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Job Description: Part-Time HR
You can work part-time at all levels in HR or human resources - assistant, administrator, officer, advisor and manager.
See the individual job profiles for detailed descriptions of the various roles. However, they all involve delivering a HR service to the organisation you work for.
Depending on your level and the size and scale of organisation, your responsibilities will cover the following areas:
- Recruitment and retention
- Employment law
- Training & development
- Employee and union relations
- Project management
- Pension and payroll administration
- You'll be working closely with full-time HR personnel, and possibly line managers and indvidual employees of the organisation.
Hours and Environment
Flexibility is generally inherent in part-time work, and the hours you may work can vary greatly depending on the organisation's needs and your own. After all, work-life balance may be your main motivation for working part-time
You may be expected to work the equivalent of two and a half to three days, which could be either a full week over less hours, or full days.
As with full time work, you'll be mainly office-based, although you may have to travel to other branches if it's a larger organisation.
Skills and Interests
The general skills required for full-time work apply just as much for part-time.
You should:
- Enjoy working with people
- Be patient, tactful, diplomatic and approachable
- Have good commercial awareness
- Have good spoken and written communication skills
- Respect the importance of confidentiality, as you will be dealing with employees' personal details
- Have good organising skills
- Have problem solving skills
- Be able to work as part of a team
- Be able to work accurately, with good attention to detail
- Be able to use databases, spreadsheets, word processing and accounts packages.
Entry
Again, the normal requirements apply for jobs at various levels. However, if anything, experience is even more valuable as you'll have less time to acquire it on the job. The same applies for CIPD qualifications.
There are no minimum entry requirements, and some people enter via routine administrative or clerical jobs in HR departments.
At manager/officer level, most people have a Higher National Certificate or Diploma (HNC/HND) or a degree. For details of qualification equivalents see:
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
Scottish Qualifications Authority
Training
Most people are trained on-the-job. You company may provide you with the opportunity to gain CIPD qualifications and membership, although this may be less likley than with full-time personnel.
These include:
The Certificate in Personnel Practice, that (CPP) provides you with a practical grounding in basic personnel skills. There are no minimum entry qualifications.
The Certificate in Recruitment and Selection (CRS) gives specialist knowledge.
The Professional Development Scheme (PDS) has four parts: core management, people management and development, specialist and generalist personnel and development and applied personnel and development. You can complete one module to gain Licentiate membership of CIPD; complete of all four modules for Graduate membership.
NVQs/SVQs are available at Level 3 in Personnel Support, at Level 4 in Personnel Management, and at Level 5 in Personnel Strategy. These are alternative qualifications for meeting some of the standards for CIPD membership.
Some BA Business Studies or similar degrees, and some postgraduate qualifications will give you exemption from the CIPD Professional Qualification Scheme. Contact CIPD directly for a list of these courses.
Opportunities
The future of the HR profession looks bright. Today, very few companies don't have an HR department and many are increasing its size. Given the trend towards flexible working, and the emphasis placed on work-life balance in some quarters, there should also be an increasing range of part-time opportunities in future.
Vacancies are advertised in specialist trade journals and tend to be on a one-off basis.
If you're experienced, you'll find that HR skills are universal, and although some aspects may change from company to company the core HR elements don't.
Annual Income
Figures are for guidance only.
Your pay will depend on your level, experience and the time you actually work.
Typically, an HR officer could earn £20,000 to £25,000 for 18 hours.
At manager level you could earn up to £45,000 for a three day week.
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