This role is in place to support our people at Wickes and have a great colleague experience, ensuring our people get the right information at the right time to help them make life impacting decisions. This position is specifically accountable for leading:
HR Services provision for Wickes
Management and maintenance of the HR System
Delivery of MI Data and Insight for the HR Team and wider Business
Ensuring the People Team delivers all of its Audit requirements and manages risk
In detail, this means leading the HR Services, Systems, and Data teams to deliver a great colleague experience, ensuring compliance and audit requirements are met, new and evolving risks are identified and mitigated, ensuring the effective operation of HR Systems and People Data, and that colleague/manager enquiries are resolved accurately and promptly. Drive continuous improvement by focusing on knowledge management, process efficiency, and technology enablement wherever possible.
Principal Accountabilities
Establish key performance indicators, metrics, and service level agreements (SLAs) to track performance and identify areas for improvement. Develop and analyse HR service delivery metrics to identify trends, measure performance, and provide insight.
Lead, coach, and mentor a team of HR service professionals. Foster a positive and collaborative work environment, promoting professional development and growth.
Ensure processes and policies comply with applicable employment law and employer duties such as IR35 and Visa Sponsorship, and in response to HR, Financial, and company-wide audit requirements. Ensure any audit recommendations identified are tracked, implemented, and monitored. Identify and mitigate potential risks related to HR service delivery. Represent People Risks at Wickes Compliance Framework Committees as required (e.g., Modern Slavery Committee, AI Council).
Identify opportunities to streamline HR processes and ways of working, leverage technology, and implement best practice to enhance efficiency and experience for colleagues and line managers. Harness the skills of the team to work together towards improvements in service delivery.
Oversee the roadmap, administration, and maintenance of HR systems. Champion the use of technology to enhance HR service delivery, wherever possible.
Oversee the roadmap of MI and data development. Ensure that a MI dashboard is established. Deliver daily, weekly, and monthly MI as required by the HR Team and business.
Conduct a review of existing suppliers. Ensure working in partnership with suppliers, achieving budgets, and optimising value.
Build credible relationships with key stakeholders such as Payroll, Finance, Reward, Tech teams, the wider HR team, and Suppliers to support effective delivery of HR Services.
Partner with the HRLT’s leadership team (e.g., Head of HR (retail/ops), L&D Manager, Resourcing Manager, Reward Manager) to identify resources (skills/investment/new processes etc.) required to deliver the People plan and identify any risks and/or capacity concerns to the HRLT which may impact delivery of the HR Objectives from a Shared Services perspective.
What you will bring
You'll be a proven leader in HR Service Delivery, with a history of running HR projects from start to finish to make a real difference. Alongside this you will have an understanding of HR compliance activities, experience managing audit outcomes, and identifying future changes and impacts on HR service delivery.
It's essential you're comfortable with HR systems (including implementation) and GDPR (people data). Plus, you'll have hands-on experience using ticketing systems to manage requests, SLAs, and communication, along with a knack for writing clear operating procedures.
We’re looking for someone who can really lead and inspire our HR team, building great relationships across the business. You'll need excellent communication skills, expertise in solving problems and diving into data, and a sharp eye for detail. Most importantly, you'll be organised, highly focused on our colleagues (our customers!), and bring a high degree of integrity to managing sensitive information.
Essential knowledge includes a comprehensive understanding of the life cycle provision of HR Services, strong understanding of HR technology and systems, knowledge of data management and reporting within HR systems, and knowledge of different service delivery models and best practices.
If this sounds like you—a proactive, adaptable, and self-motivated leader with a deep understanding of HR Services, tech, and data—then we’d love to hear from you. This is a chance to truly own and shape the future of colleague experience at Wickes, driving continuous improvement with a commitment to best practice. Take accountability for making a real, positive difference in a role where your expertise will be valued every day.
