Executive Officer

The Purpose of the Role

Human Resources, Trinity College Dublin wishes to appoint an Executive Officer to join the department to assist in providing a high-quality, customer-focused HR service to the University. A current part-time vacancy exists within the Employee Relations Team.

The Employee Relations Team is a centre of expertise within HR, providing best practice advice and assistance to Heads, Managers and staff on the operation and implementation of the College’s HR policies and procedures (i.e. grievance, disciplinary) and engages with the College’s Trade Union Partners.

The post holder will support the Employee Relations team in delivering a range of activities, including preparation and assistance with workplace and Third-Party investigations and preparations. The role holder will serve as the primary point of contact for all stakeholders involved in the above-named processes. They will support the administration involved in HR processes, including investigations, grievances, disciplinaries and third-party hearings.

The post holder will be responsible for ensuring a professional, efficient, and welcoming experience for employees and managers.

This is an excellent opportunity for the successful candidate to receive hands-on experience and exposure to a breadth of HR-related matters. This is a varied and fast-paced role, which requires discretion, initiative, and attention to detail. The role-holder will also possess excellent interpersonal, communication, and organisational skills.

This will be an in-person, office-based role initially, with review after successful first probation. At that time the post holder may request blended working arrangements subject to the needs of the department and support of the employee and line manager.

Context

The Employee Relations Team is responsible for receiving and managing queries from across the University on employee relations, HR policy and procedures, working in close collaboration with other HR teams to action queries.

At Trinity, we are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are ranked 3rd in the world for gender equality (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2020), and we hold an Athena SWAN Bronze award, recognising our work to advance gender equality. Trinity is committed to supporting the work-life balance and to creating a family-friendly working environment. Trinity welcomes applications from all individuals, including those who may have had non-traditional career paths, those who have taken time out for reasons including family or caring responsibilities, and applicants with disabilities.

Main Responsibilities

This is a list of the tasks, duties and responsibilities for the role.

Service

• Act as first point of contact for Employee Relations queries from TCD employees.
• Respond, research, and resolve HR-related issues and enquiries received via the ER inbox, Microsoft Teams and in-person meetings in a timely manner. Escalate queries when necessary.
• Understand and maintain familiarity with HR policies, procedural documents and trade union agreements to help others navigate them.
• Contribute to employment policy and HR documentation review.
• Support the Employee Relations Team in identifying opportunities to enhance employee experience, maintain HR efficiency and drive process improvements.
• Prepare correspondence, arrange meetings and process confidential reports and documentation as required.
• Create and maintain HR content online, such as FAQs and how-to guides.
• Actively participate in HR projects as required.
• Attend departmental meetings as required.
• Carry out routine record keeping and data entry to ensure accurate records and HR databases are maintained.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders and other HR teams where appropriate.
• Keep abreast of employment legislation, current issues and matters related to the ER Team and wider HR Department.
• Maintain strict confidentiality requirements and professionalism at all times.

Systems

• Familiarisation and use of HR systems relevant to area of work and carry out system searches to respond to queries.
• Update databases and spreadsheets and run standard reports.
• Carry out routine record keeping, minute taking, filing, photocopying and data entry to ensure accurate records are maintained. Scan and upload documents to the Document Management Filing System.
• Run automated or routine HR data reports to support information requirements.

Administrative

• Provide routine administrative and/or customer support activities to contribute to the smooth operation of the team/department.
• Provide essential administrative and/or support activities to contribute to the smooth operation of a work unit (e.g. maintaining a filing system, processing invoices).
• Assist with the arrangements and/or support internal and external activities/meetings/events through detailed instruction or direction, collating and recording relevant information/documentation as requested.

General

• Any other duties that arise from time to time as directed by the manager or nominee.

Person Requirements

The role-holder will require the following knowledge, skills and attributes for successful performance in the role.

Qualifications

• Leaving Certificate or equivalent - essential.
• Holds a HR qualification or studying towards the same – desirable.
• CIPD membership / Qualification in a CIPD-recognised programme - desirable.

Knowledge

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, e-mail and the web - essential.
• Awareness of the basic principles or standardised work routines of the field of work.
• A demonstrable knowledge of HR best practice, with particular emphasis on grievance, dignity and respect, disciplinary.
• Understanding of the Data Protection Act, General Data Protection Regulations and principles of effective information security. Proven experience of maintaining information confidentiality and handling sensitive data with care and discretion.
• Working knowledge of HR Information Systems - desirable.

Experience

• Prior work experience in a relevant HR role, which includes the organization and planning of multiple tasks/projects, is desirable.
• Experience working in an administrative environment and responding to queries in person, by phone and by email.
• Experience of data analysis and data interpretation. Ideally have experience in using Excel spreadsheets in reporting and knowledge of statistics.

Skills

• Excellent interpersonal and written/verbal communication skills.
• High standard of accuracy and precision in all forms of communication, document drafting and numerical work.
• Excellent IT skills, with a high level of competency in the Microsoft Office suite, in particular Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. Experience of using SharePoint and a document management system.
• Ability to communicate confidently and clearly with a wide range of stakeholders, including effective presentation skills.
• The ability to work well as part of a team and build strong working relationships with teammates and stakeholders.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, with an ability to multitask according to different deadlines.
• Can work on own initiative to pre-empt problems and suggest solutions.
• Acts with integrity and treats HR data with confidentiality and discretion with respect to GDPR and the acceptable use of IT.
• Flexible and can prioritize and adapt in a fast-paced, changing environment.

Personal Attributes

• Understands the importance of, and proactively delivers, professional quality HR service.
• Takes pride in providing excellent customer service, adopting a helpful, polite, and courteous approach when interacting with stakeholders and employees.
• Pays close attention to quality standards.
• Convincing and confident when speaking to others and can explain complicated concepts and procedures well.
• Committed to achieving results, is motivated, and displays a "can-do" attitude.
• Welcoming and approachable in manner.
• Understands the importance of quality service and proactively delivers this.
• An ability to handle highly sensitive and confidential information with total integrity.
• Flexible approach to working hours as the demands of the post may require work outside normal office working hours from time to time.

Salary

This appointment will be made on the Executive Officer Merged Salary Scale, €34,023 to €52,232 per annum, at a point in line with current Government pay policy. The salary will be paid on a pro rata basis, based on 0.5 FTE.