Interim part-time HR Manager (£29,288 pro rata)

Contact details

Closing date for application

24 June 2026

Location: Craven Street with hybrid workingBand/Job Level: Band F, Manager/SpecialistSalary: £29,288 (pro rated) £48,813 FTEContract: 10-month fixed-term contractHours: 21 hours per week, ideally over three days a week, but will consider other flexible working options

A fixed-term opportunity has arisen to join the College’s small but friendly Human Resources department for an Interim HR Manager.

This opportunity has been created to enable the team to deliver critical people-related projects and activities which support the College’s team members in the delivery of our strategic aims.

Reporting to the Director of People, the key purpose of the role will be to:

• provide HR-related project delivery support to the Director of People
• manage and work on the delivery of key change projects to HR practices
• manage and deliver staff engagement, training and development
• provide business as usual talent management
• provide employee relations advice and guidance to College managers and staff

The main responsibilities for the role holder will be:

Staff engagement

• Lead the Staff Engagement Committee (SEC) in the development and launch of the College’s 12-month Wellbeing Calendar of activities to budget for 2027. Lead also in delivery of the Wellbeing Calendar for 2026.
• Manage and fully engage in monthly SEC meetings. Ensure that: HR is represented; the committee has good representation; members have the opportunity to chair the meeting on a rota basis; topics are researched; and initiatives are taken forward and resourced.
• Manage set up, chair quarterly staff award panels and communicate winners. Review scheme with SEC as needed.

College onboarding and probations

• Work with the HR team, and other relevant stakeholders and departments, to develop the College’s onboarding (including induction an programme incorporating the College, departments, job-related, safety, IT, compliance, values and EDI modules, together with an opportunity for joiners to meet face-to-face and network). Develop clear guidelines for managers and a pack to support delivery and launch once agreed.

Training, personal development and policy review

• Develop and deliver training to managers on all aspects of recruitment, and review recruitment procedures to ensure inclusivity TIDEMARK standards are met.
• Work with HR Officer to develop College annual training plan for 2027, including sourcing of external solutions and in-house delivery of training to meet College requirements, whilst maximising budget.
• Explore, recommend and develop career development opportunities for staff.

HR advice and processing cover and oversight

• Manage and advise on complex HR cases and provide advice and guidance to HR Officer in Director of People’s absence, as and when required.
• Oversee forecasting/gathering ratings and increments at end of year and costing for budgets.
• Manage and implement roll-over and change to annual leave and toil entitlements for staff for 2027.
• Cover for the HR Officer of HR processing activities, as and when required.

To be considered for the role candidates will need to be/have:

• CIPD qualified or other relevant qualifications – level 5 upwards or equivalent experience
• strong written and verbal communication skills
• understanding of effective learning, training and personal development concepts, appraisals, onboarding principles and best practice
• experience in managing and delivering HR review projects
• ability to prioritise, balance long and short term priorities, work on own initiative and to deadlines
• good coaching, stakeholder engagement skills
• good level of attention to detail, especially when dealing with HR system design and migration
• good Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint Skills
• proven experience in providing excellent customer service, influencing, coaching others
• experience of providing advice and guidance on complex ER HR issues.

• First interviews will take place on 29 June or 1 July 2026 at our offices in Craven Street
• Second interviews will take place on 6 July 2026 on TEAMS

If you would like to apply for this role, please submit an up-to-date CV, along with a brief covering letter that sets out the skills and experience you consider would make you suitable for this position, to jobs@college-optometrists.org no later than 24 June 2026. 

Closing date for application

24 June 2026

• Typical working hours at the College are 9am to 5pm (7 hours, excluding lunch). We operate a flexible working window from 8am to 6pm where you can vary your start and end time (working a 7 hour day).
• We also offer hybrid working (a mixture of home and office working). Typically College staff will work around 20 - 40% of their time at the workplace (whether this is the office at Craven St, or a face-to-face meeting, event at another business related site or organisation) per week.

The College is committed to providing equal opportunities in employment and to avoiding discrimination. We value the differences that a diverse workforce brings to the organisation. In support of this we follow a fair recruitment process in which shortlisting and other recruitment decisions are made on the basis of skills, competencies and experience demonstrated in the application and interview process. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. If you require a reasonable adjustment to be made to support your application due to a disability or other condition please let us know.

• We act with integrity and transparency
• We listen and we learn
• We demonstrate respect and professionalism
• We achieve high quality
• We champion diversity and inclusion