurate, logical thinking in order to plan for processes, manage data and produce reports. Personal Qualities Confident, enthusiastic, motivated and committed Ability to work as part of a team understanding Trust roles and responsibilities and your own position within these. Friendly with a sense of humour Commitment to Equal Opportunities Willingness to work within the Christian ethos of the Trust Work on own initiative with the ability to seek support and assistance where appropriate. Ability to prioritise own workload and manage conflicting deadlines effectively. Resilience and a proactive attitude Suitability to work with children Commitment to safeguarding and a satisfactory Enhanced DBS Check