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HR Operations Manager

Government Actuary's Department

Department
Government Actuary's Department
Location
London, Edinburgh
Openings
1 post
Grade
HEO
Salary
£42,127 to £51,487
Closing
Closed
Profession
Administration
Contract
Permanent
Security clearance
BPSS
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time

Job summary

The HR Operations Manager is responsible for establishing and maintaining an excellent, reliable and responsive operational HR service for the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD).

The postholder will lead day-to-day HR operations, create clear service standards and controls, coordinate workloads and ensure managers and employees receive accurate, timely and consistent support. The role provides the operational management needed to sustain business-as-usual delivery while embedding improved processes and ways of working.

For further information about the role and GAD, please see the following pack: HR Operations Manager - HR Operations Manager

What they’re looking for

  • Lead and coordinate the day-to-day HR operations service, setting priorities and allocating work so that employee and manager queries are handled promptly and consistently.
  • Establish, document and maintain standard operating procedures, checklists, templates, decision points and escalation routes across core HR processes.
  • Define and monitor proportionate service standards, workflow controls and quality checks, addressing backlogs, recurring errors and single points of failure.
  • Provide clear first-line advice and guidance to managers and employees, interpreting HR policy accurately and escalating complex employee relations, legal, payroll or policy matters to the appropriate specialist.
  • Lead, support and develop HR Officers, creating clear expectations, effective cover, regular review of workloads and a culture of ownership and customer service.
  • Maintain accurate and accessible employee records, ensuring appropriate information handling, audit trails, retention and timely data updates across HR systems.
  • Coordinate operational interfaces with recruitment, onboarding, payroll, pensions, HR systems, HR Business Partners and policy colleagues so that hand-offs are clear and controlled.
  • Produce concise operational management information on volumes, timeliness, risks, exceptions and service performance, using it to drive corrective action.
  • Own operational risk and issue escalation within the service, ensuring urgent employee, compliance or pay-related concerns are identified and acted on quickly.
  • Embed processes ensuring ownership, training, documentation and controls are sustained in business-as-usual activity.
  • Plan for peaks in demand and staff absence, maintaining resilient service cover and prioritising critical work where capacity is constrained.
  • Build constructive relationships across GAD and seek regular feedback to improve the usability, consistency and credibility of the HR service.

Behaviours you’ll be assessed on

This advert says the panel will score you against these behaviours at HEO level. Each one links to worked examples.

Job description

Working within HR Services, the postholder will lead the HR operations team and provide first-line operational leadership across the employee lifecycle. They will translate policy and process requirements into practical, documented services that are easy for colleagues to use and for the HR team to deliver consistently.

They will maintain effective triage, case allocation, quality assurance, records and management information. They work closely with HR Business Partners, recruitment and resourcing, pay, policy and governance, payroll and systems colleagues, escalating complex or high-risk matters appropriately.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

  • UK nationals
  • nationals of the Republic of Ireland
  • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
  • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
  • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
  • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Selection process

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Technical skills.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

  • A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained.
  • A Personal statement of up to 500-words explaining how you meet the essential criteria for the role, with particular reference to the criteria provided in the person specification of the JD.

Your CV and Personal Statement will be used to assess the essential criteria listed in the job description.

During the interview you will be assessed on the experience and behaviours listed in the Person Specification and detailed in this advert. The interview will include a presentation, details of which will be sent to those invited to interview.

Application deadline: 2355 hrs on 18 October 2026

Shortlisting: w/c 19 October 2026

Interviews: 29 and 30 October 2026

Interview location: In office (Either London, E14 4PU or Edinburgh, EH8 8FT)

Please apply via our recruitment portal below.

As part of the application form process, please submit your anonymised CV and supporting statement. Please do not email your CV outside of this process as it will not be accepted.

Shortlisting criteria is based on the Person Specification as set out in the Assessment Criteria section of the Job Description. Please ensure you provide examples of how you meet the Assessment Criteria; a strong application will also demonstrate that you meet the required criteria that are identified as key for this role. Applications will be shortlisted in line with the essential criteria for the role. The desirable criteria will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates. Behaviours will be assessed at sift and interview stage. Candidates who are successful at shortlist will be contacted as soon as possible and advised of the interview process and assessment (exact times and dates will also be confirmed).

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Practise before you apply

Civil Service panels score every answer against the Success Profiles behaviours at HEO level. Practise STAR answers and get them marked against the same framework.

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