People Administrator (HR Administrator)

Dobbies Garden Centres Ltd; City of Edinburgh; Hybrid; GBP 23,000 - 29,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Holiday 33 days

Hybrid working

Pension

Season ticket loans

Retail Trust

Dobbies Academy

Study assistance

Job summary

Dobbies Garden Centres Ltd. invites applications for a People Administrator based at our Central Support Office in Lasswade. This hybrid role supports the People team across recruitment, onboarding, payroll, learning and HR systems, acting as the first line of support for colleagues across stores.

You’ll triage queries, manage system admin tasks, and help ensure compliant, timely admin across the employee lifecycle, with a focus on service excellence and collaboration within the team.

Qualifications

• Experienced administrator with confident, clear communication skills.
• Adapts well to change and shifting priorities while hitting deadlines.
• Curious mindset with a genuine appetite for learning.
• Proactive about spotting and driving process improvements.

Responsibilities

• Act as first-line support on the People desk and triage queries.
• Support recruitment: onboarding letters, contracts and candidate communications.
• Coordinate onboarding: system credentials and equipment for new starters.
• Assist Learning & Development with LMS queries and external training.
• Provide payroll system and HR process support.
• Maintain compliance documentation and Right to Work checks.
• Handle HR system administration and general People team admin.

Skills

Administrative experience

Communication skills

Adaptability

Process improvement

Problem solving

Team player

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

People Administrator (HR Administrator) | Central Support Office, Lasswade | Hybrid

Join our People team as a People Administrator and you'll be right at the heart of the action: the first point of contact for colleagues across our stores and a key support to our People Partner. Every query you resolve and every process you keep running smoothly has a direct, real-world impact on our colleagues' working lives and, in turn, on the customers they serve.

Based at our Central Support Office in Lasswade, this is a hybrid role (3:2, work from home and the office in a pattern that suits you, with the option to come in more often if you prefer).

The Role

You’ll own the day-to-day administration for our People team, acting as the first line of support on our ticket desk and shared inboxes (triaging, resolving and escalating queries to the right specialist). You’ll get involved across the full employee lifecycle: recruitment and onboarding, learning and development, compliance, payroll support and People (HR) systems: a great grounding if you’re looking to build a broader career in HR/People.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Act as first-line support on the People team ticket desk and shared email inboxes: reviewing, resolving and escalating queries as needed
• Support the full recruitment process: system administration, issuing onboarding letters/contracts and candidate communication
• Support onboarding: Coordinating system credentials/equipment for new starters
• Support Learning & Development with LMS queries/admin and arranging external training
• Provide ad hoc support to Payroll with query resolution and system support
• Support the People Operations team with administration across the employee relations lifecycle
• Check and track compliance documentation, including Right to Work checks, so records stay accurate and up to date
• Co-manage People service desk queries through to resolution, escalating where required
• Handle People (HR) systems administration: creating posts, new starter onboarding and contract changes
• Provide general People team admin: expense claims, travel and purchase order bookings and personnel file maintenance
• Get involved in project work across the wider People strategy
• Use Microsoft Office daily: spreadsheets, calendar management, Teams and letter creation

About You

• Experienced administrator with confident, clear communication skills
• Adapts well to change and shifting priorities while hitting deadlines
• Curious mindset with a genuine appetite for learning
• Proactive about spotting and driving process improvements
• A great listener who asks the right questions to get to the root of an issue and tailors their approach to the audience
• Self-aware, open to feedback and comfortable owning and learning from mistakes
• Lives our values: one team getting better every day, bringing a smile, living and breathing gardens, and making it work for our customers

What We Offer

• Holiday — 33 days' annual leave per year
• Discount — generous, uncapped colleague discount: 50% off in our Restaurants, 25% off in the Garden Centre and 10% off in our Food Halls
• Hybrid working — a mix of office and home working to support your work-life balance
• Pension — company-contributed enhanced Group Pension Plan
• Season ticket loans — spread the cost of travel, interest-free
• Stream — access earnings ahead of payday, save for the future and get financial advice
• Retail Trust — confidential support, a Virtual GP, free counselling and discounted retail rewards
• Dobbies Academy — eLearning and development programmes to keep growing your career
• Study assistance — funded courses and qualifications
• A collaborative office space - a wellbeing room, learning resources and a book swap
• Invitations to our annual company conference, summer and Christmas social events