HR Manager

About the FSPO

The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) was established to resolve complaints from consumers, including small businesses and other organisations, against financial service providers or pension providers.

The FSPO provides an independent, fair, impartial, confidential and free service to resolve complaints through either informal mediation or formal investigation and adjudication. When a consumer is unable to resolve a complaint or dispute with a financial service provider or pension provider, they can refer their complaint to the FSPO.

About the Human Resources Manager (HEO) Role

The FSPO recognises that excellence in the management of human resources is a key requirement in the development of a high performing workforce.Reporting to the Head of HR (Assistant Principal Officer), the Human Resources Manager will play a key role in the delivery of the organisation's strategic priority of 'Developing our people, building our capability' and the implementation of the 'FSPO's People Strategy' by continuing to build the HR infrastructure to enhance and grow the HR function.

The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate strong team leadership qualities and well-developed management and organisational skills, with the ability to develop teams and manage staff, while also taking ownership of tasks and working on their own initiative. They will also be expected to have an ability to build effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and to apply judgement and flexibility in a challenging and fast-moving environment, and to have the confidence to present to, and work closely with, senior management.

This position offers a fulfilling and responsible role in a busy and challenging environment working on interesting and varied issues. It provides an excellent career opportunity to make a significant contribution to the delivery of corporate services in a dynamic organisation with a wide range of responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities

The role of the Human Resources Manager (HEO) is wide-ranging and the successful candidate will be required to:

• Lead and manage the day-to-day HR operations activities, ensuring efficient and effective delivery of HR services;
• Support the development and implementation of HR policies and procedures, ensuring HR policies and procedures are in line with best practice and up to date, ensuring compliance with legislation;
• Manage and co-ordinate the resolution of queries coming to the HR unit in an efficient and professional manner;
• Manage vendor relationships related to HR operations, including pensions advisory services, HRMS vendors, and other third-party service providers;
• Analyse HR data and metrics to identify trends, insights, and areas for improvement, and develop action plans accordingly. Make data available to management to support key business decisions;
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and employee experience of HR operations, working with the Head of HR to streamline and automate HR processes, leveraging technology solutions where applicable;
• Be responsible for Payroll and Pensions administration, including, collecting and compiling preliminary payroll data, including new hires, salary changes, higher scales, oversight, increments and deductions;
• Administer the organisation's pension scheme, including compiling annual benefit statements and calculating pensionable service;
• Serve as the primary point of contact for employees regarding pension-related enquiries, providing expert guidance and support throughout their retirement journey;
• Provide day-to-day advice to line managers on all human resource issues;
• Ensure compliance with legislation and statutory requirements;
• Manage, review and update, as required, the FSPO's performance management system (PMDS) and provide support to line-managers, while ensuring completion for all staff where relevant;
• Responsibility for managing all recruitment campaigns, and recruitment partners where appointed, and participate on interview boards (as required) and maintain induction programmes for all new hires;
• Complete periodic HR audits on HR SharePoint to ensure employee files, policies and procedures are up to date and in line with record retention schedules;
• Ensure that all HR administration systems including Time and Attendance, salaries & increments, leave, probation, and training, are appropriately managed and kept up to date by the HR team;
• Mentor and coach line-managers with HR issues and with training and development;
• Manage the performance of directly reporting staff on the HR team;
• Demonstrate and embed the values of the FSPO throughout the workplace;
• Contribute to the development of, and manage a learning and development programme;
• Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

The responsibilities outlined in this job description should not be regarded as exhaustive in scope and may be added to or altered as required, in line with the requirements of the FSPO. The duties appropriate to the post will be determined by the Ombudsman and may cover a range of activities allowing for maximum flexibility according to the needs of the organisation.

Essential Requirements

Eligible applicants will be those who on the closing date for the competition:

1. Hold a minimum level 7 degree in HR or a HR related area

And

A minimum of two years' experience working in a HR role.

OR

2. In the absence of holding a minimum level 7 degree in HR or a HR related area, candidates will possess a minimum of three years' experience working in a HR role.

And

3. Candidates must demonstrate strong verbal and written communication skills and excellent attention to detail, as evidenced by the Application form.

And

4. In addition to the specific requirements set out above, candidates must be able to demonstrate that they possess the competencies identified for effective performance at Higher Executive Officer level as set out in Appendix 1 of the Candidate Information Booklet.

Desirable Requirements

In addition to the above essential requirements, candidates are asked to outline specific key achievements, specialist knowledge, contributions or expertise they have developed over your career to date on at least one of the following areas:

• Involvement with the implementation of a Change Management Project.
• Recruitment and Selection.
• People Management.
• Payroll and Pensions Administration,.

Candidate responses to the above will be assessed by a board of Senior Managers to consider the depth and breadth of your experience as it is relevant to the role. Information provided in this section may be used as part of a shortlisting exercise and may be discussed in more depth at interview.

An invitation to tests, interview or any element of the selection process is not acceptance of eligibility. Eligibility may not be confirmed until the final stage of the process, therefore, candidates who do not possess the essential requirements, on the closing date of 06th June 2024, and who nevertheless proceed with their application, are putting themselves to unnecessary effort/expense and will not be offered a position from this campaign. Candidates who are unable to show that they hold the qualifications outlined in their application may be eliminated from the campaign at any stage.

How to Apply

All candidates should visit which provides the application form for this competition. Applications received in any format other than corresponding application form will not be accepted. Therefore, candidates must ensure they use the correct application form. The FSPO expects candidates to complete this application form without the support or use of AI tools as it should reflect the specific personal experience. Completed application forms should be submitted to with 'Application for the position of Human Resource Manager (HEO)' in the subject line.

Closing Date:

Application must be submitted by email to to arrive by 12:00 on Thursday, 06th June 2024. Applications will not be accepted after the closing date/time.