The HR Partner Team provide a key enabling role, designed to support the University’s ambitions to have a positive and engaging working environment in which all employees can flourish and where best practices in pursuit of that objective are embedded in each School and Unit.

The HR Partners predominantly work closely with those holding people management responsibilities and senior management teams. Through a partnership approach, with managers and other specialist colleagues, they ensure appropriate and fit for purpose strategies are implemented, that are consistent with University objectives and values, and the specific goals of the School/Unit. They operate in a consulting mode, assisting with diagnosis of issues, bringing clarity to outcomes desired and the selection of appropriate strategies.

Although reporting directly to the HR function and operating as a team, HR Partners are physically located in the College or Units they support, to ensure that they are accessible and fully integrated into their assigned portfolio of responsibility. HR Partners are members of the College/Vice-President Leadership Team for the areas they work in, which is critical to the effectiveness of their role.‌

Find out more about the role of the HR Partner in UCD.

People Development & Organisation Effectiveness

The People Development and Organisation Effectiveness team is responsible for the design and delivery of a range of university-wide development initiatives which are aligned with the University strategy. A central focus is the building of a performance and development culture and this team is leading on several associated projects;

• UCD Leadership & People Manager Programme - a comprehensive suite of development support offerings for those with people management and development responsibilities and those in leadership roles of all types.
• Introduction of Functional and Behavioural Competencies situated within a Job Family Framework, enabling meaningful career and development planning, and facilitating the introduction of a Performance and Development system suitable to a university environment.
• The development of an organisation design framework and toolkit to enable a more structured approach to organisation design thinking and decision-making.

Toolkits and frameworks which enhance skills and practices in areas such as high performing teams and implementing change effectively will also be developed over time. Ongoing work within this area also includes working closely with HR Partners in diagnosing issues and designing bespoke development responses for Schools and Units, supporting the Researcher Career and Development Framework, the annual programme of general Training, Development and Wellbeing events, the Faculty Development and Promotions Framework, and Job Grading.

We recognise that lifelong learning is essential for developing individual careers and for dealing the with demands of an increasingly complex and changing work and societal environment. Our aim is to support individuals and groups to address some of these challenges through the provision of a comprehensive development portfolio.

We provide a wide range of training and development courses which reflect the UCD competency frameworks, enabling employees to engage with programmes which will support development goals identified through the Performance for Growth process. Leadership and people management skills development are delivered through dedicated programmes involving classroom based learning as well as coaching and mentoring wrap arounds. Our team can also work with managers to design bespoke training and development solutions to enhance the overall effectiveness of established teams.