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Competrace
Human resources · Level 1 of 5

HR Coordinator job description

An HR Coordinator runs HR admin, records and hiring logistics using set procedures. It is the human resources role at level 1 of 5, measured against the same skills as every other rung on the ladder.

This is what human resources teams expect from an HR Coordinator. 36 skills, each with the mastery level set for this rung. It is the same framework Competrace ships to new customers, so you can read it here and import it as-is.

Skills and expected level

HR Coordinator only.

Human resources — HR Coordinator
Runs HR admin, records and hiring logistics using set procedures.

REQUIRED SKILLS
Talent Acquisition
- Job Requisition and Role Scoping — You can take down a hiring request on the standard requisition form and check that the budget approval, title and start date are filled in before it moves on.
- Candidate Sourcing and Screening — You can source candidates yourself through boards, referrals and direct search, and screen them consistently against the agreed criteria with a written reason for each decision.
- Structured Interview Design — You can schedule a structured interview and make sure every panel member has the same question set and scoring guide before it starts.
- Offer Management and Pre-Employment Checks — You can make a standard offer within approved terms, answer the candidate's questions about it, and chase outstanding checks so nobody starts without them.
- New Hire Onboarding Delivery — You can run onboarding for new starters end to end, lining up equipment, access and induction with the manager so the first day goes to plan.

Employee Relations
- Employee Relations Case Handling — You can log an employee concern accurately and confidentially, and pass it to the right person on the same day.
- Workplace Investigation Conduct — You can take accurate notes in an investigation meeting and keep the evidence file complete and confidential.
- Disciplinary and Grievance Procedure Management — You can prepare the standard letters for a disciplinary or grievance meeting from templates, and check that the dates and rights they state are correct.
- Employment Law Application — You can find the relevant policy or legal guidance for a routine question and pass it to a colleague who confirms the answer.
- Absence and Leave Management — You can administer sickness and family leave cases correctly, including pay and return dates, and answer employee questions about their entitlement.

HR Operations
- HR Records and HRIS Administration — You can keep employee records accurate unaided, run checks that catch missing or wrong data, and fix it at the source.
- Payroll Input and Benefits Administration — You can prepare an accurate monthly payroll input unaided, and process benefit enrolments and changes without errors reaching payslips.
- HR Policy Writing and Maintenance — You can find the current version of a policy and answer a simple question about what it says.
- People Data Reporting and Analytics — You can pull a standard headcount or turnover report from the HR system and check the figures before sending it.
- HR Compliance and Audit Readiness — You can keep compliance records, such as work-eligibility and mandatory training records, up to date for the people you look after.

Performance & Growth
- Performance Review Cycle Administration — You can run a review cycle for a group of teams, answer questions on the process, and chase late or missing reviews to completion.
- Manager Coaching on People Issues — You can point a manager to the right policy, template or guidance for a people question they bring you.
- Learning Needs Analysis — You can collect training requests from managers and record them in one place with the reason given for each.
- Compensation Benchmarking and Pay Banding — You can look up a role in a salary survey or the pay band table and report its range accurately.

People Strategy
- Workforce Planning — You can keep an accurate record of headcount, open roles and planned leavers for the teams you support.
- Organisational Design and Change — You can update organisation charts and role records accurately once a change is approved.
- Employee Engagement Measurement — You can send out an engagement survey on schedule and track the response rate by team.

Delivery
- Project Management — You can keep track of your own tasks and deadlines, keep your to-do list current, and say as soon as you know something you own will be late.
- Planning & Estimation — You can estimate how long a task will take once the approach is clear, and you say promptly when the estimate turns out to be wrong.
- Ownership & Accountability — You can stay responsible for work after you hand it over: you check it did what it was meant to, put right your own mistakes, and never need chasing for an update.
- Quality Focus — You can choose checks that suit the task in front of you, catch your own mistakes before anyone else sees them, and confirm the result works once people start using it.

Craft
- Problem Solving — You can work out what is wrong in work you did not create, and you fix the underlying cause instead of working around the symptom.
- Domain Expertise — You can apply the basics of your field to the work you are given, and you know who to consult at the edge of what you know.
- Continuous Learning — You can pick up an unfamiliar area fast enough to be useful in it, and you turn what you learned into something others can reuse.

Communication
- Communication — You can explain your work to your team so they can act on it, and when a request is vague you ask the questions that sharpen it.
- Collaboration — You can work well with people in other roles, share context and credit, and take criticism of your work without defending territory.
- Writing & Documentation — You can document your own work well enough for a colleague to follow it unaided, such as a how-to guide or a handover, and keep it current as things change.
- Stakeholder Management — You can keep your manager and immediate team informed of your progress, and you raise an issue before someone else discovers it.

Leadership
- Leadership — You can act on direction well, seek feedback on how you work, and be open about what you need help with.
- Mentoring — You can share what you have just learned with your peers and help a newer colleague find their way around.
- Strategic Thinking — You can explain why the work you were given matters and who it is for.

HR Coordinator: common questions

Runs HR admin, records and hiring logistics using set procedures. About the human resources framework: An in-house HR ladder from coordinator to head of people, covering recruitment, employee relations, HR operations, performance, reward and workforce planning. An HR Coordinator is rated across all 9 skill areas in that framework, at the mastery this level expects.

An HR Coordinator is the first rung of this ladder, so the comparison runs upward: of the 36 skills both rungs are rated on, 32 expect more of an HR Generalist. The first to move is Employee Relations Case Handling: an HR Generalist is expected to reach “You can manage sensitive or disputed cases directly, keep both sides informed and treated fairly, and know when a case needs to move to a formal process”.

36 skills across 9 areas: Talent Acquisition, Employee Relations, HR Operations, Performance & Growth, People Strategy, Delivery, Craft, Communication, Leadership. The highest bar at this rung is Proficient, reached by only one; the job description on this page writes out what every skill means at this level.

Import this exact framework into your own org

Create a free account, then add human resources from Departments → Add from template: all 36 skills, with the mastery expected at each of your 5 career levels — already filled in. Rename or delete anything you don’t want.