Organisation Development Adviser (Employee Engagement)

Job Title:         Organisation Development Adviser (Employee Engagement)
Department:    Human Resources and Organisation Development     
Grade:     Grade 7 
Salary range:       £35,333 - £42,155 per annum (pro rata) 
Working arrangements: Part time (17.5 hours) Hybrid working available 
Closing date:        Sunday 6th November 2022
   
The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people.  A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. We believe that inspiring our people to do outstanding things at Durham enables Durham people to do outstanding things professionally and personally.  
Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally.  We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here  
 

The Role and Department

The purpose of the role is to enable the increased capacity and performance of managers, teams and individuals through the procurement and project management or design and delivery of a range of staff engagement and organisation development interventions.  This will enable members of the University’s staff community to contribute effectively to the achievement of the University’s strategic aims and objectives. The post holder will be responsible for evaluating engagement and organisation development initiatives to ensure that they are sector leading and deliver the required impact.

Working closely with the Senior Organisation Development Manager responsible for staff engagement this post holder will help to shape the engagement approaches for the institution.  Managing the staff survey process from roll out to responding to the outcomes of the survey.  Working with managers and teams from across the whole institution to enhance and improve the employee experience by responding to the issues raised and identifying appropriate solutions.

There is the opportunity for hybrid working in this role.

Further information about the role and the responsibilities is at the bottom of this job description.

Working at Durham 

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits: 

•    30 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 42 days per year.  
•    The University closes between Christmas and New Year
•    We offer a generous pension scheme, As a new member of staff you will be automatically enrolled  into the University Superannuation Scheme (USS).
•    No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered.  We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
•    There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally.  There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University.  All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities. 
•    Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
•    On site nursery is available and children’s clubs in the summer holidays.
•    Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
•    The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community
•    Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions. 
•    A salary sacrifice scheme is also available to help you take advantage of tax savings on benefits. 
•    If you are moving to Durham, we can help with removal costs and we have a dedicated team who can help you with the practicalities such as house hunting and schools.  If you need a visa, we cover most visa costs and offer an interest free loan scheme to pay for dependant visas.

Durham University is committed to equality diversity, inclusion and values

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do.  We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct.  At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities.  If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application.  If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification

When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role.  Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description.  

Where a criteria has an asterix* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.  Your application should cover the following criteria:

Essential Criteria  

Desirable Criteria

1. Member of CIPD or other professional body

2. Experience of administering staff survey

3. A thorough understanding of major issues, including HROD issues, in Higher Education.

How to Apply   

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. It will be at the discretion of the recruiting panel as to whether they will also consider any desirable criteria, but we would urge candidates to provide evidence for all criteria.  Please don’t forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.   
  
Submitting your application 

We prefer to receive applications online.   We will update you about your application at various points throughout the selection process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to make sure you have not missed any of our updates.
  
What you need to submit   

•    A CV
•    A supporting statement or covering letter which outlines how you meet all of the criteria within the Person Specification (Essential and Desirable criteria)
 

Contact details   
  
For a chat about the role or any further information please contact Deborah Beel, Senior Organisation Development Manager [email protected]

Typical Role Requirements

Role Delivery

• Collect and analyse stakeholder feedback to help define needs and requirements and the design and planning of services eg staff engagement activities
• Provide facilitation and training expertise for internal stakeholders with particular focus on engagement interventions eg staff survey.
• Communicate with internal and external stakeholders using a range of media and in person solutions
• Professional  Organisation Development practitioner  providing proactive professional advice on development interventions to managers and colleagues across the University.
• Undertake relevant research within and external to the HE sector and provide specialist expertise and support to interpret information sources e.g. staff survey data.
• Contribute to development of operational service activities to ensure excellence in the stakeholder experience.
• Internal and external relationship development and partnership working, networking and participation to facilitate knowledge exchange, including maintaining constructive and collaborative communications with staff and work colleagues.
• Deliver ongoing training and facilitate OD interactions.
• Maintain an awareness of current policy, employment law and people engagement best practice, and its relevance to the higher education environment and provision of professional Organisation Development advice using this specialist knowledge.
• Contribute to and lead business meetings, working groups and sub-committees at departmental and operational service levels.

Lead on engagement and transformational change activities

• Plan, implement and monitor continuous improvements to engagement activities to enhance the employee experience for all stakeholders.
• Work with the Organisation Development team members to support the implementation of people behavioural change  and other engagement projects in collaboration with relevant peers and specialists.
• Work collaboratively with Section Heads and managers across the university to develop engagement approaches enable he provision of  solutions that meet their needs
• Support the review and improvement of systems, processes and procedures in line with University, School, Department or unit frameworks by applying Organisation Development and engagement approaches

Support  Organisation Development activities  

• Contribute to operational leadership teams and decision making to shape the nature and level of support services.
• Provide proactive and comprehensive Organisation Development and engagement support to stakeholder groups to achieve strategic and operational priorities.
• Distribute and process key engagement and organisation development information in a range of stakeholder specific formats.
• Review and refresh development initiatives and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• Procure and project manage engagement and organisation development initiatives that support and develop managers’, teams’ and individual’s capacity and capability to deliver against the University’s strategic aims and objectives.
• Maintain professional expertise through the awareness of the external environment and sector best practice to support high quality services.  
• Design, review, and produce online/blended training programs, materials and content where appropriate to support the staff engagement approach.
• Any other reasonable duties.  

  
Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement https://www.durham.ac.uk/about-us/governance/information-governance/privacy-notices/privacy-notices/job-applicants/ which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.   

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas.