Employee Relations Advisor

Newcastle University; Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 37,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

Newcastle University is seeking an experienced People Relations Advisor (Casework) to provide expert employee relations support to managers and unions in a large, unionised environment. You will advise on disciplinary and performance issues, and help maintain an inclusive culture while leveraging employment law knowledge.

The role requires substantial HR experience in Higher Education, strong communication skills and an ability to navigate complex employee relations with stakeholders across the

Qualifications

• Substantial People Services experience across HR activities.
• Experience in Higher Education or similar large organisation.
• Evidence of supporting managers with performance and capability issues.
• Comprehensive knowledge of employment legislation.
• Well-developed influencing, facilitation and negotiating skills.
• Evidence of dealing with complex employee relations issues.
• Excellent organisational skills with ability to plan and prioritise.

Responsibilities

• Provide Employee Relations advice and coaching to managers to foster a positive ER environment.
• Draft, amend or update employment policies in line with legislative changes.
• Collaborate with People Services to provide a coordinated and efficient service.
• Offer generalist HR advice across the employee lifecycle and support HR initiatives.
• Assist with reorganisations, contract changes, redundancy TUPE and flexible working requests.
• Advise on sickness absence and coordinate with Occupational Health.

Skills

People Services experience

Higher Education experience

Employment law knowledge

Negotiation skills

Organisational skills

Stakeholder management

Union liaison

Education

First Degree

Job description

Salary: £36,636 to £38,784 with progression to £46,049 per annum

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits . We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 27 September 2026

The Role

The University has a values-led Vision and Strategy which sets out an ambitious and exciting journey, to be a people focused, world-leading university that harnesses academic excellence, innovation and creativity to advance knowledge and provide benefits to individuals, to organisations and to society as a whole. To achieve this vision, we recognise that our people, and our culture are critical to our success.

As part of this journey, we are seeking an experienced HR professional to join our People Relations and Policies Team to provide additional capacity and support as we deliver our ambitious plans.

As a People Relations Advisor (Casework) you will work closely with managers, trade union representatives, and other key stakeholders, to provide expert guidance across a broad range of employee relations and people matters, with a key focus initially being on effectively managing employee relations cases and supporting a positive and inclusive workplace culture.

If you enjoy employee relations and are looking for a role where your employment law knowledge and HR skills and experience are really valued then this is a great opportunity to join our professional and experienced People Relations Team and apply your professional expertise in a large, complex and unionised environment,

As the successful candidate you will have substantial HR experience a creative, solutions orientated approach to issue resolution and a strong track record of working collaboratively with colleagues. You will also be able to demonstrate your ability to effectively manage complex employee relations issues, drawing on your strong communication, influencing and organisational skills.

For more information, about this opportunity to make a real difference and be part of a great team, please contact Marie Richardson, Head of People Relations and Policy, [e-mail] , who would love to hear from you.

This role is full time, fixed term until October 31st 2028.

Key Accountabilities

• Provide Employee Relations advice, coaching and support to managers in order to ensure a positive Employee Relations environment is developed and maintained (e.g. disciplinary/grievance handling, severance etc.) To advise and coach managers on dealing with performance management issues
• Research, draft, amend or update employment policies in line with changing needs and legislative requirements. To provide management information to senior officers/Pro-Vice-Chancellors/Managers in order to contribute to business decisions
• Support and work alongside colleagues in People Services to provide a coordinated and efficient service in line with operational and People Services objectives
• Support the wider People Services Business Partnering team by providing generalist HR advice and operational support across the employee lifecycle, contributing to the delivery of people initiatives and ensuring consistent application of HR policies and procedures
• Support managers with a range of People Services processes, such as reorganisations, contract changes, redundancy consultation process, TUPE, Flexible working requests, etc
• Advise and support managers dealing with sickness absence. Including advising on sickness monitoring and referrals to occupational health. Working with Occupational health, colleagues and managers in resolving issues surrounding sickness absence and assisting managers as appropriate with managing outcomes. Facilitating meetings and ensuring reasonable adjustments are implemented to enable colleagues to return to work
• Be involved in negotiations with trades unions on matters effecting the contracts of employment and conditions of service for colleagues in order to ensure that matters are effectively resolved and documented and all relevant parties consulted

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Substantial People Services experience across a range of People Services (HR) activities
• People Services experience in Higher Education or similar complex and large organisation
• Evidence of supporting managers with performance and capability issues
• Comprehensive knowledge of employment legislation
• Well-developed influencing, facilitation and negotiating skills
• Evidence of dealing with complex employee relations issues
• Evidence of excellent organisational skills with the ability to plan, prioritise and deliver across a range of work activities and juggle a busy workload
• Ability to develop effective and sustainable partnerships with trade unions

Attributes and Behaviour

• Excellent communicator, at all levels, both verbal and written
• Excellent team player, who has experience of working in a collegiate way
• Strong track record working collaboratively with colleagues, at all levels, across the organisation
• Ability to influence and persuade to gain support
• Supports the University's core value of equality, diversity and inclusion through inclusive and respectful behaviour, while fostering an environment in which lawful freedom of speech and academic freedom are respected
• Creative, solution-oriented approach to issue resolution
• Resilience and sensitivity when dealing with complex people matters

Qualifications

• First Degree or equivalent experience

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality. We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.

Employee Relations Advisor • Newcastle, GB