Welcome to Ada!
We are the National College for Digital Skills, established in 2016 as the first new Further Education College in England since 1993. Our mission is: to educate and empower the next generation of diverse digital talent, and our values of Rigour, Resilience, Creativity, Curiosity and Collaboration sit at the heart of what we do and how we go about our work. We seek to harness tech as a positive tool for social mobility and improve the gender and ethnic diversity of the tech workforce.

We are a small, specialist college with c.500 students and apprentices on roll at present but with plans now well underway to grow to 850+ learners by December 2025 across our two fantastic new city centre hub campuses in London (Pimlico) and Manchester (Ancoats).

We stand apart from other Colleges due to:
● The quality of teaching, learning and assessment of computer science and related subjects
● Our fantastic progression outcomes for our learners
● The breadth and depth of our industry partnerships
● Our focus on outreach and learner diversity, especially those from more disadvantaged backgrounds
● Our high support, high expectations culture for staff and learners  We received ‘Good’, with Outstanding features, in our first Ofsted inspection in October 2018 and again in March 2023.

Job Purpose
The postholder will report into the Head of HR, with a strong dotted line into the Manchester Director of Quality & Curriculum/Sixth Form Principal. The individual will need to work cross-functionally to provide front-line administrative, operational, and transactional systems support for the HR team. The individual will be the first point of contact for all HR queries in the Manchester campus, and will provide secondary remote support for the London campus in the absence of the London HR Officer.

The focus will be on day-to-day recruitment, line management support, administration, onboarding and induction support. The individual will also support the Head of HR with the facilitation and delivery of line management training, HR compliance, systems and process queries, and provide general HR and College-wide administration support. The role will require the postholder to have strong communication skills, excellent stakeholder relationship building skills, strong attention to detail, and have the ability to manage and prioritise their workload.

To be successful in the role the post holder will:
● Have excellent organisation skills with the ability to structure processes and set up efficient systems to support Ada’s continued growth;
● Be consistent and accurate and have a keen eye for detail;
● Have experience in and be committed to following careful procedures to protect the sensitive personal data involved in this role;
● Have excellent numerical skills and good knowledge of Excel;
● Learn quickly, be adaptable, flexible and able to work in the ever-changing context of a growing organisation;
● Be able to take the initiative and demonstrate a creative problem-solving approach;
● Have well-developed interpersonal skills, working well independently and as part of a small team, and collaborating well with colleagues in person and remotely.

Role Responsibilities:

Recruitment (25%)
● Draft and advertise adverts on internal and external recruitment channels.
● Shortlist CVs and applications, identifying potential candidates through telephone calls, before sharing shortlisted candidates with Hiring Managers.
● Oversee the recruitment inbox, responding to candidate and hiring manager queries swiftly.
● Attend monthly meetings with the Manchester Sixth Form team and Apprenticeship team to review current vacancy activity.
● Update the recruitment tracker weekly and send weekly recruitment activity emails to hiring managers.
● To arrange and coordinate interview/selection logistics including room bookings, diary management, scheduling and preparation of relevant materials and sending invites to candidates.
● Carry out the administration processes around pre-employment checks and onboarding of employees, consultants, mentors, volunteers and governors.
● Update and maintain the agency preferred suppliers list and ensure this is circulated to hiring managers monthly.

Onboarding, Induction, Offboarding (20%).
● To add all new joiners onto the HRIS - Access HR, and remove all leavers from the HRIS.
● To carry out inductions for all Manchester-based staff on their first day of employment, shortly thereafter.
● Liaise with internal Heads of Departments to arrange and coordinate department induction sessions for all new joiners on the first day of employment.
● Add new joiners/leavers to the payroll spreadsheet and attend monthly payroll meetings.
● Add new joiners and remove leavers from the online TES training portal.
● Act as first point of contact for all Staff Handbook queries amongst Manchester employees.
● Issue offer letters and contracts of employment to prospective staff.
● Draft and issue Resignation Acceptance letters.

