Professional Services

Human Resources

Emma Stevens headshotWe are Human Resources. We provide advice, support and guidance for University staff on all aspects of employment.

The Human Resources Division comprises the HR Business and Advisory, Recruitment, Business Support, Organisational Development, Staff Health and Wellbeing, Occupational Health, and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion teams.

The University has a five-year People Strategy, 2022–2027 which sets out five interconnected strategic aims:

  1. Attracting and recruiting talent: To be an employer of choice, an organisation with international reach, a fully inclusive culture that supports operational excellence and high performance, to enable the University to excel in research-inspired education and world-changing research.
  2. People and organisational culture: To provide solutions to support organisational change, improve staff engagement, develop colleagues and deliver effective leadership development for our people as Citizens of Change.
  3. Recognition and reward: To have processes in place to appropriately recognise and reward all grades and staff groups in a fair, consistent, timely and transparent way.
  4. Inclusivity: To be an inclusive place of work and research, enabled by a culture of dignity and respect, where our people reflect our diverse student body and our wider local community.
  5. Health and wellbeing: To have a holistic approach to staff health and wellbeing with the aim to be a sector leader in our approach, that is evidence based and informed by staff collaboration.

The Division is led by the Director of Human Resources, Emma Stevens.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) team lead and support the University in delivering on its EDI Strategy, commitments and ambition to be a truly inclusive university.

A small and dedicated team, we engage across our staff and student communities, the Students’ Union and EDI governance framework, to drive cultural and structural change to advance equity and inclusion through an evidence-based approach, and informed by the voices and lived experiences in our diverse community.

We work collaboratively to promote and embed a culture of inclusion, dignity and respect, where everyone is treated in a fair and equitable way, and effect change to challenge and remove structural inequities. Through horizon scanning, we lead the University in responding to the changing EDI landscape, providing strategic direction to ensure we deliver proactive initiatives to tackle the known persistent disadvantages and barriers that exist for people of different identities.

Through our EDI expertise we guide, train, advise and support colleagues, teams, schools and services to meet their legal obligations and embed EDI considerations and inclusive best practice into their everyday activities. We value and celebrate the incredible diversity of our University and local community and we are proud to organise, host and support events for staff and students, celebrating diversity and raising awareness of issues faced by marginalised and minoritised groups.

Leadership

Key contact

Staff Health and Wellbeing, Occupational Health and Organisational Development

We provide a holistic package of advice, support, resources and events for staff working at the University, working hard to ensure that the health and wellbeing of staff remains a priority.

The nurse-led Occupational Health team provide specialist occupational health advice to staff and managers on maintaining a safe and healthy working environment, and ensuring that the health needs of staff are accommodated within the workplace.

The Organisational Development team utilise behavioural science and an understanding of human dynamics to support the University with change, leadership and cultural development. The team also support the learning and development of colleagues including coaching, mentoring and apprenticeships. We have a wealth of experience, skills and knowledge and work with our leaders and colleagues to deliver the right intervention at the right time for individuals and teams.

Leadership

  • Nicola Junkin, Assistant Director HR – Health Wellbeing and Organisational Development: njj8@leicester.ac.uk

Key contacts

HR Business Partnering and Advisory

The HR Business Partnering and Advisory teams play a crucial role in managing various aspects of the University’s HR functions, offering guidance and support to managers and employees on things like employee development, conflict resolution, and policy interpretation.

The College and Professional Services HR Advisory teams ensure that University policies, procedures and practices are consistently applied across Professional Services and the colleges, and ensure that we are inclusive, inspiring and impactful in line with the University’s values. We develop and update HR policies to reflect changing laws, regulations, and best practice. We address employee enquiries, concerns and conflicts and act as intermediaries between employees and management, striving to maintain a positive work environment and resolve issues in a fair and effective manner. By building relationships with line managers, we support and coach them to resolve a range of informal issues and to lead their teams effectively. We promote a positive work culture by ensuring that our staff are recognised for their efforts and rewarded effectively in line with our recognition schemes.

Leadership

Recruitment

The University’s strategic aims involve attracting and retaining excellent, committed staff with outstanding experience, skills and knowledge. We use our understanding of particular departments and role requirements to advise managers on the best ways to find the people they need, with inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of the entire recruitment process.

The Recruitment team also ensure that staff are recruited both in a timely manner and in line with employment legislation to result in an efficient onboarding process in line with the University’s reputation and wider strategic aims. As well as attracting new candidates, we also work to retain current staff by promoting secondment and redeployment opportunities within the University and ensure ongoing institutional compliance with regards to the recruitment and retention of non-UK staff members.

Key contact

Business Support

We are a small team that process all contract changes for existing staff members at the University.

The Business Support team produce regular people management information and reports which help inform plans and key areas of focus. We respond to all staff queries that are sent to the HR advice inbox on a wide range of HR issues. The team oversee the process for staff members who choose to purchase additional annual leave and support a number of University level committees.

Key contact

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