Job Description Job Title Department Grade Location HR Business Partner GSMD E Guildhall North Wing Responsible to Head of HR Responsible for HR Advisor/s and HR Co Ordinator Guildhall School of Music & Drama is part of the City of London Corporation. The HR Business Partner will work as a part of the local HR team based at the Guildhall North Wing. The specialist support around Occupational Health, Pay and Grading, Learning and Development, Policy development etc is provided by the Corporate (City of London) HR team. Purpose of Post To deliver a professional HR service to allocated business areas, providing HR advice and support considering business needs as well as legislative and procedural frameworks and to build close relationships and deep understanding of the business areas. To work closely with the Head of HR and HR BPs to enable the delivery of HR strategy and projects at the Guildhall School. To provide advice and support to Vice Principals, directors and managers on policy, practice and employment legislation to all staff ensuring good employee relations. Main Duties & Responsibilities 1. To act as a HR lead for allocated business areas, ensuring HR best practice and establishing effective relationships with key staff. 2. To work closely with the Head of HR and HR BPs to deliver the Guildhall School of Music & Drama’s strategic plan and specific HR objectives. 3. To build close relationships with other teams involved with People related processes including Corporate HR team, Learning and Development, Job Evaluation, Occupational Healthand City of London Payroll and to act as a bridge between those teams and your allocated departments to help advance their people plans or address specific issues. 4. To advise and support senior managers in improving people planning, performance management and support leaders to identify and develop future talent, fostering Page 1 of 8 employee engagement, and managing change effectively high-performing teams that support long-term School success. to build resilient, 5. Act as a strategic partner to managers and staff by providing expert guidance on HR matters, including employee relations (grievance, disciplinary, sickness absence, and capability), recruitment, learning and development, and job evaluation. Collaborate with the HR Advisor to ensure HR practices are aligned with organizational goals, drive a positive employee experience, and enable managers to build capability and deliver business outcomes effectively. that align with School strategy and 6. To work closely with the Heads of Departments to support the development of workforce plans future organisational needs. Advise departmental heads on optimal department structures, work patterns, remuneration packages, staff costs and contractual relationships, ensuring that staffing models are sustainable, cost effective and support long term growth. 7. To provide strategic advice regarding onboarding and recruitment processes with a particular focus on ensuring that our recruitment processes are fair, inclusive and aligned with School values. To maintain oversight of recruitment activity across assigned departments, offering insight and guidance to strengthen workforce planning and talent acquisition, and support the HR Advisor and HR Coordinator/apprentice to proactively address recruitment challenges, enabling managers to attract, select, and retain diverse talent that supports long term School objectives. 8. To support managers with addressing departmental or learning and development needs, ensuring these are aligned with School priorities, tapping into the learning provision offered by the Learning and Development team at the City of London. individual 9. To maintain strategic oversight of the sickness cases in allocated departments,ensuring effective case management and early intervention. To support the HR Advisor with consistent managing of the sickness casework. To take on management of some complex sickness cases liaising with Occupational Health and the legal team as required. To provide proactive guidance to departmental managers to minimise absence, promote employee wellbeing, and ensure compliance with employment legislation and organisational policies. 10. To deputise for the Head of HR or represent the HR department in various organisational to DEI, leading where necessary. This may be related forums and meetings, sustainability, change projects etc. 11. To line manage, develop and coach HR staff setting objectives, deadlines and encouraging personal development and and performance expectations. Foster a culture of continuous learning by coaching and developing team members, encouraging personal growth and professional advancement. 12. Actively participate in HR cyclical processes, e.g. performance review, safeguarding audits, budget management etc. 13. To review management reports and statistics produced by the data team at the City of London to analyse and identify employment trends. Page 2 of 8 14. To have an oversight of corporate HR policies and procedures, ensuring legislative requirements are met and that any new procedures are implemented and followed across all Guildhall School departments. Help design, develop and implement Guildhall School specific policies and procedures, that would not be covered by the corporate policy suite. 15. Actively seek to implement the City of London’s Occupational Health and Safety Policy in relation to the duties of the post, and at all times give due regard to the health and safety of both themselves and others when carrying out their duties. 16. Actively seek to implement the City of London’s Equal Opportunity Policy and the objective to promote equality of opportunity in relation to the duties of the post. 17. To undertake any other duties that may reasonably be requested appropriate to the grade Page 3 of 8 Person Specification Job Title HR Business Partner Department GSMD Grade & Level E Trent Position Number 05F0117/001 Please find below the qualifications, experience and technical skills required to undertake this post. Each criterion will be assessed at application (A), interview (I) or test (T) as indicated below. Professional Qualifications / Relevant Education & Training • Qualified as a Charted Member of the CIPD or be able to demonstrate a level of knowledge at this level. (A,I) Experience Required, including Budget Holding Experience (if appropriate) • Demonstrable experience of working as an HR generalist at Business Partner level, capable and willing to operate at all levels and manage complex people issues (A,I) • Highly pragmatic, flexible and adaptable with an ability to tailor approach to meet contrasting needs and demands. Experience of interpreting and advising on complex HR issues, policies and procedures (A, I) • Significant experience of advising and guiding line managers