HR Administration Manager

About DFT Operator Join Our Team at DFTO

DFTO is the government’s public sector rail owning group. Its purpose is to bring all currently privately-owned train operators into public ownership in advance of the creation of Great British Railways in 2027 - and deliver improvements in the here and now by unifying and integrating train operations under common public ownership.

DFTO has over 30,000 employees, runs over 11,000 services a day and delivers over 930 million customer journeys across its networks every year. 7,000 people joined the railway family in the last year

Major improvements are being delivered by DFTO train operators (TOCs) that are already under public ownership - these are LNER, Northern, TransPennine Express (TPE), Southeastern, South Western Railway (SWR), c2c, Greater Anglia, WM Trains, GTR. and Chiltern.

We work closely with the DfT but operate independently with our own governance and leadership teams. Our priority is ensuring efficient, dependable rail services for everyone.

Primary Purpose Of Job To lead and develop a team of HR Administrators and HR Coordinators, ensuring the delivery of an efficient, compliant and customer-focused HR and payroll administration service. The role provides governance and oversight of employment documentation and payroll administration, including contracts of employment, contract variations, secondment agreements and associated employment records.

The postholder will ensure that HR policies, procedures, employment documentation and payroll processes remain compliant with current employment legislation, statutory requirements and organisational policies, while driving continuous improvement in HR processes, payroll controls and governance arrangements.

Key Competencies

• Customer focus - To lead and manage the HR Business Partner Team administrators to support service delivery, ensuring the effective delivery of accurate, timely and customer-focused HR processes.
• Collaboration - Builds positive and effective working relationships across HR, Payroll, Finance, Legal and the wider business to resolve issues, share knowledge and deliver a consistent, high-quality service.
• Commercial awareness – Makes sure HR administration and payroll processes support organisational priorities while maintaining appropriate controls and compliance.
• Solution orientation - Takes a practical and proactive approach to resolving operational issues. Identifies the root cause of problems, considers appropriate options and implements effective, proportionate solutions rather than simply escalating issues.
• Continuous improvement mindset - Actively looks for opportunities to simplify, standardise and improve HR and payroll processes. Uses feedback, management information and lessons learned to improve efficiency, accuracy, controls and the employee experience.
• Integrity and discretion - Demonstrates high standards of integrity, handling sensitive employee, pay and personal information appropriately and confidentially. Acts consistently, transparently and in accordance with organisational policies, governance requirements and data protection obligations.
• Sound judgement and decision-making - Uses evidence, professional knowledge and appropriate judgement to make timely and well-informed decisions. Recognises risk, understands when escalation is required and balances operational requirements with legal, policy and governance considerations.
• Governance & Risk Management - Maintains strong governance and control across HR administra-tion and payroll activities. Identifies and manages risks, ensures appropriate checks and audit trails are in place, and takes prompt corrective action where issues or control weaknesses are identified.

Key Responsibilities Leadership and Team Management

• Lead, manage and develop the HR administration team to deliver a high-quality service.
• Set clear objectives, monitor performance and provide coaching and development opportunities.
• Allocate workload effectively and ensure service level agreements are consistently achieved.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, customer service and operational excellence.
• Act as an escalation point for complex HR administration queries.

Employment Documentation and Governance

• Maintain ownership of standard employment documentation, including but not limited to: contracts of employment, contract variation letters, offer letters, second…