Full time, permanent position: 5 days a week

Role overview

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic individual, with excellent organisational and communication skills and a strong attention to detail. The successful candidate will have the ability to work quickly, efficiently and methodically and have in depth knowledge of HR processes and procedures, including but not limited to employee relations, talent management, performance development and workforce planning, with the ability to lead HR initiatives to drive influence and deliver the HR People Plan to complex and specialised lines of business.  

The successful individual will be required to work closely with the Head of HR, respective Business Partners and the UK Underwriting business, whilst collaborating with the Group HR Centres of Excellences. Therefore will need to be able to work in a fast paced, complex and entrepreneurial environment and have the ability to work with a degree of ambiguity that comes with growth and transformational change. The individual will be required to join our energetic, fast paced, dynamic company on a full time, permanent basis, working 5 days a week.

Role responsibilities

• Leads the implementation of HR projects to support the achievement of the HR functional objectives, including but not limited to Projects relating to integration, change transformation and building efficiencies
• Leads HR initiatives with UK business stakeholders to deliver a first class people strategy aligned to attracting and retaining talent, embedding performance development, supporting business growth and encouraging better business alignment and synergies both at a strategic and operational level
• Become the point person/ lead for all people related issues in current and future M&A activity, attending Steering Committees and driving integration plans for all new team initiatives, ensuring appropriate plans are in place to ensure the seamless integration of new businesses and employees, protecting our culture and values
• Holds a strong awareness of business strategy, operational plans and commercial insight with a solid understanding of how the people plan/agenda complements this
• Acts as a role model to support in coaching and developing the HR Assistants/ Advisors within the team and provides support and counsel to other Business Partners with their respective business areas
• Works collaboratively with the DUAL Group HR team to design and deliver on global initiatives
• Actively drives strong working relationships with peers across the other Divisions
• Works collaboratively with the Group HR Centres of Excellences ( e.g. HRES, L&D, Recruitment, HRIS, Reward) to continuously improve the offering to the business, thinking differently and innovatively of how best to support the business to achieve their highest potential through the successful delivery of programmes
• To be a valued people partner, that offers insight, challenge and new innovative thinking to people managers and business leaders
• Promotes a high performance management culture to drive the delivery of objectives, working with employees and coaching managers, to ensure a more robust process / framework is in place
• Works with the Head of HR and internal stakeholders to deliver on year-end compensation review with data insight and benchmarking  process from beginning to end,
• Provides technical HR expertise and guidance to the business and to the wider HR team to ensure the management of people resources is cost efficient, effective and compliant with best practice, factoring in legislative and regulatory standards
• An active member of the Group ERGs, to provide valuable insight and tangible actions to improve inclusion, diversity, culture and engagement on behalf of DUAL HR and the UK business
• Collaborates with the DUAL Marketing and Communications team to ensure a high level of engagement through communication channels internally and externally (websites, social media) to drive inclusion, engagement and encourage greater talent attraction and retention 
• Uses data from HRIS, People Surveys and market intelligence, combined with personal influence to inform decision making, draft papers and provide business insight, to make positive change
• Identifies and communicates potential people risks and opportunities, influencing the business with solution based action

Key requirements

• Ability to influence and manage senior relationships
• Strong business acumen and commercial awareness
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills
• Innovative thinker / initiative led thinking
• Consultation and negotiation skills
• Resilient
• Ability to solve complex people issues, mitigating risk
• Able to adapt in a fast paced and changing environment with ambiguity
• Good technical HR knowledge, including employment legislation, internal and external trends in HR, organisational development techniques and change management disciplines
• Strong understanding of the regulatory environment
• Strong experience of working in HR partnering role, ideally in a financial services/insurance organisation
• CIPD membership and/or relevant qualification

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define.

Yes, we offer all the usual rewards and benefits - including great healthcare provision, a wide variety of wellbeing offers, competitive salary, generous pensions and more - but we know you expect all that.

What you might not expect is a job where everyone has a voice, where volunteering in the community is part of the day job, and where everyone is encouraged to play a part towards our sustainability goals. We want people who want to make a difference - not just in the workplace, but in the industry and in the wider community.

Our culture: People First

Our core values dictate how we live and work. We are a group with independence and people at its heart and we are a home for talent with a unique culture: the biggest small company in the world

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

Reasonable adjustments

We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs.  Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.