View Vacancy -- People and Culture Advisor LMS - 2691

The MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) is a biomedical research institute where scientists and clinicians collaborate to advance the understanding of biology and its application to medicine. LMS is one of three directly funded MRC research institutes and enjoys close links with our partners at Imperial College London and at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Overall Purpose:

The LMS People and Culture team supports the LMS Director, LMS and Imperial College Group Heads in all aspects of staff management, including recruitment and retention, performance management and motivation, reward, restructuring and change management.

The People and Culture Advisor is responsible for:

• Providing an efficient and professional people administration support service to meet the requirements of the MRC and Imperial College
• Act as a point of contact for all LMS / ICS staff and will build strong relationships with UKSBS and Imperial College London teams
• Act as a local specialist for all aspects of recruitment and immigration
• Support the Head and Deputy Head of People and Culture in the application of People related policies and procedures to Group Heads, Managers and employees

Working Relationships

• Reports to the Deputy Head of People and Culture
• Daily interaction with LMS People and Culture team as well as LMS and ICS managers, employees, PhD students and Visiting Workers
• Support the Head and Deputy Head of People and Culture in communicating policies and procedures to all MRC / Imperial staff
• Point of contact for UKSBS
• Liaises with LMS Administration colleagues, UKSBS, UKRI HR, Imperial College Teams and Imperial College NHS Trust, and other outside bodies as appropriate

Main Duties:

• Act as point of contact for email or in-person queries entering the People and Culture department, resolving where possible and escalating when needed
• Liaise with Group Heads for LMS / Imperial College to manage the recruitment of staff by co-ordinating the end-to-end recruitment process and ensuring the relevant people (Imperial / UKRI Recruitment teams) are informed at every step.  This includes having input to the development and finalisation of job descriptions and job advertisements, shortlisting, arranging interviews, salary setting, and ensuring immigration & visa requirements are met in accordance with current legislation and MRC / Imperial policy and procedures
• Organise and review contracts of employment produced by the People and Culture Administrator ensuring they are sent to successful candidates in a timely manner and ensure records of all new starters are maintained
• Organise and run the LMS Induction programme for all new starters within LMS.  Coordinate the ‘New Starters Lunch’ and follow up on any queries raised or support required
• Provide advice to managers for general People and Recruitment issues, ensuring adherence to UKRI and MRC policies and UK employment legislation
• Support SAS Awards panels and assist with SAS Recognition Awards
• Liaise with staff on maternity and paternity policy queries and provide information and assistance on the application of the policy.  Have 1:1 meetings with employees as required and ensure the Maternity Leave Tracker is up to date and any actions for payroll are appropriately actioned
• Ensure an effective leaver process is adhered to, ensuring the return of all MRC / Imperial College equipment
• Ensure accurate records are kept for all starters and leavers for the MRC / Imperial College on a monthly basis and any changes are notified to payroll in a timely manner
• Monitor sickness absence levels, highlighting to managers when employees exceed the MRC sickness absence monitoring point.  In conjunction with the Deputy Head, provide assistance, advice and support to managers in managing sickness absence supporting meetings and discussions
• Provide on-the-job training and day to day supervision / support to the People and Culture Administrator
• Support the Head and Deputy Head of People and Culture in the implementation of all People related policies
• You will follow best practice, and keep yourself updated on changes whilst always maintaining our culture
• Advertise training and development opportunities or information to staff via e-mail, letter, posters, newsletters
• Conduct/deliver training sessions and workshops
• Support with the administration of training programmes
• Support the Head and Deputy Head of People and Culture with arrangements for restructuring and proactively ensure that any related payroll enquiries & actions are delivered on time
• Organise OH referrals in conjunction with the Deputy Head of People and Culture and manage the return-to-work process
• Act as People and Culture representative or as note-taker for recruitment interview panels, exit interviews, promotion panels, award panels and formal hearing meetings for LMS / Imperial when nominated by the Deputy Head of People and Culture
• Manage requests for Studio
• Build good relationships with all stakeholders, ensuring you can provide accurate status updates for any work in progress
• Work closely with the UKSBS and Imperial College to ensure that SLAs are met and service delivery is exemplary
• Assist the Deputy Head of People and Culture in the preparation of returns for the MRC / Imperial as well as government agencies as required
• Support the with community projects and initiatives such as Athena SWAN
• Undertake project work and casework as required e.g. improvement projects, writing protocols, developing posters, writing information booklets and staff communications, note taking and report writing for ER cases
• In conjunction with the Deputy Head of People and Culture analyse monthly reports to ensure all fixed-term contracts and leavers are dealt with according to LMS / Imperial policy and current legislation and the appropriate process is followed
• Support Promotional Panels and In Band promotions
• In conjunction with the Deputy Head of People and Culture, organise, advertise and coordinate Learning and Development training days and training workshops and Wellbeing events within LMS for all staff ensuring that a high level of delegate bookings is achieved, catering is ordered, that the trainers / facilitators have what they need and that the events go smoothly.  Coordinate the collection of delegate feedback from events, sharing it with the appropriate stakeholders
• Regular updating of LMS Intranet and website
• Coordinate recruitment of contractors via Public Resourcing Sector, approving timesheets and arranging payments via Fieldglass
• Any other duties as deemed job related by the Head and Deputy Head of People and Culture 

Education / Qualifications / Training required (will be assessed from the application form):

 Essential:

• HR Diploma / HR Degree educated

                      or

• Studying towards a CIPD qualification or part-qualified CIPD

Desirable:

• Strong numerical skills

Knowledge and experience (will be assessed from the application form and at the interview):

Essential

• Experience of working in a team at HR Advisor level
• Experience of providing on-the-job training
• Providing advice and guidance on the application of policies and practices in a busy and complex environment
• Knowledge of current UK legislation and HR practices
• Experience of producing accurate minutes and meeting notes
• Practical experience of interpreting People-related policies and practices and applying them to different scenarios
• Ability to produce timely and accurate reports

Desirable:

• Proven Administrative experience
• Supervisory experience
• Previous experience of working in science/academia / healthcare / NHS
• Experience of working with a Shared Services Centre
• Experience of ER

Administration & Communication Skills

Essential:

• Experience in taking formal minutes
• Proactive approach, capable of identifying and implementing improvements to admin processes and services.
• Excellent communication skills both oral and written 
• Strong attention to detail and focus on high-quality work
• Ability to apply diplomacy and patience in difficult situations or where there are competing needs

Desirable:

• Experience in writing reports

Organisational Skills

Essential:

• Ability to organise time effectively, prioritise and work to deadlines
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team
• Ability to use own initiative and work with minimal supervision
• Experience in building and maintaining strong relationships

IT Skills

Essential:

• Intermediate level skills in the use of Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) and the internet
• Proven experience working with HR systems

Desirable:

• Confident with updating website and Intranet
• Working knowledge of Oracle

Personal skills / behaviours / qualities (will be assessed at the interview):

Essential:

• Strong customer service focus
• Reliable and responsible attitude
• A committed individual with proactive and flexible attitude to work and keen to learn
• A professional manner capable of working confidentially and dealing with sensitive information

Applicants should submit a CV, names and contacts of two references along with a cover letter stating why you are applying for this role (providing evidence against the requirements of the job as per the job description and person specification). Applications without a cover letter will not be accepted. Please quote reference number LMS 2691.

Please note that applications may be reviewed by both LMS and Imperial staff.