Medical Retirement Pensions HR Business Partner
Contract
26.57 per hour PAYE or £34.60 per hour limited paid via umbrella company inside IR35
Our client is looking for an experienced Medical Retirement Pensions HR Business Partner
Agile but attendance on a regular basis in office areas within Essex. Hours between 8am to 5pm.
Main Responsibilities
* Provide an expert, professional HR advisory service on a range of complex and sensitive issues that may arise during the employee life cycle by providing advice, guidance and to all managers and officers / staff in order to provide a consistent, professional HR advisory service to the force.
* Provide professional advice and guidance to the Chief Constables of Kent & Essex (the Scheme Managers) and the delegated scheme managers in respect of the provision of medical retirement Pension Policy, procedural advice, guidance and governance to enable them to discharge their statutory responsibilities under the relevant regulations and schemes ensuring compliance with the new Police Pensions Scheme regulations, their smooth operation and alignment with regulatory requirements. Linking in with the Head of Payroll and Pensions to provide them with any The Pension Regulator (TPR) code of practice.
* Manage complex case work involving issues such as compliance with pension regulations, medical appeals, the application of discretionary pension benefits, pension forfeiture claims, IDRP pension complaints, early release of benefits for ill-health retirement, deferred ill-health retirement, promoting the application of approved and effective policies, practices and working procedures, in order to provide a consistent and equitable, professional HR advisory service to the forces, for both officers and police staff
* Act as the force representative for Essex and Kent Pension Authority in respect of medical appeals (PMAB), work with and act as a key contact for the pension administrators for the Essex and Kent Pension Authority regarding medical retirement and on behalf of the delegated scheme manager (Essex and Kent) investigate and medical retirement pension complaints appertaining to the Police Pension Scheme and in respect of LGPS complaints (IDRP either stage 1 or 2) ensuring professional and appropriate support to the Delegated Scheme Manager.
* Act as an advocate and influencer of change by developing and supporting communication methods with staff, participating in joint consultation and negotiation procedures with staff associations and trade unions, promoting effective communication and good working practices. This will include maintaining a resource repository for both forces.
* Attend and advise the Pension Board for Kent and Essex Forces acting as the key contact point for medical retirement pension information, producing reports and papers and linking in with the Head of Payroll and Pensions to ensure this meets the requirements of the board to discharge their responsibilities.
* Develop, analyse, and interpret medical retirement related data, management information and employee feedback to identify trends and issues to shape people and pensions interventions across both forces regarding medical retirement ensuring strategic objectives are met.
* Liaise with the head of Payroll and Pensions to support in any information provision or interpretation for medical retirement pensions for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Pensions Information, attending any relevant meetings and interpreting pension regulation updates in order to ensure that the interests of Kent and Essex are fully represented at a national level.
* Liaise with the Head of Payroll and Pensions, and other internal and external stakeholders, to lead any change as required by legislation, including the expected Government White Paper for Police Reform in 2026.
* To undertake the statutory review of those in receipt of medical retirement pension allowances on behalf of the Scheme Manager (Chief Constable) and to provide reporting on progress and outcomes.
* Manage and review corporate HR areas of responsibility, including the design, development and revision of medical retirement policies, processes and conditions of service, implementation of police pension regulations, management of both force’s medical retirement pension processes and appeals, influencing associated policy, practices and procedures, including responsibility case management, to enable the development and promotion of effective HR policies, practices and procedures, including equality and diversity.
* Manage the work of an HR & Pension Adviser, allocating work and balancing work loads, managing performance and quality assuring service provision, to provide a high quality and effective centralised HR service to the forces.
Necessary Experience
The HR Partner will be a fully qualified Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (Level 7) and will hold an equivalent level HR qualification. This will be backed with a proven track record of around 5 years in generalist human resources work experience, which includes advising middle / senior managers, policy interpretation and resolving complex people-related problems. The post holder will provide expert advisory support to senior managers, ensuring the provision of a professional, efficient, and cost-effective service. The post holder will own and deliver an HR caseload and ensure that a business focused and fit for purpose approach is always delivered.
The post holder will advise and impact over a broad range of HR activities, particularly employee relations, reward, recruitment, selection, talent management and policy and procedure. It is essential that the post holder has a good working knowledge of current employment legislation, Police HR policies, processes, police regulations, staff terms and conditions of service and practical experience of advising on HR issues. The post holder will also need a sound understanding of Police Regulations, the policing environment and hold the credibility and confidence of senior police management.
The post holder must be innovative, flexible, self-motivated, organised, have the capacity to manage a substantial and varied workload, be able to meet challenging business targets including all change management requirements, able to work under minimal supervision, use their own initiative and possess the ability to manage multiple customer requirements and cases simultaneously. Good organisational skills are essential for the effective performance of this role.
Excellent interpersonal skills are essential, both verbal and written, these will need to be applied both robustly and sympathetically whilst handling a variety of situations involving sensitive personal issues as well as providing advice and guidance to staff and managers. They must be able to build effective working relationships with trade union and staff association representatives.
The post holder must possess good general project management skills and the ability to undertake basic research and analysis work to undertake comparison work within our group of most similar forces and against best practice guidelines.
The post holder must be fully conversant with a range of Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, e-mail, and the intranet, and have previous experience of a computerised management information system.
The post holder will be required to travel to locations within both Essex and Kent.
This post is deemed to be a designated post. Vetting clearance is a pre-requisite of employment in designated posts and the post holder will be subject to management vetting assessment every 7 years. National security vetting clearances are reviewed every 10 years.
are an equal opportunities employer
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