Transformation HR Specialist

About The Institute

The world of professional accountancy is changing at an unprecedented pace, adapting to its crucial role in climate reporting, AI and emerging technologies, increasingly sophisticated regulation, and evolving ways of working. This pace of change ensures that the non-stop demand for professional accountants and their services will continue to grow and expand to 2030 and beyond.

Chartered Accountants Ireland, the longest established and fastest growing professional accountancy body on the island of Ireland, is changing rapidly too, drawing on best-in-class organisational design and state-of-art digital solutions to provide forward-looking education, support, and regulation to members, firms, and students in the years ahead. We are embarking on a business transformation programme, the most exciting and ambitious in our 135-year history.

Institute Values

The Institute seeks to ensure an environment based on its values of Innovation with Ambition, Collaboration for Impact, Speed and Simplicity, Trust, Inclusion, and For Tomorrow, For Good. Candidates should be able to demonstrate how these may apply to them in the role for which they are applying and how their previous experience is relevant to them.

The role:

We are seeking a skilled and dynamic transformation HR specialist on a fixed term contract to support development initiatives within the Institute. Working alongside HR colleagues, you will support the development of skills, impact assessments and resourcing plans of transformational projects, ensuring seamless transitions while minimising disruption and maximizing benefits realisation. Your expertise will be essential in guiding teams, stakeholders, and employees through the change process, fostering a positive and adaptive culture while also enabling leaders to act as change accelerators on their teams. This role will report to the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development.

Key Responsibilities:

Talent Development

Job Description Creation and Enhancement:

• Develop and maintain accurate, detailed, and engaging job descriptions aligned with our competency framework and organizational values. Collaborate with hiring managers and department heads to ensure job descriptions accurately reflect the roles' responsibilities, requirements, and growth opportunities.
• Optimize job descriptions for online platforms, especially LinkedIn, to enhance visibility to attract top talent.

Competency Framework and Gap Analysis:

• Work closely with cross-functional teams to identify key competencies required for success in various roles within the organization against the target operating model.
• Conduct thorough competency assessments to evaluate the existing skills of employees and identify competency gaps.
• Collaborate with the Institute’s Educational team and HR teams to design and recommend targeted training programs to bridge competency gaps, enhance team performance, and foster professional growth within the context of an agile organisation.

Skills Identification and Team Alignment:

• Partner with department leaders to assess and document the skills, strengths, and development areas of current team members.
• Analyse team skill sets to identify opportunities for cross-training, upskilling, and knowledge sharing.
• Collaborate with managers to create personalized development plans that foster skill growth and career progression.
• Design high-impact programs, leveraging online learning & face to face to offer an effective learner experience and promotes new ways of learning

Other Training Development responsibilities;

• Review participant progress, engagement, and development on development programmes.
• Design and deliver relevant stakeholder communication before, during and after programme participation
• Responsible for end-to-end programme management, (agreeing participation, training providers and training coordination)
• Manage the process and follow up actions with relevant HRBPs and senior leaders

Talent Acquisition

• Manage the end to end recruitment process from job description development, screening, interviewing to select the best candidate for the role.
• Collaborate with HR Team to create and execute a comprehensive talent strategy that emphasizes reducing agency costs while attracting high-quality candidates.
• Identify the most effective recruitment channels, including direct sourcing, employee referrals, job boards, and social media, to maximize candidate engagement and reduce external agency reliance.
• Demonstrate our commitment to Diversity & Inclusion through the full acquisition process, attraction, application, screening, interview, selection, contract terms & onboarding
• Regularly analyse recruitment metrics and provide insights to continuously refine the recruitment strategy.
• Develop and execute strategies for tapping into passive talent pools, including industry-specific networking events, online communities, and professional platforms.
• Develop and utilise all mediums to promote our employer brand position both internally and externally.
• Build relationships with potential candidates and maintain a pipeline of passive candidates for current and future roles.
• Provide constructive feedback to candidates throughout the recruitment and selection process.
• Collaborate with hiring managers to match passive candidates' skills with open positions and proactively initiate conversations.

Policies:

Abide by Chartered Accountants Ireland policies, standards and initiatives locally including but not exclusively in relation to Performance management, relevant codes of conduct, Data protection, IT policies, health & safety, etc.

The candidate 

This position requires knowledge of several areas including:

• Strong understanding of competency frameworks and their application in aligning job descriptions, skills assessment, and employee development
• Proficiency in utilizing LinkedIn and other online platforms for talent attraction and recruitment
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to collaborate effectively with various stakeholders.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to derive insights from data and metrics to refine strategies.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail in creating and maintaining comprehensive job descriptions.
• Team-oriented approach with the ability to build relationships and work collaboratively across departments.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to changing priorities and handle multiple projects simultaneously.

Education & Experience

• Proven experience (5+ years) in talent acquisition, recruitment strategy development, and job description creation, preferably in the finance or professional sectors.
• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business Administration, or a related field. Master's degree or HR certification is a plus.

• Experience in managing diverse stakeholders at different levels of the organisation.
• Microsoft 365 Experience (SharePoint, Yammer, Team, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• CIPD Certification a plus.

Flexible work arrangements

The Institute is seeking and encourages applications from experienced candidates who may be looking for flexible work arrangements. If such arrangements are being sought please bring these to the attention of your interviewer.

The Institute will use the information which you have provided in this form to respond to your request or process your application and will hold and protect it in accordance with the Institute's privacy statement, which explains your rights in relation to your personal data.  By submitting this application acknowledge you have read our privacy statement.

Chartered Accountants Ireland is an equal opportunities employer.

How to apply:

Applications, including curriculum vitae, should be sent directly via email to hr@charteredaccountants.ie or alternatively be sent via post to:

Human Resource Department
Chartered Accountants Ireland,
Chartered Accountants House,
47 Pearse Street,
Dublin 2