People Advisor

Brett; Canterbury; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Generous pension

25 days annual leave

Job summary

Brett is seeking a People Advisor to provide maternity cover on a 12-month fixed-term contract and deliver professional HR support across multiple sites. The role focuses on employee relations, early case resolution, and coaching managers to apply policies consistently.

Based in Canterbury with travel to other Brett sites as needed, the role supports the Group Head of People and helps establish core people principles across the business.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years’ experience in an employee relations focused HR role across multiple sites.
• Experience delivering people related training.
• CIPD qualified minimum Level 5 or working towards Level 7.
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to communicate at all levels.
• Excellent time management, planning and organisational skills.
• Solid knowledge of employment law and best practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert HR advice to managers on ER matters.
• Support and attend disciplinary, grievance and capability meetings.
• Coach managers to ensure best practice and policy application.
• Identify and manage risk; escalate complex cases.
• Analyze key people data to identify trends and drive improvements.
• Design and deliver HR training to build manager capability.
• Support onboarding and induction of new managers.
• Partner with operational teams to ensure smooth HR processes.
• Maintain strong presence across Brett sites via regular site visits.
• Support wider HR and business projects as required.

Skills

Employee relations

Training delivery

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Time management

Education

CIPD Level 5 or working towards Level 7

Job description

About The Role

Purpose of the job:

We are looking for a People Advisor to join our team on a 12-month fixed-term contract to provide maternity cover. The role is pivotal to the People function and the main purpose is to provide professional, comprehensive, and effective support to managers across all businesses. The role holder will be well versed in dealing with Employee Relations matters. Furnishing stakeholders with advice and tools to deal with ER issues, they will have an emphasis on early resolution of cases including disputes and grievances, taking a restorative approach wherever possible.

Other elements of the role will be to support the Group Head of People in establishing key people principles within Brett to ensure consistency across the business and carry out related projects to support this.

This role is based in Canterbury and will require travel to other Brett sites as needed.

Expected start date:23 November 2026

Main responsibilities/tasks:

• Providing expert HR advice and guidance to managers on a wide range of ER matters
• Supporting and attending formal processes such as disciplinary, grievance and capability meetings
• Coaching managers to ensure best practice and consistent application of policies
• Identifying and managing risk, escalating complex cases where necessary
• Supporting the analysis of key people data (absence, turnover, exit information) to identify trends and drive improvements
• Designing and delivering HR training to build manager capability
• Supporting the onboarding and induction of new managers
• Partnering with operational teams to ensure smooth HR processes such as consultations
• Maintaining a strong presence across the Brett business through regular site visits
• Supporting wider HR and business projects as required

Person Specification

Essential

• At least 3 years’ experience in an employee relations focused HR profession, preferably in an organisation that operates across multiple sites
• Experience of delivering people related training.
• CIPD qualified minimum Level 5 or working towards Level 7
• Fantastic interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate effectively at all levels.
• Effective time management, planning, prioritising, and organisation skills.
• Excellent knowledge of best employment practice and employment legislation

Desirable

• Similar relevant work experience in minerals, construction or manufacturing industry

We'll Offer You

• A competitivesalary
• Generous pension
• 25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays
• Life assurance
• Career and professional development
• Free onsite parking
• Employee assistance programme
• Enhanced parental leave
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee discounts
• Plus more!

About Us

Brett is the UK’s largest independently owned building materials Group with over 60 sites across the South, South East, East and Midlands and employing over 750 people.

With a reputation for excellence, we offer superb development opportunities to people keen to be a part of our continued growth. As an independent business we can offer real job satisfaction in an environment which encourages you to contribute, supports you in getting the job done and enables you to become part of a team that delivers building materials for big ideas.

Why Join Brett

• Our people are individuals, we value your input and support you in your professional development.
• We see our people as our greatest strength.
• We work hard to create inclusive environments.
• Grow your skills with ongoing opportunities – our business thrives when our people are at their best, we encourage and support ongoing learning and development.

Brett Group operates an Equal Opportunities Policy and monitoring.We are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination in recruitment and employment. We take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of discrimination and are committed to acting professionally and fairly in all our relationships and business dealings. This is not only a legal requirement but is vital for our brand, reputation and the long-term success of our business.

Brett Group operates a preferred supplier list and does not accept agency CVs, unless specifically engaged to work on the role in writing by the People Team. Please do not forward CVs to our recruiters, employees or any other location with the Brett Group. Brett Group will not be responsible for any fees relating to unsolicited CVs or candidate profiles. Furthermore, Brett Group will only accept CVs submitted through our applicant tracking system, any and all CVs sent via email will be immediately deleted and shall not be subject to any agency terms or associated fees.