Mott MacDonald is a £1.1 billion management, engineering and development consultancy with 16,000 staff and a global reach spanning six continents. Our network of 180 principal offices in 140 countries gives us local market insight backed by world class expertise to deliver excellence for every client.

The role sits within our International Development Services division which operates as three separate portfolios within the international development arena, Environment and Water, Education and Health.

Our education business provides consultancy services to international development and government clients worldwide.
Within the education portfolio there are more than 300 staff who are geographically spread across the world.
Principle offices are in the UK, China and Nigeria, with projects operating in Tanzania, Pakistan, Indonesia and many more developing countries. 

Environment and Water International business provide specialist assistance in water and environmental engineering and project management including key skills in water resources development, major hydraulic structures, water supply and wastewater systems and treatment.

International Health provide consultancy services in international health development, in areas such as infectious diseases, monitoring and evaluation, reproductive maternal and child health, health systems strengthening and finance and more

The Senior HR Adviser will provide a responsive and proactive support to the staff and senior management team of the Education Portfolio in support of their goals and objectives. .
This is a generalist HR role which providing best practice and pragmatic generalist HR advice in all areas of ER, advising and coaching managers, and implementing HR strategy.

POSITION : Senior Human Resources Advisor - Education portfolio

Job Description

Responsibilities will include

Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with the Group global mobility and tax teams.
Advise managers on the global mobility process in line with policy.
Initiate the global mobility process for secondments and long term assignments.
Check accuracy of cost projections, advise the business of costs and provide challenge where there is uncertainty.
Liaise with colleagues in Tax, Payroll & HR departments in other (sometimes non-UK) locations as appropriate.
Ensure relocation services are provided as appropriate.
Work with the HRBP to develop global mobility policy for IDS and ensure compliance.
Use knowledge and experience to identify areas where the process / policy could be improved.
Keep updated on the development of new entity set-up to ensure HR readiness managing local employment.
Work with the HRIS and finance teams to ensure appropriate structure is in place for logging employee details in the Lawson HR database.
Support the HRBP with the development of local employment contracts which are compliant with local employment regulations and practice.
Work with payroll and project teams to ensure best payroll solution provided and appropriate measures for payroll management are in place.
Work closely with the education portfolio’s staff development director to understand the business context and progress initiatives to address employee satisfaction / engagement.
Advise managers dealing with short- & long-term absence. Manage vocational health referrals & ensure reasonable adjustments as appropriate.
Coach managers through investigation & conduct of disciplinary, capability, conduct, performance management & grievance processes. Facilitate meetings to ensure consistency & fairness.
Advise & support managers through change management processes including reorganisation/restructure, redundancy/redeployment & consultation.
Advise & support managers & employees on ‘family friendly’ issues (flexible working requests, maternity, paternity, parental leave, time off work for dependents) & special leave in line with Company policy & legislation.
Support the recruitment process: from discussing the vacancy with the Recruitment Manager, ensuring comparable salaries and grades are offered, providing challenge to recruitment decisions as appropriate, and supporting the interview process as necessary.
Represent HR on the education portfolio SMT.
Attend meetings and report on HR matters.
Coach and support managers with the development and implementation of talent management and succession planning strategies.
Assist managers with the development and retention of staff through the Company’s performance development review process.
Work with the HRBP to identify and review key performance indicators and suggest improvements and efficiencies to best meet professional and business requirements.
Work with the HRBP to coach and support the two part-time HR Assistants (1.4FTE).
Undertake ad-hoc projects and other appropriate tasks as requested by the HRBP staff or business managers.
Work closely with immediate HR peers, education portfolio colleagues and wider IDS division to provide a high quality service to internal and external customers.
This includes working closely with HR teams on project sites to ensure compliance with MM processes.
Establish good and considerate working relationships with all staff in the company, demonstrating behaviours which reflect our PRIDE values.
Be sensitive to cultural differences which affect the modus operandi in the working environment: relationships and business practices.
Make a positive contribution to the development of guidelines for HR processes, attend and participate in appropriate meetings and forums.

Required skills, qualifications and experience:

Confident and resilient nature to provide challenge to, and accept challenge from, educationalists with a direct manner.
Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to quickly build efficient relationships with HR colleagues located outside of Cambridge/London key colleagues at all levels.
Able to juggle multiple, sometimes complex tasks/projects in a demanding environment with often limited knowledge/resource.
Able to make and take responsibility for decisions and actions within the team.
Able to quickly learn/absorb knowledge, retain information and understand the business environment / international development sector.
Able to work under pressure but retain clarity of thought.
Excellent organising and prioritising skills with flexibility to adapt to changing priorities but remain calm.
Initiative to meet the needs of the team and the business in a pragmatic and professional manner.
Good numeracy skills
Good IT skills and confidence / proficiency in Microsoft Office packages and HR databases
Graduate/MCIPD qualified
An interest in the international development sector and a willingness to undertake training and development as necessary to fulfil the requirements of the role – including some international travel to project sites.
Previous experience in a similar HR role is essential.
Previous experience of working in the international development sector and knowledge of global mobility practices would be beneficial.