This critical role, the Compliance, Audit & Resolution Lead, is the guardian of the "Brilliant Basics" within the HR team at Wickes. You will be responsible for ensuring the HR team continually meets all audit and compliance requirements. Your focus will be on proactive risk management—identifying, recording, tracking, and improving upon all risks for the HR Team to keep Wickes ahead of the game. While you will manage no direct reports, you will be required to influence stakeholders up to CPO and Director level.
Principle Accountabilities:
As the Compliance, Audit & Resolution Lead, you will:
- Audit and Compliance Oversight: Design and execute a robust annual HR audit calendar covering both internal and external requirements. Work closely with legal, audit, and compliance teams across Wickes to clarify roles and accountabilities.
- Policy and Risk Management: Act as Policy Guardian by managing upcoming legislative changes to ensure policies and processes are compliant and enabling necessary reporting to relevant committees (e.g., ROGER, Modern Slavery, Whistleblowing). Maintain the People Risk Register, identifying potential vulnerabilities and working with the HR Hub to mitigate them.
- Data Protection and Security: Serve as the primary HR point of contact for GDPR, ensuring "privacy by design" is embedded into every HR system and process. Regularly audit system access levels to ensure colleague data visibility is strictly limited to those who require it.
- Resolution and Improvement: Focus on "Closing the Loop" by fixing the root cause of errors through improving processes, education, or systems across the HR Team. Create a change framework to ensure all key decisions are recorded for audit purposes.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Provide the HR Services Team with monthly audit performance reports and deliver quarterly People Compliance updates to the HRLT. You will need to build credible relationships with key stakeholders, including Payroll, Finance, Reward, Tech teams, and the wider HR team.
- Coaching: Coach and mentor HR team members to ensure audit and compliance principles are built into the function’s "DNA," ensuring tasks and activities add value.
We’re a team. And teams work best together when they know and respect one another. Listen and learn from one another. So we offer a hybrid working model with three days a week based in our Northampton offices. Giving you the support you need to do well at work, and the flexibility to make life work for you.
We’re an award-winning business with an open, safe environment where people can thrive. With the freedom to be themselves, it’s a place where we’ll ask for your ideas, listen to your opinions and value the contributions you make. Chances are you’ve never experienced anything quite like our culture.
What are we looking for?
Compliance and Audit Expertise:
- Experience managing audits across various processes, managing HR compliance, and familiarity with GDPR compliance as it relates to HR data.
- Process Improvement: Experience writing or developing operating procedures for efficiency, and an understanding of continuous improvement practices.
- Stakeholder Management: Strong relationship-building skills and experience communicating regularly with teams and senior stakeholders.
- Analytical Abilities: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, proficiency in data analysis and interpretation, and the ability to spot errors and inconsistencies in documentation.
- Professional Attributes: High level of integrity and discretion when handling sensitive and confidential information. Highly organised, proactive, self-motivated, and adaptable.
- Knowledge: Understanding of HR Processes, HR and Payroll activities, and experience working in a regulatory environment.
Preferred Qualifications & Experience:
- Degree level qualification or professional certification such as CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) or equivalent.
- Sound understanding of legal changes to ensure compliance across processes and policies.
- Experience working in a customer-centric industry with regulation.
What we can offer you.
You’ll be supported by some fantastic training and development and have the opportunity to learn, grow and develop
We’ll also equip you with a benefits package that includes
- Competitive salary and annual bonus
- Save-as-you-earn scheme
- Contributory pension scheme
- Colleague discount
- Discount platform including savings and cash back at numerous retailers, savings on gym membership, cycle to work scheme
Our widely recognised wellbeing strategy is something we’re proud of at Wickes. As part of this, we offer a range of health and wellbeing benefits and support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, financial education & loans, and access to parental, menopause and fertility support.
About Us:
We’re a down-to-earth business, and how we work is special. That’s down to our unique culture. We believe in doing what’s right – winning for our customers, our communities, our planet and our people. We take pride in being an open, welcoming place where everyone feels at home. Where you can be yourself, do your best work and make a positive difference every day.
We are a multi-channel retailer operating in the home improvement market. With 40 years in industry, Wickes now generates revenue in excess of £1.5Bn across 230 stores delivered by 8,000+ colleagues.
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