HR Advisor

Thames Water Utilities Limited; Reading; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 40,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual leave 26 days (30 with service)

Pension scheme

Hybrid/ Flexible working

Job summary

Thames Water Utilities Limited is seeking an HR Advisor on a 12-month fixed-term contract based in Reading, working in a hybrid model. The role supports employees and managers with People policy, process and system queries, aiming for first-point-of-contact resolution.

You will provide front-line advisory support via calls and email, coach managers to use self-service resources, and ensure GDPR-compliant case records.

Qualifications

• Experience in a remote, high-volume HR advisory service.
• Detailed knowledge of People policies, processes and procedures.
• Organised and responsive with a high volume of queries.
• Confident, tenacious and able to own issues to resolution.
• Experience managing challenging stakeholders.
• Active listener who coaches managers to self-serve.

Responsibilities

• Provide frontline advisory service on People policy, process and system queries.
• Deliver customer-focused advice via inbound calls and email.
• Coach line managers and employees to use self-service resources.
• Raise cases in ServiceNow when needed.
• Maintain case records in line with GDPR.
• Attend training on policy/process updates.

Skills

Remote high-volume HR advisory

Customer-focused

HR policies knowledge

Coaching managers

Stakeholder management

Excellent communication

Tools

ServiceNow

People Portal

GDPR awareness

Job description

Job title HR Advisor Ref 45692 Division People Location Hybrid - Clearwater Court - RG1 8DB Contract type Fixed term/Secondment Full/Part-time Full-time Salary Competitive salary up to £36,000 per annum, depending on experience. Job grade B Closing date 08/09/2026

12 MONTH FIXED TERM CONTRACT

The HR Advisor will play a critical role in the People Advice Service team that is responsible for providing a front-line People policy and process advice service to all Thames Water employees and managers. This role requires someone confident; customer focused and has strong knowledge of People processes, policies, and systems.

What you’ll be doing as an HR Advisor

• Providing a professional front-line advisory service that supports employees and managers with People policy, process and system queries, aiming to resolve as many at the first point of contact as possible.
• Customer-focused advice provided on inbound calls and via email.
• Coaching line managers and employees to find the information they need in the People Portal and FAQs, to support self-service.
• Raising cases in ServiceNow where the question cannot be quickly resolved.
• Ensuring that the daily short-term sickness and long-term sickness reports are uploaded and actioned in line with the agreed process each morning.
• Working with the wider teams.
• Maintaining case management records to ensure they are clear, concise and in line with GDPR.
• Attending and participating in training/updates about any system policies, processes, or procedure changes.
• Working on the telephone advice service

Base Location: Reading - Hybrid

Working Pattern: 36 Hours

What you should bring to the role

To thrive in this role, the essential criteria you’ll need are:

• Experience working in a remote and high-volume HR Advisory service using a similar HR service model/approach.
• Customer-focused, with a detailed knowledge of People policies, processes and procedures
• Highly organised and responsive, with an ability to deal with a high volume of queries each day.
• Confident and tenacious, taking ownership of issues to resolution promptly.
• Experience in managing challenging stakeholders.
• An active listener who is naturally inquisitive and able to coach managers and employees to self-serve and/or know when to escape a case.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to adapt and build rapport/provide advice to all levels.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary up to £36,000 per annum, depending on experience.
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay plan directly linked to both company and individual performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON.
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for our taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family.Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout therecruitment process . If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know,we’re here tohelp and support .

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.