HR Assistant | The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust; Manchester; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare institution in Manchester is seeking an exceptional HR Assistant to join their HR Advisory Team. This role involves providing comprehensive administrative support, managing sensitive information, and contributing to various HR activities in a collaborative environment. The ideal candidate will have strong communication skills, attention to detail, and experience in HR administrative tasks. Opportunities for professional growth and development in HR are also available.

Qualifications

• Experience in formal minute taking in meetings.
• Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion.
• Experience in providing administrative support in HR.

Responsibilities

• Provide confidential HR advice and support.
• Manage HR administrative inboxes and respond to queries.
• Provide support to the HR advisory team for audits.

Skills

Communication skills

Customer service skills

Organisational skills

Attention to detail

Interpersonal skills

Self-motivation

Initiative

Confidentiality

Education

Understanding of GDPR and data protection

HR-related qualifications (preferred)

Tools

Microsoft Office

HR systems/databases

Job description

Overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a proactive individual to join our HR Advisory Team. We’re looking for an exceptional HR Assistant to join our collaborative team, where your skills will help shape a positive experience for staff across the organisation.

The successful candidate will have the chance to make a real difference to our staff and patients by providing comprehensive administrative support to the HR Function. In this role, you’ll support a wide range of HR activities, ensuring administrative excellence and contributing to a high-performing, people-focused environment. You’ll be trusted to manage sensitive information with discretion, juggle competing priorities, and embrace new technologies to streamline our ways of working.

As an HR Admin Assistant you will predominantly be providing administration support to the HR Advisory Service. However, you will be working in an environment with a strong “one team” approach.

You will have excellent communication and customer-service skills, the ability to work alone and as part of a team, as well as excellent attention to detail. You will also have up-to-date knowledge of Microsoft Office and experience of using, updating and maintaining databases for record keeping e.g. HR systems. You will also need experience in formal minute taking in a variety of settings including committee meetings and staff forums, with the ability to produce clear, accurate, and confidential records of key discussions, decisions, and action points.

You will have:

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build positive working relationships and communicate effectively at all levels, both verbally and in writing.
• Self-motivation and initiative, with the confidence to manage your own workload and remain productive in a fast-paced HR setting.
• Excellent organisational skills, with a proven ability to prioritise competing demands and meet deadlines without compromising accuracy.
• Meticulous attention to detail, ensuring consistency and precision in HR records, documentation, and administrative processes.
• A solid understanding of confidentiality, GDPR, and data protection principles when handling sensitive employee information.
• A forward-thinking mindset, open to using AI tools and technologies to enhance efficiency, automate routine tasks, and improve data accuracy.

The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.

We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years.

We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.

Duties and responsibilities

HR advice

1. Provide confidential first level advice and support in line with HR policies, while ensuring full compliance with GDPR and data protection regulations.
2. To liaise with occupational health regarding sickness absence cases and utilise that information to advise and support managers as appropriate.
3. To support managers in the distribution of sensitive and confidential letters to a professional standard regarding all other employment matters.

Reporting and data

1. To develop and maintain accurate databases relating to HR metrics and activity. This includes analysing and reporting on data as required.
2. To fully utilise the business intelligence reporting functions to provide valuable management information.
3. To provide data for reporting purposes and to support proactive management of cases.
4. To provide response to requests for information (eg. FOI and subject access requests).
5. To be responsible for maintaining accurate systems and documentation in relation to all HR activity, as required in line with current databases and to support in the development of new data collection methods.
6. Support the HR advisory team to undertake audits on departmental procedures and activity standards and ensure compliance and integrity.

Administrative support

1. To provide administrative support for the HR team including meeting and room bookings and associated arrangements, letter and template production for managers and staff for a range of HR activities.
2. To provide support to the advisory team to organise, prepare for and administrate employee relations activities, including investigations and hearings.
3. Manage multiple HR administrative inboxes, responding to a wide range of email queries with professionalism, accuracy, and timely follow-up.
4. Take accurate minutes during a range of meetings, including employee relations cases, formal committees, and staff forums, ensuring clear and confidential documentation of key discussions and actions.
5. To support other teams with data input into HR systems and resourcing activity to provide cover during peaks or workload.
6. Review and identify opportunities to improve administrative processes, suggesting more efficient or effective ways of working within the HR function.

Project work

1. Support Organisational Development (OD) initiatives by providing administrative assistance, coordinating activities, and contributing to project delivery where required.
2. Support the delivery of HR projects as required, which may include activities such as data collection and drafting communications.

Other

1. Attend training relevant for the post.
2. Identify own training needs, in consultation with line manager, and attend relevant courses/study days to enhance personal development.
3. Participate in the induction of new staff to the HR team.

This is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a progressive HR team that values innovation, integrity, and collaboration. If you’re ready to make a meaningful impact and grow your career in HR, we’d love to hear from you.

This advert closes on Monday 10 Nov 2025