Medical Workforce Manager - Employee Relations

NHS; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in the UK is seeking an Employee Relations Manager to provide advisory support to medical staff. The role requires significant HR experience, knowledge of employment legislation, and the ability to manage complex employee relations matters. This fixed term contract offers an opportunity to enhance workforce productivity and deliver strong HR support. Candidates must possess a Masters in HR or equivalent experience, with a preference for those holding a Chartered CIPD qualification.

Benefits

Career development opportunities

Supportive work environment

Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience providing specialist HR advice in a large organization.
• In-depth knowledge of employment legislation and best HR practices.
• Experience working autonomously at a senior HR level.

Responsibilities

• Provide a medical HR advisory service to management.
• Lead on disciplinary and grievance investigations.
• Advise on employment law and best practices.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Organizational skills

Decision making

Flexibility

IT skills

Education

Masters qualification in Human Resources

Chartered CIPD/Fellow

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job summary

We're on the lookout for an Employee Relations Manager who has previous experience of advising on and supporting medical workforce employee relations cases to join our Medical Workforce team.

Applicants will need to have prior knowledge of medical and dental terms and conditions and knowledge of the Maintaining High Professional Standards (MHPS) framework.

This is a challenging opportunity for a high achieving HR Professional to provide employee relations support to our Chief Medical Officer and Divisional teams. You will work in a way that will improve employee experience and engagement, develop leadership and management skills and capability, and ensure we treat people with compassion and respect.

Available as a fixed term contract or secondment opportunity. (With current line manager's agreement).

Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as 'Priority' and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.

Main duties of the job

1. To provide and manage a professional, effective, business focused Medical HR advisory service to the Chief Medical Officers, Divisional Managers, Service Line Managers and Service Line Directors throughout the Trust, regarding Employee Relations matters for medical and dental staff. This will include specialist knowledge on the processes required within the Maintaining High Professional Standards (MHPS) Policy, and providing direct HR support for any formal cases.
2. To apply creative solutions to people management issues to increase workforce productivity and performance to enhance patient care and safety.
3. To provide advice and pastoral support to doctors in training, liaising with all relevant stakeholders to ensure a full rounded support package.

About us

We are a people business – where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment team on 01752 432100. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Job details

Date posted: 22 December 2025

Pay scheme: Agenda for change

Band: Band 7

Salary: £47,810 to £54,710 a year (£47,810 - £54,710 per annum)

Contract: Fixed term

Duration: 1 year

Working pattern: Full-time

Reference number: 216-NB-CO7654510

Job locations:

• Brittany House, Brest Road, Plymouth, PL6 5YE

Job responsibilities

Working autonomously, provide a comprehensive, proactive and professional expert medical HR advisory service to line managers across the Trust. This will include:

• Leading and implementing organisational change for medical staff;
• Provision of expert advice and guidance on aspects of employment law and best practice;
• Interpretation and application of national medical terms and conditions;
• Enabling and coaching managers to understand their duties and to make informed decisions on medical HR issues;
• Advice on HR policies and procedure, including complex employee relations matters;
• Specific advice on Maintaining High Professional Standards processes;

Maintain an expertise in employment law and best HR practice, in order to be able to provide accurate advice to managers and staff on employment legislation issues, and their implications for the Trust.

Provide leadership as a change agent enabling operational managers to implement, respond to and proactively prepare for change.

Design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of managing professional concerns training.

Lead on undertaking disciplinary and grievance investigations and hearings for doctors in training/medical staff, with line managers, providing support and guidance during investigations ensuring that agreed Trust procedures and MHPS are adhered to, including:

• Grievance and Bullying and Harassment;
• Performance and Conduct;
• Sickness Absence;
• Redeployment.

For further details please see attached JD and PS.

Person Specification

Qualifications (Essential)

• Masters qualification in Human Resources or equivalent demonstrable experience
• Proven evidence of commitment to continuing professional development

Qualifications (Desirable)

• Chartered CIPD/Fellow

Aptitude and abilities (Essential)

• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to prioritise
• Ability to communicate with staff at all levels of the organisation
• Ability to work flexibly to respond to changing service priorities
• Good IT skills, including Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and ability to use other systems as required
• Confidence to take decisions at the appropriate level

Knowledge & Experience (Essential)

• In depth and expert proven knowledge of employment legislation and good practice
• Significant demonstrable experience of working autonomously and at a senior level in an operational HR role, within a large, unionised organisation, providing specialist HR advice to a high standard on the full range of HR operational issues, including equal opportunities and diversity, employee relations, employment tribunal cases, TUPE and redundancy
• Demonstrable experience of advising and supporting cases in line with the Maintaining High Professional Standards framework

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Brittany House, Brest Road, Plymouth, PL6 5YE

Employer's website: https://www.plymouthhospitals.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)