Associate HR Business Partner (FTC – 31/03/2026)

NHS; Reading; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in England is seeking an Associate HR Business Partner to support its mental health services division. This role involves providing professional HR advice, overseeing employee relations casework, and managing a band 5 HR Advisor. Candidates should be CIPD qualified and have a strong generalist HR background. The position is for a fixed term until March 31, 2026, with opportunities for staff development.

Benefits

Flexible working options

27 days' annual leave

Excellent learning and career development opportunities

Cycle to Work scheme

Wellbeing services

Discounts at retailers and restaurants

Generous maternity and paternity leave

Free parking

Qualifications

• CIPD qualified HR practitioner with experience in employee relations.
• Ability to advise managers on complex employee relations casework.
• Experience in a generalist HR role in a multi-skilled, unionised environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide professional HR advice to all levels of managers.
• Oversight and supervision of band 5 HR Advisor.
• Act as a point of contact for managers and staff.

Skills

Employee Relations

Generalist HR background

Communication skills

Analytical skills

Education

Degree or equivalent experience

CIPD Level 7 qualification

Job description

Associate HR Business Partner (FTC – 31/03/2026)

Band 6 AFC - Associate HR Business Partner based at Prospect Park Hospital - Reading, support our mental health inpatient operation. Fixed term contract until 31st March 2026.

We are now seeking a CIPD qualified, experienced HR practitioner to join our team to support in the Adults Mental Health division.

We are looking for someone who has a generalist HR background, particularly employee relations as you will be working closely with the HR Advisor and overseeing the full range of the employee relations casework within the Mental Health Services Division. It is essential that you are able to demonstrate your experience of advising managers on complex employee relations casework up to and including dismissal, HR policies and organisational change.

This role will provide opportunities to work more strategically in supporting your services with workforce planning, change management and transformation, engagement and building leadership capability.

As a Trust we are big on staff development and "grow your own" and can in return offer you a wealth of both inhouse and external development opportunities including the opportunity to do Affina Team Coaching.

You will report to the mental health services people business partner and work in partnership with the inpatient's leadership team supporting the delivery of employee relations casework and the development of the inpatient team's knowledge, capability and confidence in managing their teams HR processes.

Main duties of the job

Provide professional HR advice to all levels of managers across the full range of employee relations issues

Oversight and supervision of band 5 HR Advisor

Build and maintain credible relationships with Service Managers within the division ensuring complex or sensitive information is communicated in a confident way

Act as a point of contact for managers and staff seeking advice on various policies, analysing queries to offer solutions

Advise managers on recruitment processes, providing advice on the writing of job descriptions and person specifications

• Work closely with your People Business Partner to ensure that the services within your division are delivering their "people priorities".

Interview will be held on 1st Dec 2025

About us

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:

• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:

• Flexible working options to support work-life balance
• 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
• Free parking across Trust sites

Job responsibilities

The must haves for this role:

• Degree or equivalent experience
• Working towards or holding a CIPD Level 7 qualification (or equivalent experience in a generalist HR role)
• Experience working in a generalist HR role with Employee Relations in a multi-skilled professional and unionised environment
• Ability to travel to multiple sites with minimal impact on daily productivity

For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.

We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.

We're committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.

We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don't hesitate to contact: Fran Langan on [e-mail] or Mike Thomas on [e-mail] who'll be delighted to help.

Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications/Training

• Degree or equivalent experience working within a generalist HR role
• Working towards or holding a CIPD Level 7 qualification (or equivalent experience in a generalist HR role)

Previous Experience

• Experience of working autonomously within HR in a multi-skilled professional and unionised environment.
• Experience of working in a customer-driven service
• Experience of providing employee relations advice within the NHS or similar public sector organisations

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Proven ability to interpret and advise on terms and conditions of employment
• Sound and up to date knowledge of employment law
• Understanding of the importance of confidentiality, data protection and information governance
• Good understanding of HR best practice
• Advanced keyboard skills and an ability to analyse and interpret data
• Ability to prioritise workload
• Ability to work under pressure in potentially stressful situations.
• Ability to communicate sensitive information effectively with all levels of internal and external customers
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including verbal reasoning, presentation skills, influencing & persuasion skills.
• An understanding of NHS terms and conditions of service

Additional Requirements

• Ability to travel to multiple sites with minimal impact on daily productivity

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.