Human Resources Analyst

The mission This is not an opportunity to inherit a perfectly organised reporting environment, refresh a few dashboards and keep everything ticking over. The business is going through a period of genuine change. Some workforce reporting is still heavily reliant on Excel. Information is held across different sources, some processes remain more manual than they should be, and the systems landscape is changing. Existing shared service support is also being brought back into the organisation, which means the HR team is taking ownership of responsibilities that have previously sat elsewhere. The successful person will help the function make sense of that complexity and build something more accurate, robust and useful. Your goal will be to bring order and clarity to workforce data. You will improve how information is collected, checked, analysed and presented, giving HR and operational leaders a clearer view of headcount, attendance, absence, overtime, workforce trends and other important people measures. This is not about producing spreadsheets full of numbers and sending them to somebody else to interpret. The real value will come from understanding what the data is saying, identifying the important points and explaining them simply. You should be comfortable moving between detailed analysis and a short, practical conversation with a senior stakeholder about what has changed, why it matters and what may need to happen next. What you will be taking on You will own and improve the workforce metrics and reporting activity that supports the wider HR function. This will include:

• Improving the accuracy, consistency and accessibility of workforce data
• Producing management information, reports and dashboards that support better decisions
• Strengthening headcount reporting and helping connect workforce information with finance and operational requirements
• Supporting reporting around attendance, absence, overtime, working time requirements and other workforce measures
• Producing the monthly business scorecard with clear and useful commentary
• Taking information from multiple sources and turning it into a simple, credible view of what is happening
• Identifying gaps, inconsistencies and weaknesses in existing reporting and putting better controls in place
• Supporting new systems, technical enhancements and more automated ways of working
• Helping colleagues understand and use people systems effectively
• Documenting important processes and improving how information moves through the employee lifecycle
• Supporting data governance, privacy, compliance and audit activity
• Working across HR, finance and operations to resolve discrepancies and improve confidence in the numbers The formal scope also includes ownership of reporting for critical people processes such as pay reviews and headcount management, development of new tools to track workforce trends and KPIs, and support for data governance and audit requirements. The systems environment The current environment includes Workday, Workforce Autotime, Selia and Real time, with a significant amount of reporting still managed through Excel. The direction of travel is towards stronger dashboarding and more structured use of tools such as Power BI. The organisation is also moving towards Selia, which is based on SAP SuccessFactors. Experience with Workday, SAP, SuccessFactors or another HR or payroll platform would be useful, but knowledge of one specific system is not essential. What matters more is that you understand how data moves through systems, can recognise when something does not look right and can help build a more reliable reporting environment. Who this could suit You do not need to have spent your whole career in HR. You might currently be working as an HR Analyst, People Analyst, Workforce Analyst, HRIS Analyst or Payroll Analyst. Equally, you could come from finance, FP&A, management information, business analysis, reporting, operations or another analytical role where you have worked with headcount, labour costs, attendance, capacity, productivity or similarly complex operational data. Previous exposure to HR systems, workforce processes or the employee lifecycle would certainly help. However, the business is open to someone from a broader analytical background who can understand the context, learn the relevant people measures and communicate confidently with HR and operational stakeholders. Experience within manufacturing would be helpful because the environment involves headcount, overtime, shift patterns, attendance and time recording. Comparable experience from logistics, distribution, retail or another large, rostered workforce could also translate well. What you will need
• Strong Excel capability, including pivot tables, lookups, advanced formulas and ideally Power Query
• Experience handling, validating and analysing large datasets
• The ability to combine information from several sources and identify inconsistencies
• Experience producing reports, dashboards or management information
• The judgement to distinguish an important insight from background detail
• The communication skills to explain data clearly to people who are not analysts
• Confidence answering questions about how you reached a conclusion
• Strong attention to detail and a high standard of accuracy
• An understanding of confidentiality, data privacy and GDPR
• The ability to work independently while building relationships across different functions Power BI, BusinessObjects or similar reporting experience would be valuable. Knowledge of HR systems, payroll systems, headcount reporting, time and attendance, workforce planning or Working Time Directive reporting would also be advantageous. What makes this opportunity different There is a genuine opportunity to improve something rather than simply maintain it. The organisation is honest that its current reporting and systems environment is not yet where it wants it to be. Some reporting needs simplifying, some processes need rebuilding and some information needs to become more robust before it can support the level of decision making and compliance assurance the business requires. You will not be expected to create perfection on your first day. You will be expected to understand the current position, establish what can be trusted, improve what cannot and gradually create a reporting environment that gives people greater confidence in the information in front of them. The role will continue to evolve as the team, systems and processes mature.