Associate HR Consultant

VWV; West of England; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary and pension

Holiday allowance

Private healthcare

Life assurance

Discounts with local businesses

Internal training courses

Job summary

Narrow Quay HR, part of VWV, is seeking an Associate HR Consultant to support a broad client base including commercial and charitable organisations. You will advise on employee relations, contracts, performance issues and day-to-day policy matters while contributing to complex investigations, restructures and training.

Expect a collaborative team and opportunities for content creation and client engagement.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of HR experience
• CIPD Level 5 completed, Level 7 in progress
• Experience with commercial and/or charitable organisations essential

Responsibilities

• Advise on employee relations and contracts
• Handle investigations and grievance processes
• Manage restructures and consultations
• Co-present training sessions online and in person
• Contribute to content creation and client engagement

Skills

HR consulting

Client engagement

Communication

Relationship building

Education

CIPD Level 5

CIPD Level 7 (in progress)

Job description

Narrow Quay HR is a team of and trading name of VWV, a full service law firm. As a specialist HR consultancy with deep roots in the South West and beyond. We are trusted by our clients, particularly those in charities, SMEs, technology and creative sectors, to help them navigate their people challenges with confidence and clarity.

We're growing — and we're now looking for an Associate HR Consultant (Commercial Retainers) to join our expert team. This is a great opportunity if you're ready to step into a role with real responsibility, variety, and a strong pathway for development. You'll work alongside senior consultants and former employment lawyers, gain exposure to high-quality, often complex work, and build long-term relationships with clients who value what we do.

About The Role

You'll be directly involved in supporting a wide range of commercial and charity clients — acting as a first point of contact for their HR queries and advising on everything from employee relations and contracts to performance issues and day-to-day policy matters.

You'll also support and contribute to more complex pieces of work — from investigations and grievance processes to restructures and consultations. You'll play a key role in preparing materials, organising timelines, and even co-presenting training sessions online and in person. There's also plenty of scope to get involved in content creation, thought leadership, and client engagement — whether that's drafting articles, contributing to our newsletter, or helping shape how we communicate with our audience.

What makes this role stand out is the breadth of experience you'll gain, the quality of work you'll be exposed to, and the team you'll be learning from. We're collaborative, knowledgeable and genuinely invested in helping our clients — and each other — succeed.

About You

You'll already have a few years' experience in HR under your belt, ideally around 3–5 years, and you will have completed your CIPD Level 5 and may be working towards your Level 7. Given the nature of our client base, direct experience working in a range of commercial and/or charitable organisations is essential. This background enables you to hit the ground running in understanding the context, language, and challenges our clients face. Experience of working with charities and/or the creative or cultural sectors would be particularly helpful.

You're someone who's confident building relationships, clear in your communication, and comfortable managing multiple priorities. You'll be able to bring sound judgement to your work, adapt quickly to changing circumstances, and handle sensitive matters with professionalism and care.

You'll also be keen to learn – whether that's through getting involved in new types of projects, contributing ideas to help improve how we work, or deepening your understanding of employment law and HR best practice.

If you're looking for a role that will challenge you, support you, and help you develop as a well-rounded HR professional, we'd love to hear from you.

For more details of the essential and desirable experience we're looking for, please click on the attached job description link.

Why Choose Us?

Narrow Quay HR is part of VWV, which is a leading firm of solicitors, with its Head Office in Bristol. In practice this means you'll enjoy the benefits of being part of a small team but also benefit from the infrastructure that comes with being part of a larger organisation in terms of resource and support. With around 600 employees, VWV is a sizeable firm which is known for its friendly and welcoming culture where teamwork and collaboration is key.

We offer a competitive salary, pension and holiday allowance that increases after 12 months. In addition, we have an informal dress code, give you private healthcare and life assurance, as well as offering a range of discounts with local businesses. You'll also benefit from a wide range of internal training courses, so that you can continuously learn and develop your skills.

You'll be working in an inclusive environment, that promotes and values diversity, and where everyone, regardless of background, can reach their full potential.

Where Will I Be Working?

We have a truly unique and engaging culture that we hold dear. We work hard but we also love to have fun and we recognise that it's the social interaction between us that really shapes our culture.

Whilst we work to a hybrid model, for this role we would like you to work from our Bristol office at least 2 days per week, with occasional travel to our other offices in Watford, London and Birmingham. In this way, you'll benefit first-hand from our warm and friendly culture as well as facilitate cross referral opportunities from your colleagues in other teams. We are of course happy to discuss any specific requirements of hybrid working with candidates on an individual basis.

Recruitment Agencies

We're in a period of exclusive direct sourcing for this role and are not accepting applications from agencies. We politely request therefore that you do not send candidates through. Any named or anonymised profile or CV sent to us will be deemed an unsolicited approach and treated as a gift.