on the full range of HR issues: recruitment and selection, employee relations, change management, job evaluation / role analysis & staff development (A,I) • Demonstrable experience of working with trade unions (A, I) • Experience of managing, coaching and developing staff, including execution of HR workshops for staff and managers (A,I) • Experience of managing complex projects and implementing outcomes (A,I) • Good understanding of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion issues, and ability to support the delivery of the DEI projects (A, I) • Experience of presenting to senior management teams and other staff groups (A) • Experience of working in the Higher Education and/or arts sector with a clear understanding of HR issues that affect this sector (A, I) • Proven ability to negotiate, influence and persuade colleagues (A,I) Page 4 of 8 Technical Skills • Good knowledge of employment law in the UK, being up-to-date with changes in employment law, recent case law and industry/public sector best practice. (A) • Good understanding of legislation and best practice supporting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (A) • Good IT skills including ability to use Microsoft Office including MS Teams or a similar type software (A) • Experience of using databases with an ability to analyse data (A) Recruitment – Note to Applicants The qualifications, experience and technical skills will be used in the decision-making process for recruitment. Please give examples of how you have exhibited these behaviours in your previous role(s) and experience. It is essential you address the criterion marked as (A) on your application form in the section for supporting information, this will be the minimum criteria for shortlisting. Be as specific as possible, we cannot guess or make assumptions, but will assess your application solely on the information provided. Try to provide evidence, by examples, where possible, of skills, knowledge and experience contained in this person specification. Page 5 of 8 Summary of Terms and Conditions of Employment This summary is given as a guide and is not intended to form part of an individual’s contract of employment. Contract The position is offered on a Permanent basis. Salary The salary range for this job is £49,140 to £55,000 per annum (inclusive of Inner London Weighting) per annum inclusive of all allowances. This figure will be reviewed annually from 1 July in line with the pay award for other salaried staff within the City of London Corporation. Pension The pension scheme provided by the City of London is the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The LGPS is a public sector, statutory, funded, defined benefit pension scheme. Benefits are accrued based upon scheme member’s salary and the length of time for which they are a member of the scheme. You will automatically be admitted to the City of London Corporation’s Pension Scheme. Member contributions are based upon the rate of pensionable pay received by the scheme member. Members contribute between 5.5% and 12.5% of their pensionable pay to the scheme, depending on salary. Please see here for the contribution bands. There is also an option to join the 50/50 section of the scheme where members pay half the contribution rate and accrue benefits at half the accrual rate. The current employer contribution rate for the City of London is 21%. Further details can be found on the national LGPS website and/or the City’s pension website. If you do not wish to join the Scheme you must make a formal declaration stating you wish to opt out. You may contact the Pensions Office directly should you have any queries relating to the Local Government Pension scheme and your entitlements under this scheme. Hours of Work Normal hours of work are 35 hours per week (9.00am-5.00pm) with one hour lunch breaks, Monday to Friday, inclusive but the post holder shall be expected to work the hours necessary to carry out the duties of the position. Page 6 of 8 Frequency and Method of Payment This is a monthly paid appointment and salaries are credited to a Bank or Building Society Account on the 31st of each month or the preceding working day. Annual Leave There is an entitlement of 28 days annual holiday plus Bank Holidays. There are subsequent increases to entitlement to annual holiday according to length of service. Continuous Service If you join the City of London Corporation without a break in service (subject to certain exceptions) from another body covered by the Redundancy Payments (Local Government) (Modification) Order 1999, your service with that institution will count for the purpose of continuous service. The amount of continuous service which you have will affect your entitlement to certain contractual benefits; for example, annual leave, sick leave and maternity leave. A full explanation of Continuous Service is contained within the Employee Handbook. Probationary Period You will be employed initially on a six-month probationary period. Should either party wish to terminate the employment during this period, then one week’s notice will be required on either side, except for summary termination for gross misconduct. Notice Period One months notice by either party after satisfactory completion of probationary period. Learning and Employee Development The City of London provides for financial support and time off for staff to study for appropriate qualifications which relate to their duties or undertaking professional skills update training. There is also an in house programme covering more general training needs. City Benefits As an employee of the City Corporation, you have access to exclusive discounts and privileges through a combination of internal offers from our departments and an external service we have subscribed to from Reward Gateway. Page 7 of 8 Employee Volunteering Programme The City Corporation, in line with its aims to contribute to a flourishing society, shape outstanding environments and support a thriving economy, offers employees paid special leave time during normal hours to encourage employees to volunteer their time and skills to Volunteer Involving Organisations (VIOs) operating within the Square Mile, London and beyond. Full-time employees may take up to 2 days or 14 hours per year in which to volunteer, between 1 January and 31 December. For temporary and part time employees these hours are adjusted pro rata. Volunteering time can be taken in smaller bite size e.g. 2 hours a week over 7 weeks, where this can be accommodated by the City Corporation and meets the requirements of the volunteer organisation Sickness Absence and Pay The City of London Corporation has a comprehensive Occupational Sick Pay scheme, details of which can be found in the Employee Handbook which will be made available to you upon commencement. Page 8 of 8