People Solutions Consultant

People Solutions Consultant
Date: 29 Oct 2024
Location: Madrid, European Union, ES
Company: British Council
We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.
We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.
Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021–22 we reached 650 million people.
Pay band: Grade G / 6
Department: People Solutions
Contract type: Permanent Contract - 6 months probationary period
Location: Spain (Madrid preferred)
Start date: December 2024
Closing Date of applications: 12th November ,2024 at 23:59hrs UK Time
This role is open for applications from employees who are currently located and have the right to work in Spain. The successful candidate will remain in their current location/entity.
You must have the legal right to work in the Spain at the time of application as there is no relocation or sponsorship support.
British Council supports working in new ways such as hybrid working, subject to full approval by line management and conditional upon our ability to provide the appropriate level of service. This may not be appropriate for all roles but can be explored at interview.
Role purpose
The People Solutions Consultant is accountable for delivery of a range of operational tasks that require significant People function administrative expertise. The role will ensure that processes are adhered to effectively and efficiently, working with People Advisory and within British Council and with the MSP.
Role context
The British Council Professional Services are undergoing significant transformation. For People function, this means significant change to the delivery of HR services to business leaders, line managers and employees.
The British Council has entered a contract with a professional services partner to provide People function services covering areas such as HR Admin, Learning and Development, Pre-Appointment Screening, Pre-Payroll administration.
This partner provides an important operational and tactical component to HR operations and, as such, it is important to the British Council that this is integrated with the People function services performed by British Council to deliver value and cost effectiveness to the HR organisation and excellent service to the wider organisation and our employees.
The People Services Consultant is a member of the People Services and Solutions (PS&S) team and is based within a Hub. The People Services and Solutions hubs ensure compliance with local legislation as well as meaningful interpretation of global policy to local context. The team has a key role to play in developing organisational capability in people management through advisory services and building a continuous improvement approach to delivery of operations services.
The role reports to the Lead Operations and Payroll Manager. It will work closely with the Payroll & Data Manager, as well as country and regional leaders and managers, the managed service provider and the shared service centre.
Main accountabilities include but not limited to:
Professional services expertise
- Deliver a range of standardised HR operational processes and procedures to achieve specific and clearly measurable targets (volume, time and/or cost), including onboarding, exit management, leave management, contract and letter issuance and my HR data integrity.
- Ensure all required information and employee data are accurately maintained and updated promptly in My HR working with colleagues within and outside of HR.
- Carry out specific operational/ administrative duties required arising from specific HR country legal requirements.
- Ensure accuracy and timeliness of cyclical activities while maintaining compliance with global policies and local regulations.
Relationship and Stakeholder Management
- Work with the MSP to support high-quality delivery of People function services as required.
- Collaborate with other HR functions, business leaders, and stakeholders to support continuous improvement and enhance the overall employee experience.
Service Improvement
- Escalate issues in service delivery of HR systems and processes at regular intervals and prioritise their resolution.
- Identify opportunities for improvement to core operational processes and make recommendations to enhance service delivery and / or operational efficiency to People function leaders.
- Support development and implementation of HR operations Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), knowledge articles, process maps, and other process documents as required, and ensure their effective implementation and management.
- Use data analytics to support the continuous review of processes, systems, and the touch points between all of them to make HR operations more effective and efficient.
Role specific skills
There are three proficiency levels for HR skills: novice, developing and exemplary. The relevant proficiency level for this role is listed against each skill.
Data Literacy
Data-driven - Grasps & uses data to make decisions and inform practice (novice).
Business Acumen
Customer understanding - Understands customer needs & applies user-centric principles (novice).
People Advocacy
Risk mitigation & ethics - Ensures ethical conduct and compliance, and mitigates people risks (novice).
Execution excellence
Action orientation – Implements actionable and adaptive plans to achieve results (novice).
Problem solving – Finds practical solutions to navigate and overcome obstacles (novice).
Role specific knowledge and experience
Minimum/essential
- Experience of delivering HR operations as part of a geographically dispersed team
- Experience and understanding of core HR policies and processes
- Experience of working with an outsourced service provider or internal equivalent
Desirable
- Experience of delivering HR operations across multiple geographies
- Experience of working with SAP Success Factors
Education/Qualifications
Human Resources Master or Bachelor related with Human Resources
Professional Qualification and Certification
N/A
Language Requirements
The British Council systems and global processes operate in English. Written and verbal proficiency in English is required
For detailed Role Profile and any questions please reach out to
A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.
Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement
The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment. We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability. All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.
The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.
We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.
Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.
If you have any problems with your application please email
Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.

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