HR Assistant

Bowmer & Kirkland Ltd.; King's Newton; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday per year

Group Personal Pension Scheme

Private Health Insurance

Enhanced family friendly policies

Eye care voucher scheme

Training & Development Opportunities

Job summary

Bowmer + Kirkland Ltd. is seeking an HR Assistant to coordinate key HR processes across the employee lifecycle and act as a first point of contact for staff and managers. You will support onboarding, records management, and casework with guidance from HR Advisors.

You will monitor data quality, assist with leaver and flexible working processes, and liaise with payroll, HR, and external partners to ensure timely, compliant actions.

Qualifications

• Strong on HR administration and data handling.
• Proactive in onboarding and leaver processes.
• Ability to liaise with managers and stakeholders with discretion.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate end-to-end onboarding, including offers and contracts and approvals.
• Maintain accuracy of employee records and HR systems.
• Support leaver processes from notification to completion.
• Coordinate family-friendly leave cases and flexible working requests.
• Triaging HR queries and escalating where needed.
• Support recruitment admin on Itrent and website postings.
• Produce routine HR reports and assist with HR projects.
• Build relationships with employees, managers and external partners.

Skills

HR administration

Data management

Stakeholder communication

GDPR knowledge

Onboarding

Tools

Itrent HRIS

Microsoft Excel

Job description

We are looking to recruit an HR Assistant to coordinate and take ownership of key operational HR processes across the employee lifecycle, acting as a trusted first point of contact for employees and managers and providing accurate, timely guidance within agreed policies and procedures. The HR Assistant will support with routine casework and correspondence, and work closely with HR Advisors to ensure matters are progressed effectively. The role will use judgement to resolve queries, improve HR processes and data quality, and contribute to HR projects.

Duties of the Role:

• Support the admin team with the end-to-end new starter process, including preparing offers and contracts, obtaining approvals and required information, liaising with stakeholders, resolving gaps and ensuring a professional onboarding experience.
• Take responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of employee records, HR systems, files and trackers, carrying out regular checks, investigating discrepancies and driving timely corrective action.
• Support the admin team with the leaver process from notification through to completion, advising managers on required steps, preparing documentation, liaising with relevant departments and ensuring actions are closed within timescales.
• Coordinate routine family-friendly leave cases, providing employees and managers with clear process guidance, monitoring key dates and entitlements, and working with HR Advisors and Payroll on more complex matters.
• Support the administration and workflow for flexible working requests, advising on the process, monitoring statutory and internal timescales, preparing documentation and highlighting potential risks or inconsistencies for HR Advisor review.
• Act as a knowledgeable first point of contact for the HR inbox, independently resolving routine policy and process queries, triaging casework and allocating or escalating matters based on urgency, complexity and risk.
• Coordinate the operational requirements of employee relations cases, maintaining case plans and records, preparing documentation, tracking actions and deadlines, and identifying missing information or procedural risks for the HR Advisor.
• Support the recruitment administration on Itrent, liaising with the communications department to get the vacancy onto the website. Support the Recruitment Business Partner and Recruitment Lead with any administration.
• Produce routine HR management information and reports, interpreting data to identify trends, gaps and required actions, and support HR projects, policy reviews and system or process improvements.
• Build trusted working relationships with employees, managers, Directors and external partners, using professional judgement to influence timely action, clarify responsibilities and maintain confidence in the HR service.
• Manage own workload and priorities with a high degree of autonomy, contribute ideas to improve the HR service, share knowledge with colleagues and undertake other duties that support team and business objectives.

• Strong coordination and written communication; sound judgement; attention to detail; understanding of contractual documentation, confidentiality and GDPR.
• Strong IT and data management skills; analytical approach; high level of accuracy; understanding of data protection and record-retention requirements.
• Ability to manage a process independently; confident stakeholder communication; discretion; ability to identify and escalation risk.
• Sensitivity and professionalism; developing employment-law knowledge; confident communication; ability to manage deadlines and interdependencies.
• Customer focus; working knowledge of HR policies; sound judgement; confident verbal and written communication; ability to manage competing priorities.
• Discretion; case coordination; attention to detail; resilience; understanding of fair process and sensitive employee matters.
• Organisational skills, professional communication; working knowledge of flexible working requirements; judgement and confidence to raise concerns.
• Strong Excel and analytical skills; ability to present information clearly; project coordination; curiosity and continuous-improvement mindset.
• Strong interpersonal skills; confidence; diplomacy; influencing skills; discretion and integrity.
• Proactive and adaptable approach; accountability; problem‑solving; teamwork; commitment to continuous professional development.

Since being established in 1923 Bowmer + Kirkland has grown to become one of the most successful privately‑owned, and family run construction groups in the UK. Our Investors in People accreditation demonstrates our commitment to our staff and we are Scheme Partners of the Considerate Constructors Scheme - something which only a select number of high performing contractors achieve.

In return we offer:

• 25 days holiday per year, plus 8 bank holidays & Christmas Eve
• Entry into the Group Personal Pension Scheme
• Private Health Insurance (subject to a qualifying period)
• Enhanced family friendly policies (subject to qualifying period)
• Eye care voucher scheme
• Training & Development Opportunities

Candidates with the relevant experience or job titles of: HR Advisor, HR Generalist, HR Officer, HR Analyst, HR Data Analyst, Human Resource Analyst, HR Assistant, HR Adviser, HR Coordinator, Human Resource Advisor may also be considered for this role.