HR Service Delivery (25%)
● Support Line management with ER in the Manchester campus.
Oversee and manage performance review and appraisal process for all employees.
● Support the Head of HR and Internal Communications Manager with creating training content, facilitating and delivering staff training sessions.
● Partner with the Social Committee to drive forward staff social events and employee wellbeing initiatives.
● Support the Head of HR with the annual staff survey questionnaire.

HR Administration (20%)
● Action all minor and first-level HRIS and system transactions, escalating more complex transactions to the Head of HR.
● Issue relevant letters to staff in relation to Employee Relations matters.
● Support the Manchester Sixth Form and Apprenticeship teams with note-taking requests during employee meetings and 1-2-1s.
● Provide monthly reports on staff turnover
● Provide termly figures on Line Manager ‘check-in’ status.
● Report on other key HR metrics
● Administer employee benefits and liaise with Finance/Payroll regarding pensions and other deductible benefits.
● To provide accurate data for Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in monthly data returns,
● Liaising with CIVICA support team to seek advice on better use of MIS (REMS),
● Acquire data from primary and secondary sources and update database system REMS,
● Keeping up to date with the latest ESFA funding rules and regulations.
● Maintain electronic copies of staff files

Other Duties (10%)
● Coordination Support for the HR department of staff on-site events
● To support the Head of HR with administrative duties as and when required.
● Any other duties that the college may deem necessary.

Person Specification

● Previous Officer experience and used to working with limited supervision ideally in a Human Resources field.
● Ability to undertake administrative tasks and development of effective office systems and procedures
● Ability to use information technology for word processing, spreadsheets and databases and excellent typing skills
● Ability to pick up new applications and software quickly
● Ability to work under pressure in a constantly changing and demanding environment
● Excellent written communication skills
● Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
● Excellent organisational and time management skills
● A good understanding of equal opportunities issues as they affect our stakeholders
● Strong stakeholder management, working with individuals across an organisation
● Aligned with the values of the College in their approach to their work.
● Perform duties with the highest level of confidentiality and have a strong sense of integrity
● Strong commitment to Ada and the college’s values.

Other Requirements:
● Passion for working with young people and adults to help improve their life chances
● A commitment to on-going personal development
● A willingness to work flexibly and where necessary outside of normal working hours
● Suitable to work with young people and vulnerable adults in accordance with Government guidelines for safeguarding.

Variation to this Job Description
This is a description of the job as it is at present, and is current at date of issue. The duties and responsibilities described above are not exhaustive and additional assignments, duties or responsibilities may be required of this position. The job description will be reviewed and updated as necessary to ensure that appropriate revisions are incorporated, and that it relates to the job to be performed.

Safeguarding
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students and young people and we expect all staff to share this commitment. Any job offer will be conditional on various, appropriate, pre-employment checks including a satisfactory Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check and Barred List Check, having the legal right to work in the UK and having satisfactory overseas criminal records checks, if deemed necessary, and supportive references.

Equal opportunities

Ada. National College for Digital Skills recognises that equality of opportunity and the recognition and promotion of diversity are integral to its strengths. The following principles apply in respect of the College’s commitment to equality and diversity: 

● To provide and promote equality of opportunity in all areas of its work and activity;
● To recognise and develop the diversity of skills and talent within its current and potential community;
● To ensure that all employees and prospective employees of the College are treated solely on the basis of their merits, abilities and potential without receiving any unjustified discrimination or unfavourable treatment on grounds such as age, disability, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender reassignment, trans status, socio-economic status or any other irrelevant
distinction;
● To provide and promote a positive working, learning, and social environment which is free from prejudice, discrimination and any forms of harassment, bullying or victimisation;
● To promote good relations between individuals from different groups.

Applicants with disabilities

Ada. National College for Digital Skills is keen to increase the number of disabled people it employs. We therefore encourage applications from individuals with a disability who are able to carry out the duties of the post. If you have special needs in relation to your application please write to us at jobs@ada.ac.uk .

How to apply for the role
Please submit your CV and a supporting cover letter outlining your interest in the role and the  relevant experience you have to jobs@ada.ac.uk, in the subject field please write “Application for Senior HR Officer” followed by your name.